According to the yoga tradition,
The heart is the doorway to the sacred.
Within the heart there is a luminosity in which no pain,
Sorrow,
Or grief can enter.
This meditation is dedicated to helping you access your own inner luminosity,
The abode of everlasting peace that rests within your own heart.
So to begin,
Find a comfortable seat,
Spine tall,
Head resting over the pelvis.
Close your eyes.
And become aware of any sensations or contractions that you feel in your body.
And have the intention to release all restriction,
All contraction,
And simply let go.
And if it's helpful,
You can take a deep breath in through the nose,
And then open the mouth and exhale,
And feel the body soften.
Perhaps doing that one more time,
Breathing in through the nose.
Opening the mouth and exhale completely,
And feel the body soften and relax,
And become more open and receptive.
Now become aware of the sensation of breath,
The sensation of breath moving through the nostrils,
The gentle flow of breath moving through the center chamber of each nostril towards the bridge of the nose,
And the gentle flow of breath as it descends from the bridge of the nose to the tip of the nostrils.
Sensation of breath rising and falling through the nostrils,
Ascending to the bridge of the nose and descending to the tip of the nose.
And as you feel the body relax,
You'll notice that the breath will become more smooth and more even.
Not trying to make anything happen,
Just simply relax and watch the flow of the breath.
And when you feel a quality of evenness and smoothness through the breath,
Begin to move into mental alternate nostril breathing.
Begin by breathing in through the left nostril,
And then out through the right.
Breathing in through the right nostril,
And out through the left.
Again not trying to alter the breath,
Let it remain natural,
Even and smooth.
Just mentally becoming aware of the breath moving in through the left,
Out through the right,
In through the right,
And out through the left.
The apex of this movement shifts from the bridge of the nose to midbrain.
So when you breathe in,
You feel the apex of the movement move to the middle of the brain.
And when you breathe out,
Awareness moves from midbrain out through the opposite nostril.
Begin to notice that it's not just air that you are breathing in.
That there's a sense of presence,
Or energy,
Or light that comes in with the breath.
And it is that presence,
Or that energy,
Or light that moves to midbrain.
So when you breathe in,
You breathe in air,
But also presence to midbrain.
And when you breathe out,
You feel presence descend out through the opposite nostril.
Ascending and descending to and from midbrain.
And the more relaxed you become,
The more presence you feel in midbrain.
Realizing the accumulation of presence in midbrain with each cycle of breath.
1 2 And then relax the technique and to sense the presence and midbrain.
And if you need more time,
You can continue the technique.
But once you feel the presence and midbrain and begin to move this presence down to the heart,
The more you relax,
The more this presence can effortlessly follow your intention of moving presence to the heart and moving the presence to the spiritual heart,
Which rests behind the breastbone and in front of the spine.
Deep in the body,
The abode of the heart.
And then notice the breath again.
And feel the breath at the heart as if it is the heart that pulls breath into the body and releases breath from the body.
A soft breeze of breath flowing across the abode of the heart.
Feel the body relax more deeply as you settle into the heart,
Feeling presence,
Awareness at the heart.
And sense that this presence as it rests near the spine is in the form of a small luminous pearl about the size of the tip of your thumb.
Luminous pearl filled with presence,
Luminosity,
Light resting in your heart.
Still aware of breath,
Soft movement of inhale and exhale.
And then notice that as you breathe in,
The luminosity of the pearl expands outward in all directions,
Filling the entire heart,
Chest,
Lungs,
Perhaps even moving beyond the body.
And that when you breathe out,
The presence light contracts back into the small luminous pearl.
So breathing in,
Luminosity expands outward in all directions.
And when you breathe out,
It contracts back to the small luminous pearl deep in the body.
And the breath remains effortless.
Soft flow of inhale,
Soft flow of exhale.
Still pulse of breath and of light expanding and contracting.
No effort.
Sense feel it.
Notice it happening.
And you can rest in this technique or you can add mantra.
And the mantra you can add to this technique is so hum.
So when you breathe in,
Feel light presence expand and mentally repeat so.
And when you exhale,
Feel light presence contract and mentally repeat hum.
So so on the inhale hum on the exhale.
And the translation of so hum is I am.
I am that luminosity that rests within me.
I am that everlasting peace.
I am the abode in which no sorrow or grief or pain can enter.
So hum.
And it is natural to want to mentally repeat the mantra but as you relax more deeply.
As the breath becomes more effortless.
And as you unite with that luminosity within you,
Begin to allow the mantra to repeat itself.
But all mental effort falls away.
And you simply experience the expansion of the luminosity,
The contraction of the luminosity,
And experiencing the mantra so hum.
There is gotta be no Feel yourself increasingly being absorbed into the mantra.
And to the luminosity of the heart.
And then relax.
And simply rest in the luminosity at the heart presence.
At the heart.
Sensing your own inner sanctuary.
That abode of everlasting peace,
Joy,
Self-trust,
And light.
And rest in the luminosity of the heart.
And you're welcome to stay here as long as you like,
Resting in the light of your heart.
Or if you are ready,
Begin to deepen your breath.
Fuller inhale,
More complete exhale.
And then take your right hand,
Place it over the center of your chest,
And left hand on top of right.
And bow your head down slightly,
A gesture releasing mind into the wisdom of the heart.
Mind releasing into the wisdom,
The compassion,
And the beauty of the heart.
And when you feel ready,
Just slowly opening your eyes and let your eyes rest on a point somewhere in front of you,
Anchoring you,
But anchoring you in that love.
Anchoring you in your own luminosity.
You may carry this love,
This luminosity with you into the rest of your day.
And when you're ready,
Coming all the way back.
