Monday, January 21, 2008

Cold Outside? A Meditation to Warm Your Heart.

Burrr! You may or may not be from blustery Boston like me, where people are freezing their asanas off today, but you can still benefit from this simple meditation meant to warm your heart and rejuvenate your spirit. It's particularly effective toward the end of a yoga practice or during sivasana, when the body is very relaxed. Choose in which position you will begin, seated in lotus, half lotus, cross-legged- whatever's comfortable- or you may opt to lie down, flat on your back.

Once your breath has reached a steady rhythm, place one hand on your heart center and the other on your lower abdomen. Take a deep breath in, followed by a long, slow, profound exhale. As you do so, imagine something in your life that you would like to shed- fear, pain, heartbreak, resentment, hurt, sorrow, loneliness, worry, doubt, stress, etc. You might visualize the emotion you've identified as being a certain color or associated with a certain feeling (a heaviness in your chest, perhaps?). As you exhale, you are literally dissolving the heaviness and emotion. Watch it rise up and away from your body and dissolve.

Next, visualize inhaling something you would like to manifest in your life- joy, love, forgiveness, confidence, abundance, peace, etc. Again, this emotion might be easily associated with a color, feeling, or quality. Breathe deeply, as you imagine this new emotion filling your body, washing over you, and settling in your being. Feel your chest rise and fall under the hand that is placed on your heart center. This action is very grounding, and it is always available to you.

Shakespeare once said, "Go to your bosom. Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know." This sentiment captures the essence of meditation beautifully . . . Get quiet, ask your heart what it needs, listen for the answer, and, then, take the necessary steps toward providing it.

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