A simple one today, that's accessible for beginners and more experienced practitioners. I describe a sitting position for it, but it can be a more effective relaxation if you're lying down. Though its also possible you might fall asleep...

Today's practice is intended to help practitioners begin to tap into their own personal power and potential. In yoga, this is associated with Manipura chakra, located at the solar plexus. But we can think about it in psychological terms just as easily.

The meditation is a little more directive than usual, and so beginners may find it somewhat tricky.

Well. I didn't realise it had been two months! Life certainly got in the way. Here's a simple withdrawal of awareness practice, with a short (4-5 minute) silent meditation, just to get us back into the swing of things.

Today's practice helps us understand the movement of our minds - noticing this ceaseless activity, and accepting it for what it is.

Movement (emotional and mental) is associated with Swadisthana chakra in yoga. Over the next few episodes I'll draw out a couple of approaches to meditation that touch on each of the chakras in turn.

Something a little different today - a guided relaxation, rather than a meditation.

As a relaxation exercise, its best practiced lying down somewhere comfortable and warm. If you have the time, I suggest allowing yourself to stay in a restful position for as long as you need afterwards. Maybe even have a nap...

Today's practice looks at our experience of our bodies and emotions, in order to ground ourselves in the present moment. In traditional yoga this is often associated with muladhara chakra, at the base of the spinal column.

This is always a useful practice, and a useful skill to develop, especially when there are so many distractions around us these days.

I hope this is an enjoyable and/or useful meditation for you.

A common issue in meditation is the feeling that we are not doing it right.

This is something that my students say to me a lot, and I also have personal experience - it actually made me bounce off meditation when I first tried it as a teenager!

In today's practice I try to address that a little - talking about what we're actually doing when we meditate, what might it feel like, and how we can embrace our experience as it actually is.

Acceptance when we sit can also lead to acceptance in our daily lives, so I hope this will be useful.

Today's meditation includes a whole lot of singing (apologies - this is not my strong suit).

I thought it might be interesting to share the kirtan that you'd usually hear sung before and after every yoga practice (meditation, asana, satsang, etc) in a lot of ashrams. I've shared the words and my best effort at translation in the link below (this is on Patreon, but it doesn't require a payment or registration).

The meditation for today is also slightly different. A little longer than usual, and with less guidance. So see how you get on with all of this. If it doesn't feel right, just stick with my other episodes.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/meditation-and-152202302

In this episode, I've adapted a meditation focused on the five koshas to be a little more beginner friendly. The practice takes us through awareness of 1) the body, 2) the breath, 3) the senses, 4) the mind, and finally to 5) pure awareness itself.

I think this should be quite a nice progressive relaxation, so hopefully it works for you!

Today's meditation involves a guided body scan, and a meditative visualisation using imagery of a deep lake. If you have a fear of deep or open water, then this might make you feel uncomfortable, so please have a think about whether this recording will be right for you today.

If you'd like an alternative, Episode 2 is a pretty similar practice, but without this kind of imagery.