Welcome and thank you for choosing to take a pause out of your busy day to meditate with me.
And just like always,
Let's set the mood of your room.
Creating a sacred space in our house where you get to unplug from the day is vital to our overall health and wellbeing.
Special changes that we do like setting aside every day,
Even for a few minutes of meditation.
In our own little corner of the room that we choose to sit or lie down raises the frequency of that space and over time it gets easier becoming part of our daily routine for self-care.
And so go ahead and get comfortable either sitting or lying on your bed.
And start to take a few breaths in silence as we listen to our breath and feeling the way we are breathing.
Allow the eyes to relax with an unfocused gaze,
Looking down if you prefer.
Or if you find that closing the eyes brings less distraction for the mind then go ahead.
Allow the mind to slow down.
As is the nature of the mind to keep running and chasing thought after thought.
We are not here to stop the mind shatters but rather allow them to slow down.
Today's episode is about Pratyahara,
The fifth limb of the eight limbs of yoga,
The gateway between the external world and our internal world.
Ahara means food or anything taken into ourselves,
Be it thoughts,
Emotions and energy from others or our environment.
Prati,
A preposition meaning away.
So literally it's weaning away from Ahara,
The food,
Sensory inputs into our physical being that's coming from our five senses.
We start this journey through the breath.
Notice at first how the air moves through our body.
See the shape of the breath.
Does it move all the way to the pit of our belly when we inhale or does it stop midway in the chest?
Just keep noticing.
Now becoming aware of our out breath.
See the shape of the breath here as well.
Are we relaxing parts of ourselves that do not need to be tense like our shoulders,
Our belly or the space between our eyebrows?
Now moving into the subtle aspect of the breath.
Notice the triangular shape on the base of the upper lip connecting to the nostrils.
Feel the air move in and out there.
The temperature of the breath.
Notice the coolness of the air as you inhale and how the air is a little bit warm on the exhale.
Keep noticing.
Keep observing your breath.
Maybe sensations in the body will start to arise,
Tingling sensation,
Itching or pain sensation.
Just observe.
If you can stay still without clinging to the sensation of wanting to adjust yourself or scratch or move,
Disciplining the mind to just simply observe the sensations felt in the body.
I will be earlier to mirror your breathing into empty heart and unholy light.
You The ancient yogis like the Buddha describe our restless mind as being filled with drunken monkeys chattering and jumping around We have a lot of drunken monkeys in the mind clamoring for our attention And even if we try to control the monkey mind We eventually find that it can be a losing battle It's as if putting chains on them,
So they don't run away But the nature of the mind is just that It restlessly swings from one branch of thought to the next It clings or resists to the kind of food we feed it and embodies that food If we feed it with anxious things and worries we cultivate our fear monkey It loves to trip our alarm system and craves the food of self-doubt Pointing out things that can possibly go wrong Begin to observe in your mind's eye.
What's the biggest monkey mind that you have?
Is it fear,
Worry,
Impatience?
And take your time try to sit with who's being the loudest and needs your attention the most The one who's always pressing loud when you wake up in the morning Or the one that obsesses about something on your drive to work or when you have a tough day The one who's always pressing loud when you wake up in the morning Or the one that obsesses about something on your drive to work or when you have a tough day The one who's always pressing loud when you have a tough day The one who's always pressing loud when you wake up in the morning The one who's always pressing loud when you wake up in the morning And you sit with it Notice the food you feed it which are the thoughts,
Emotions and sensations Are you fueling more restlessness into it?
Or are you sitting with it and allowing time to talk to it?
All our emotions and thoughts are valid It is finding space in our day to listen rationally to them without fueling the fire to make it the loudest monkey in the room Or to avoid it by resting,
Resisting whatever it has to tell you You are the one who's always pressing loud when you wake up in the morning The one who's always pressing loud when you wake up in the morning Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space Keep observing,
Keep holding space It's welcoming home all aspects of ourselves,
Accepting,
Allowing them to come home And giving all aspects of yourself an equal seat at the table to love them all as best as you can The brightest,
Highest,
Sparkly self that you can't wait to show everyone And the darkest,
Funkiest,
Nastiest self that you hope no one ever sees It's acknowledging and giving time,
Love,
Patience,
Attention to whatever that consumes our mind And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them Observe the food,
The emotions and thoughts that you feed it And are you feeding it with the right food for it to stay calm and happy?
Or are you letting it overindulge in unnecessary mind shatters with a lot of judgement and what-if scenarios of the future?
Take your time in silence here,
Acknowledge and accept whoever shows up And now,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can I am both the light and the dark,
Hero and villain,
Victim and perpetrator And as I see these different aspects of me,
I begin to understand that they have no power over me Because they are a part of me And I get to decide how much space,
How much airtime this part of me currently gets And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can And here,
Take the time to sit,
Talk and get to know them all as best as you can When our monkey mind has calmed down and is peaceful,
You can begin to bid it farewell for now The monkeys in our mind don't disappear,
But if we engage them in gentle conversation once in a while,
They grow more peaceful And we are able to be the masters of our mind,
And not its slaves And when you're ready,
Gently opening the eyes as you take a deep breath in,
Taking all the insight and wisdom your mind has to offer And with a slow,
Deep breath out,
Letting go of what no longer serves you at this point on You may choose to stay here for a few minutes in silence,
Otherwise you are all set to close your day and that you have a good night's rest Thank you for trusting me to be your guide on this journey,
And you can always share your experience with me at any time In light and love,
My soul honors your soul.
Namaste
