This meditation is called Breathing Yin and Yang.
And it's designed to help us harness yin and yang energies to balance fierce and tender self-compassion.
So please adopt a posture you feel comfortable meditating in.
Perhaps closing your eyes.
Just start to notice your breathing.
You don't need to change it or control it.
Just breathe naturally.
And your mind will almost immediately start to wander.
Just pull it back without judgment,
With kindness.
To focus again on your breathing in and out,
Very natural and easy.
And so now what I would like you to do is to start to notice your in-breath.
And you can start to notice your breathing in and out.
And what I would like you to do is to start to notice your in-breath specifically.
Feeling each inhalation.
And we're going to be breathing in fierce yang energy.
To help us do this,
I would like you to sit up tall.
Straighten up your back.
Hold your head high so you embody a more fierce posture.
And you can also use your hands in a way to support you.
Maybe both hands on your solar plexus,
Your energetic center,
Which is just below your ribcage.
Or perhaps you can put like a fist on your heart if that feels comfortable.
Just some way to use your hands to help you feel strong and supported.
And again,
We're focusing on our in-breath.
And as you breathe in,
Imagine that you are breathing in fierce yang energy.
You might even feel the power rising up from the base of your spine and flowing through your body with each in-breath.
If you want,
You can add a visual.
You might imagine your body being filled with a bright white light with each in-breath.
And when your mind wanders,
Simply bring it back to the in-breath.
Feeling that fierce energy flowing through your body up the base of your spine,
Energizing you,
Empowering you,
Filling you with a bright white light.
And then take a big breath in and hold it for a moment.
Hold it and let it go,
Blowing out.
So now we're going to switch our focus toward the out-breath.
So noticing that on the exhalation,
Your body kind of relaxes.
So maybe you aren't sitting up quite so straight.
You aren't slumping,
But you're more relaxed.
And you maybe want to move your hands so that they feel more gentle and soothing,
Perhaps both hands on your heart.
Start focusing on your out-breath and feeling a more gentle,
Nurturing energy flowing through you.
And as you exhale,
Just let go and let be.
You might imagine that the light flowing through you is now more of a soft golden or perhaps even pink light,
A gentle light.
So letting this tender self-compassion nurture you and heal you as it flows through your body.
And then once again,
Take a deep inhalation,
Big breath in and hold it.
Hold it and let it go,
Blow it out.
So this time what I'd like you to do is notice both your in-breath and your out-breath.
Notice the flow of air in and air out.
And so again,
Your posture might be again a little between sitting up really tall and being relaxed,
So upright but relaxed.
Put your hands in a way that symbolizes both the fierceness and the tenderness.
Maybe a fist on your heart with a hand over it gently or one hand on your heart and one hand on your solar plexus.
So again,
Using your hands to support you.
And now imagine that as you breathe in,
You're breathing in this fierce yang energy and as you breathe out,
You're releasing this tender yin energy.
So you're breathing in and you're breathing out and these two energies are merging and mingling within you.
Don't try to keep them totally separate on the in-breath and the out-breath.
Just have this be a vehicle to invite.
You might even say to yourself,
I invite yin and yang to merge and integrate within me.
Perhaps even the two lights merge and integrate,
The white and the pink or the white and the golden,
Just to become a gentle but yet bright light within,
Flowing on the in-breath and the out-breath.
Letting these two energies flow as easily as the waves on an ocean in and out,
Natural,
Effortless.
And if you feel you need a little more focus on the yang in-breath,
Feel free to focus on that if you need to energize yourself.
If you really feel you need to relax and let go,
You can focus more on the out-breath.
Just remembering that we always need to breathe both in and out.
So give your body what it needs.
I invite yin and yang to merge and integrate within me.
Fierceness and tenderness.
And when your mind wanders,
Simply bring it back to the breath,
Allowing the yin and yang to flow freely,
To attain harmonious balance.
And you don't have to do it.
Let nature do it for you.
It's the way of things.
The way of life.
So one last time,
Taking a deep in-breath in,
Holding it.
Letting go of the practice,
Letting go of the meditation,
And opening your eyes.
And hopefully you can carry this sense of balance and integration with you throughout your day.
Thank you.
