21-Day Dhyana Sadhana - Day 4 - The Breath and Subtle Energy

Day 4 for the 21-Day Dhyana Sadhana, 21-Day Meditation Practice daily online retreat as we approach Divali 2024. 

In this practice I share about the connection between breath and subtle energy or prana. By learning to work with the subtle energy inside you can cultivate your spiritual potential to open up to spiritual experience. 

For this meditation we focussed on the central energy channel or Sushumna nadi, and the two points at the top and base of the channel - the brow and root. ​​

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A short intro on breath and subtle energy. I go on further to share about the main energy channel, the chakras and how that features for our spiritual journey. 

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Meditation Transcript

Let's get into our practice, meditation practice now. And I'm guiding you through using breath and opening up to your energy awareness a bit more.

Are you ready? So you can close your eyes, align your spine, tune into your breathing, just in a way of tuning into your body. 

And I want you to affirm, I am here. Hear I am. Notice your sense of self. Notice that sense of existing and being as you breathe.

That's the core of divinity in you.

That is what enables your being, that enables your existence as an individual.

It's the spiritual source within you. So when you are affirm, "here I am", you are going closer to the source that sustains you.

Observe your body. Observe your emotions and how you feel this morning. Observe your mind, the quality and condition of your mind. Without judging any of this, it's just seeing what is there, seeing what you're working with and appreciating it.

Using your breathing, cultivate a sense of relaxation in your body, releasing the tensions, relaxing into the flow, and seek to balance each deep breath. Slow inhale. Slow exhale.

As you breathe out, create a gentle pause, patiently waiting at the end of the exhale until the perfect moment to inhale.

And after you inhale, wait a moment. Wait till the perfect time to exhale and try to feel that signal in your body. The right moment to inhale. The right moment to exhale.

Can you feel that subtle signal? It comes before the inhale. Before the exhale, tune into that feeling, that subtle impulse to breathe. Tune into that.

It's the movement of energy.

Something inside gives a signal to inhale and then creates that experience. It sets the breathing in motion. And then the same for the exhale.

That's the feeling of energy, the subtle impulses inside. And observe it with me. It's not only a sensation. It's also a gentle movement of your mind. Your mind is connected to it.

Can you feel how you're becoming focused by trying to observe it on the inhale? We seek to guide the flow of energy upwards in the central channel.

On the exhale, we seek to guide the flow of energy downwards. Focus on that central energy channel aligned to your spine.

We seek to make it more conscious and energized. On the inhale, observe and guide the flow of energy upwards in the channel.

On the exhale, guide the flow downwards. And just stay with that for a few breaths.

It's okay if there's thinking, it's okay if you observe the senses a little, it's okay if you notice the body, and the body gives you one or two little complaints, it's all okay. But stay focused with me on that flow of energy aligned to the flow of breath.

And just notice the feeling of lightness that comes.

That feeling of lightness comes as you open up to your energy body, as you move the energy in the central channel, you are activating the energy centers, the chakras.

You are loosening the limiting energy patterns that are held there. Perhaps you can feel some of those patterns wanting to surface in your experience. It can surface as emotion, as thoughts, or as different symptoms in your body. And if that happens, just observe, don't react.

Stay with me. Relax into the group energy and our connection,

and just enjoy. As you inhaLe, the energy flows upwards.

As you exhale, the energy flows downwards. It's a fascinating sensation.

Stay with me.

This experience is opening up your energy awareness.

And if you stay grounded in your body, feeling the body as you do this, it's nourishing the nervous system.

Now, when you breathe out and you guide the flow of energy all the way down the channel, locate the base of the channel, the end of it, that's the root chakra. When you breathe in,

try to guide the flow of energy all the way up to that point between the eyebrows.

That's the brow chakra, third eye point, breathing out, going all the way down, down the channel to the root chakra, and you can give a little tension to the perineum muscle to bring the energy further there. And then on the inhale in a relaxed way, you're guiding the flow of energy upwards.

And if you're able to hold it at the brow and then exhale back down, and you can gently tense, stimulate the perineum, the root chakra, and do this for each breath, becoming familiar with that energy axis and these two points, and notice how you feel.

That's very good. Now release that focus on the central channel. Bring your awareness into your gut and do some abdominal breathing, and use the full capacity of your lungs in and out.

This will bring more of your power into the body. And now tune into your senses. Identify the five senses and use your inhale to energize them.

Now, let's gently affirm in the mind:

I stay connected to the source of my being and I open up to my energy awareness.

I stay connected to the source of my being and I open up to my energy awareness.

That's very good. Take one last deep breath, feel the weight of the body, and pull yourself fully into the body. Alert.

And when you feel ready, with a few gentle blinks, you can open your eyes.

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Reflection

1. What did I observe in meditation? 
2. What was striking in the meditation experience? 
3. What was challenging for me today? 

Feel free to ask your questions and post your reflection in the comments if you wish for some feedback. edit.