Embracing The Elements

Hi,

My name is Nicky from True Equanimity Yoga and today I'd like to share a practice to embrace the elements,

The five elements of earth,

Water,

Fire,

Air and space.

So in this guided meditation,

We will explore the different qualities of the elements as we work up through the midline of the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.

So coming to sit in a comfortable position,

Sitting with energy,

Spine tall and long but relaxed,

Maybe tensing the body a little on inhale,

Letting it soften on the exhale,

Parking the body ready to sit in stillness and then considering the quality of acceptance as we come to meditate today.

Firstly accepting the environment that you're meditating in,

There will always be distractions but just allowing yourself to settle.

Accepting your body,

Notice sensations arising without the need to move unless you're uncomfortable and then accepting the mind,

The thoughts will still come,

That's what the mind does but you can choose to not engage with them,

To stay a little detached from the fluctuations of the mind.

The mind strays,

Lovingly return it to the practice,

Maybe even choosing to say to your mind,

I'm choosing to meditate or I choose silence and stillness and then I invite you to bring awareness to the breath,

Just notice the inhale and the exhale,

No need to change the breath,

Just notice the quality of the breath as it is right now,

Is it smooth,

Is it even,

Is it fast or slow,

Is it deep or shallow and then be aware of the surface that you're resting on and as you breathe out next,

See if you can maybe let go of any holding,

Just let yourself rest in safety,

Surface below supporting you and then let your awareness stay here at the base of the spine,

As you think of the qualities of the element of earth,

With your awareness there at the base of the spine,

Begin to think of the earth beneath you,

Reflecting for a moment on its solidity,

On the way it forms an immovable foundation,

A secure support for all things,

The earth is beneath you,

Filled with abundant life force,

Strong,

Stable,

Secure and still,

Awareness to the base of the body and as you breathe in,

Imagine you could allow some of this strong,

Nurturing stillness to pour up into your body and as you breathe out,

Let any tension,

Stress,

Tiredness in the legs,

Lower half of the body,

Melt away downwards into the earth,

Think of how the great mountains are supported by the earth,

Held firm and immovable,

With each out breath,

Letting your whole lower body become quieter and still,

Almost as if it too is being supported by the earth and then if and when it feels right for you,

Let the awareness rise up to the area of the pelvis,

Lower abdomen,

As we reflect on the qualities of the water element,

As you rest your awareness there,

You might like to imagine a beautiful moonlit ocean,

Visualising its waters softly lit by the light of the moon,

Imagining the waves rising and falling,

Being gently aware of the ebb and flow of these waves in the moonlit ocean,

Let them begin to create a feeling of stillness and quietness within you,

With each breath the ocean becomes quieter and calmer and as it does so,

You feel your body becoming soothed,

Relaxed,

Particularly the lower abdomen feeling calmer,

If and when it feels right for you,

Awareness rises to just above the navel,

To the solar plexus area,

The soft tissues just below the ribs,

As we contemplate the element of fire,

You might like to imagine,

Visualise a beautiful rising sun,

Almost as if that sun was inside the solar plexus area,

Warming and bright,

A radiant ball of gold warming light,

Glorious sunshine begins to fill the whole abdomen area,

Soothing your digestive organs,

Soothing your digestive organs,

Activating your digestive fire,

Awareness to the lower back,

Feeling the support of that warmth in the lower spine,

Giving you the energy to do what is important in your life,

If and when it feels right for you,

Awareness rises to the centre of the chest,

Level of the heart,

As we reflect on the qualities of the air element,

Maybe just notice the breath again,

Lungs filling and softening,

Chest rising and falling,

Letting your lungs become energised and activated by clear,

Refreshing breath blowing in and out,

You might like to sense or visualise or imagine that you're resting in a beautiful sunlit forest,

Breathing in the fresh clean air,

Hearing the air rustling through the leaves of the trees,

It's warm and green,

Each breath warming your heart,

Relaxing your chest and upper back,

I'd like to begin to let each breath kindle a warm sense of appreciation for this beautiful world we live in,

Maybe sending some of that love and appreciation to people close to you,

Even sending some of that appreciation and gratitude to yourself today,

And if and when it feels right for you,

Awareness rises to the area of the neck,

The throat,

As we contemplate the element of space,

You might like to begin to visualise that you are resting in a beautiful,

Expansive,

Blue,

Bright,

Clear sky,

It's beautiful turquoise blue,

You feel free,

Supported,

At ease,

You can rise above any clouds,

Supported and still in this warm blue expansive sky,

You come to realise or notice that this sky is so very,

Very still,

As you let your awareness become as still and quiet as the sky,

Then you let the awareness travel upwards a little further to the brow centre,

That sky becomes a deep indigo blue,

It becomes quieter and ever more still,

Your attention rests absorbed by this silent indigo sky,

Unmoving,

Full,

And you become aware that this silence also rests within you,

A silence that can uphold and support you in every moment of every day,

So rest for a moment or two in your own inner silence,

Resting in pure stillness,

And then you might like to let the awareness rise to above the top of the head,

Just a centimetre or so,

And maybe sense,

Feel or imagine that there's a beautiful light shining down onto you from above to the crown of the head,

Might be warm and radiant like the sun or cool and tranquil like the moonlight,

Let this light pour down into the body,

Down through the head,

Let this light wash into the mind,

Bringing clear,

Bright,

Creative thoughts,

Let this light come down the spine,

Which becomes upright,

Tall and strong,

Yet flexible,

Let this light travel down the arms,

Down the legs,

Whole body filled with light,

Every colour of the rainbow is present,

Sparkling and shining,

Bringing health and vitality to every part of your body,

Be fully aware of the physical body as it rests here,

Radiant,

And let this light become embedded in your cellular structure,

So it's available whenever you need it.

So as we come to the end of this practice today,

I invite you to choose to become aware of your I invite you to choose to become aware of your body as it sits in your place of meditation,

Be aware of your head and draw your awareness into its centre,

Be aware of your chest and draw your attention to the heart,

Be aware of your spine and let it be tall and strong,

Be aware of your arms and legs and draw your attention into them,

Be aware of your breath rising and falling,

Maybe taking some slightly deeper breaths,

Your whole body feeling re-energised,

Fully awake,

As you become aware of the surroundings again,

Welcoming sounds,

Sensations,

Maybe bringing a little bit of movement back into the body,

Wriggling fingers and toes,

And then keeping the eyes closed,

Begin to rub the palms together quite vigorously,

Ready in a moment to palm our eyes,

Letting this physical sensation of the palms rubbing bring you back to the present moment,

Feeling the warmth you're creating between the palms,

And when they feel nice and warm,

Place them over your closed eyes,

Seal out the light,

And then allow the eyes to gently open into this warm space,

Taking a little break from the vision they give us,

You might like to let the hand slowly move away from the eyes,

The light filters back in,

Maybe blinking a couple of times,

And just taking a moment to notice how you feel after this practice,

Hopefully you can take this sense of feeling grounded and balanced,

Yet energised,

Into the rest of your day.

Thank you for joining me to practice today.