Meditation Class

“A meditation is well done, if all you did was fight distraction.”

~ St Teresa of Avila

Tense/Relax

Double inhale (short, long) through the nose, then hold the breath as you strongly tense the entire body. Then throw the breath out with a double exhalation (short,long) through both the mouth and the nose, and relax completely.

Alternate Nostril breath

This is a balancing breath. It calms and centers the mind. It brings the mind to the present moment and out of the past.

• Lift your right hand up toward your nose.

• Exhale completely and then use your right thumb to close your right nostril.

• Inhale through your left nostril and then close the left nostril with your finger.

• Open the right nostril and exhale through this side.

• Inhale through your right nostril and then close the right nostril with your thumb.

• Exhale through the left side.

• This is one cycle.

• We did 5 rounds of this in class.

Hong-Sau

Hong sounds like song. Sau sounds like saw. Hong-Sau comes from a Sanskit sentence that means “I am Spirit.”  Mentally say “Hong” as the breath flows in, and “Sau” as the breath flows out. Let the natural flow of the breath dictate the pace.  Repeating the mantra helps you connect more easily and more deeply with the breath. 

As the breath flows in, slightly curl the right forefinger toward the palm; as the breath flows out, relax the forefinger away from the palm. This small movement helps you connect with the breath and concentrate more deeply on it.

Assignment:

For the next week read or watch a video of something positive at the start of your day.

Continue a daily meditation practice using Hong-Sau.