I wanted to share this kundalini meditation with you to help settle nerves, restore emotional balance and release a little stress.  It's super easy to do and the fact that its beginner friendly makes it a definite keeper for your stress less tool kit!

This meditation focuses on posture, breath and chanting. In kundalini, it's really important to focus on the details of the practice.  Each one is specifically designed to have the most impact it can, so try to practice this exactly as it's suggested. 

Start in a sitting position, in lotus or simply with legs crossed.  You can also do this in a chair (nice to keep in mind if you're stressed at the office or on a long flight!) 

Sit up tall with your spine straight and your chin slightly tucked. Rest your hands, palms up, on your knees. Close your eyes and focus your attention to your third eye center (the space between your eyebrows)

Now you can start the practice:

Chant: 
"SA" while touching your thumbs and index fingers together
"TA" while touching your thumbs and middle fingers together
"NA" while touching your thumbs and ring fingers together
"MA" while touching your thumbs and pinky fingers together

Everytime you chant one of those words, you press your thumb and corresponding finger together on each hand at the same time.  

Once you get the hang of touching your fingers and thumbs together with the syllables, you can begin to visualize the sounds moving from the crown of your head through your third eye space.  


Repeat this chant/practice for 2 minutes. Then whisper the chant and continue touching your fingers along with your whisper for another 2 minutes. Then repeat the chant silently while touching your fingers for 3 minutes. Then bring it back to the whisper chant for 2 minutes and finish with the full chant for a final 2 minutes. Complete the chanting at 11 minutes. 

Once completed, take an inhale and raise your arms overhead.  Shake them out!  This is important for moving and releasing your energy. Exhale and relax for a bit.  
If you're going though an especially challenging and stressful time, practice this 11 minute version everyday.  You can work up to 31 minutes if needed.  

a few things to note

This is considered one of the most important meditations in kundalini yoga and if you only do one, this should be it. so take your time and focus on the practice.

always visualize the energy moving from the crown of your head and out through your third eye center with each syllable.  this is important!  you don't want that energy to become stuck. 

practice for a minimum of 11 minutes.  

what do the syllables actually mean?
SA: the beginning, the infinity, the totality of everything that ever was and will be
TA: life, existence and creativity that manifests from infinity
NA: change and transformation of consciousness
MA: rebirth and regeneration

Ready to try it?
Get comfortable. Close your eyes.  And chant along with this music to help you get started! 

A little weekend inspiration

Sat nam

xo, b

Today I wanted to share a mediation with you that I often use to help me clear the mental clutter and keep me focused on what is truly important to me.


I practice this mostly in the mornings because it helps set the tone of my day and keeps me living in alignment with what I want most in my life, but you can practice it anytime you're in need of a little personal inspiration. 


Start sitting up tall in a comfortable position with a straight spine, resting your hands on your thighs


Take a few deep breaths and begin to clear your mind of any worries or anxiety

Once your mind is clear, begin to imagine your ideal self
-this 'ideal self' is the vision you have of your life if every star was aligned, if every relationship in your life fulfilled you, if you were doing a job you love, living your life just the way you'd want if everything was just right!


Don't hold anything back! Envision it all!  If you can see it, you can create it


Now once you have that vision, tune into the feelings that ideal self gives you
-if you envision climbing the corporate ladder, but the feeling it gives you is uneasiness, you may need to focus more on what exactly you're seeking from climbing that ladder and see if you can create it in a place of your life that gives a more passionate feeling!


Once all of that comes together, meditate on that image and those feelings.  Try not to force any thoughts.  Allow the feelings that this meditation gives you to guide you.  Little by little your authentic and true ideal self will emerge within your meditation


MANTRA:
(while you're meditating on that image)


INHALE: I accept this as my ideal self 
EXHALE: I release anything that holds me back from living in this truth


the other reason I practice this in the morning is because i'm more tapped into my subconscious feelings during this time. that's the truly powerful component here- this meditation is guided by your deepest desires.  you may feel that something is right for you on the outside, but internally you don't feel happy or fulfilled.  

Once you come out of the meditation, grab your journal and write about your experience.  Get it all out on paper.  Write what made you feel empowered!  Write about what you felt, saw and desired in that meditation.  Then -and here's the fun part!- jot down some things that you can do NOW to create that ideal self!  

There was a time awhile back that I did this meditation and felt amazingly peaceful and happy with the thought of freedom.  I envisioned heaps of time for self-care, yoga, dinner with friends and time to myself.  At the time however, I was jam packing my schedule with classes and clients.  I thought on the outside that's what I truly needed.  I never took time to create a mental vision of my ideal life and then meditate on the experiene.  Once I did, I realized I was feeling drained and aggrevated at the fact that I had little time for myself.  I was always scheduled to be somewhere at some time.  I immediately took action and freed up my schedule.  It was life-changing for me!  I felt such a difference!  And my classes, clients, friends and family even noticed the difference.  I was much more present, less frazzled and totally tuned in.  Since then, I've made it a priority to include free time in my schedule.  It's a non-negotiable.  

So take some time to meditate on this and discover your true ideal self!  Then get to work creating it! 

sat nam, 
xo b

start with sitting up comfortably on your mat and press your hands together at your heart center. rest your thumb knuckles into your chest and begin to deepen your breath while meditating on the power of the heart center or chakra. set your intention here to release yourself from the grip of fear. 

roll over onto your hands and knees and move through a few rounds of cat/cow. on the inhale, drop your belly toward the ground and lift up through your head and tailbone. focus on lifting up through your chest. on your exhale, pull your bellybutton up, round your spine towards the sky and tuck your chin and tailbone inward. take as many as you need to warm up your body and spine. 

from hands and knees, walk your hands out past your shoulders and start to sink your chest towards the ground. move slowly, and lower down with your exhales, taking your time and moving into a place where you feel a comfortable sensation. if your body allows, melt your chest down until it comes to the ground. hold here for anywhere from 3-5 breaths. 

after those few breaths, walk your hands further out until your belly rests onto the floor. relaxing your legs, lift yourself up onto your forearms and press your chest forward. move up only as it feels right for your body.  sit here for another 3-5 breaths. 

press back onto your hands and knees and move through a few more rounds of cat/cow.

afterwards, roll onto your back. bend your knees and bring your heels in towards your hips. reach your hands down by your sides. roll your shoulders underneath your chest and lift up your lower back. (placing a block underneath your back is a wonderful variation that feels amazing!) stay here for as many breaths as you comfortably can and focus on keeping your heart open.