Breathwork & Meditation To Deeply Know Your Authentic Self

I ask that you go ahead and downshift your gaze or go ahead and close your eyes if you feel comfortable and we're gonna start with belly breathing.

I'm asking you to please breathe such that your diaphragm is being expanded as you open up your belly as you're breathing in.

For a count of five and as you're exhaling squeezing that again from the diaphragm from the belly letting it all out which comes out as a warm breath.

Even breathing for now five in and five out.

Notice I'm breathing in through my nose in and out.

You're welcome to do the exhalation either through the nose or through the mouth but the inhalation through the nose.

You should notice the opening and the collapsing of the abdomen not the chest.

Breathing into the chest is shallow breathing that actually increases cortisol your stress response.

So you want to be breathing nice and deep into the belly just like when you see a baby sleeping very peacefully you'll notice the rise and the collapse of the abdomen.

Now can you extend your exhale slightly longer to a count of eight?

Inhale a still for a count of five and exhale as for a count of eight.

Go ahead and try exhaling from the mouth if you would exhaling from the nose till now.

Inhalation still through the nostrils exhalation from the mouth.

Now let's add one more complexity to this five in seven hold eight out in through the nostrils hold eight out through the mouth.

Hold and exhale.

In for five hold for seven and out for eight.

In for five hold for seven and out for eight.

I want you to bring your breathing back to the five in and five out as I give you instructions for the next pranayama exercise.

In this exercise we're going to do something called Jalandharbandha.

In Jalandharbandha we're going to inhale again from the belly allowing the belly to expand and soften and when you inhale I will ask you to hold hold your breath and you will hold it and turn your chin down to your collarbone and you will hold till I tell you hold till I tell you as best as you can if you simply cannot then I ask that you go ahead and release but do the best you can.

Okay so we're going to do a few rounds of Jalandharbandha so now together I want you to all take a nice deep inhale and hold turning your chin down to the collarbone.

Now I'll do the counting you just hold.

Five four three two one and exhale and come back up inhale let's do one cycle of out exhale inhale at this time at the top of the lungs lungs keeping full go ahead and go down holding your breath chin to the collarbone hold till I tell you.

Five four three two one and exhale and come up.

Inhale and exhale one full cycle.

Inhale and we want to hold and turn your collar chin down to the collarbone last round hold hold till I tell you.

Five four three two one exhale and come back up allowing your breathing to go back to the five in and five out.

Well done.

Let's go back to the five inhale and eight out for the mouth.

And as you keep that rhythm going I'm gonna guide you now into the mattress of the heart and we're going to a deep place of knowing ourselves our authentic selves.

As we turn our attention inwards peering inside deeply to find our authentic self we're gonna explore some fundamental questions such as what is the most important thing for you in life what do you value or what makes you happy?

Can you remember the last time you laughed?

Now consider what makes you who you are?

Finding your authentic self involves learning who you truly are.

Your authentic self is the real you.

Your authentic self is the person you are at your core.

The person you are when there are no limiting beliefs about the truth of your being.

Imagine the person you believe yourself to be right now.

Now imagine you could strip away all the things that hold you back from your full potential.

Imagine yourself doubt dissolving and is being replaced with confidence and self assurance.

Imagine all the things that get in the way of complete self acceptance.

Self acceptance could include acknowledging the circumstances,

The access to resources or lack thereof,

Your challenges with forgiveness,

Illness,

Baggage from the past,

Anything that is holding you back in any way at all.

See these problems dissolving,

Disappearing,

Going away.

Now imagine yourself standing in an empty room.

What is left?

Who are you when all those barriers are stripped away?

This person is you.

This is the core of your being,

Your pure character that is left when there is nothing to get in the way of complete self expression.

Ask yourself what motivates you?

What drives you to get out of bed in the morning?

What stirs your heart?

Feel into your personality,

Your personal identity,

The characteristics that are left when all barriers are removed and all the fears have gone away.

With your full potential,

In your simplest form,

With no fears,

Who are you?

Tap into your energy.

Imagine something that makes you feel happy.

What is it?

Remember something that you enjoy,

Something that you really like to do.

Feel into the characteristics of the self that's left when all the barriers and fears are removed.

Now create one final picture in your mind.

Imagine in as much detail as you can the person that you want to be,

Your ideal self.

How would this person behave?

What does this person value?

What motivates this ideal self?

What personal characteristics are present in this ideal person,

This ideal version of you?

See in as much detail this person that you want to be.

This image in your mind right now is you.

Yet this is your authentic self.

This is who you are.

At the core behind all of those intricacies of life getting in the way,

This is you.

Now allow yourself to feel and step into this image,

Fully becoming this person.

Become who you are.

And at this moment just be.

Simply be your authentic self.

You have always been this person.

You always will be your authentic self,

A positive confident person.

Underneath the challenges,

The baggage,

The demands of life,

This is the real you and that will always always be with you.

Keep this image of the authentic self with you as you go about the rest of this week.

Make an effort to express this true self,

Allowing yourself to be you.

Simply be.

I want you to please bring your hands together in prayer position at your heart center.

And I want you to go and rub your palms against each other.

These are energy vortexes and as you're rubbing them you're kindling prana,

Life force.

A nice brisk rub and you'll feel a warmth,

A ball of energy right between your palms.

When you feel that I want you to go ahead and cup both your eyes,

One with each palm.

Bless yourself.

May I live my authentic life,

My true authentic self be expressed.

May peace reign in my life.

And I want you to go ahead and please take your palms and make them face outwards like you're sending a blessing.

Let's identify a person,

A group of people or a place that could use a blessing right now.

And imagine as if there's a beam of light that's emerging from your heart and from your entire body going towards that person,

People or place.

That may their baggage be removed.

May their struggles end.

May they find their peace.

May they just be.

I want you to bring your palms together back in prayer position at your heart center and let's take a bow of gratitude for what we have just received.

And acknowledge how what we have received is making me feel right now.

If I could summarize how I'm feeling right now in one word,

What would that be?

I invite you to go ahead and share that one word in the comments.