Breathing Yin And Yang: Fierce + Tender Self-Compassion

So go ahead take a moment if you like to gently stretch your body giving yourself an opportunity to settle in maybe taking a couple deeper breaths or you could even yawn and knowing that this is a breath-focused meditation and if focusing on your breath isn't what feels most nourishing for you you could always just imagine light flowing in and out there'll be kind of cues of that or visualize there'll be cues for other ways you could do this you could always shift your attention away from the breath onto another object focus and it is suggested for this meditation to sit comfortably with your back straight and so if you can support that in an upright posture that kind of supports the strong energy of yang and if that's not if that's not what's needed for your body feel free to adjust as needed so that you can modify this for your body and if you like you can place your hands on your solar plexus your center or some other place that helps you feel strong and supported arriving and starting to notice your breathing without needing to change it or control it just letting it be and know that you can keep your hands where they're resting right now or you can bring them back to your lap at any time and your mind will naturally wander and when it does bringing your attention back to this breath without judgment and starting to focus on your in-breath specifically feeling each inhalation as you breathe in imagine that you are breathing in fierce yang compassion you might notice that you take in a deeper more energizing breath that brings strength courage clarity feeling the energy arise from the base of your spine and move through your entire body if you like you can imagine the yang energy as a bright white light flowing through you or a powerful force of nature like a strong wind you might even allow this energy to move and sway your body any way that you can connect to this fierce yang energy knowing that you can invoke any of your senses perhaps you even imagine a sound like a whooshing sound as you breathe in finding what works for you and now an invitation to take a deeper breath and pause at the end of the inhalation if this feels right for you go ahead and take a big breath in and hold it for 5 to 10 seconds and then releasing and now placing your hands on your heart or some other soothing place beginning to focus on your outbreath feeling yourself relax with each exhalation and as you exhale let go and let be and with each outbreath imagine that tender yin compassion is flowing through you loving connected presence let it nurture you heal you and now let go if you like you can imagine the yin energy as a soft golden or pink light or a gentle aspect of nature like a soft breeze or a flowing brook you might even imagine that you are moving or swaying in this soft breeze any way that you can connect with this tender yin energy feeling the gentle release of the exhalation and if you like you can lengthen your next exhalation maybe even pausing at the end of your exhalation and then coming back to a natural breath so perhaps breathing out just a little bit longer and deeper and then release and now bringing yin and yang together putting one hand on your heart and the other hand on your solar plexus or some other place that feels right knowing that you don't have to link it in this way if it's more natural for the in-breath to be yin and the out-breath to be yang you can you can change the direction of the flow as you breathe in imagining that you are inhaling fierce yang energy and as you breathe out imagine that you are exhaling tender yin energy or maybe you simply allow the two energies to braid together to weave together with each inhalation and exhalation like two lights interweaving allowing these two energies to flow freely in your body merging and interweaving integrating perhaps making a conscious invitation I invite yin and yang to merge and integrate within me let the inward and outward flow be as natural of the as the movement of the waves of the ocean or the sea waves going in waves flowing out and feel free to focus more on experiencing the yin or the yang energy if it feels right to you and then releasing the focus on your breathing and bringing your awareness back to the sensations of your body as a whole allowing yourself to feel however you're feeling and to be just as you are and if you closed your eyes when you're ready gently opening your eyes