I was feeling sluggish when I sat to lead this class, full from dinner and sitting in front of a screen all day so I worked with the breath to enliven and shift my state. Guess what? I feel great and I trust you will too! You’ll explore new ways to work with the breath and activate the beginners mind, full of curiosity and inquiry paired with compassion and gratitude for doing something new. The techniques shared here are ones I use throughout the day in any location- work, home, surrounded by things that I want to shift and change….Yes. I still have those desires AND I know that the only thing I can change is me. This practice does just that, it shifted my state. We have the ability and capacity to do this. Are you willing? If so, I’ll meet you here. Let’s go!

*This practice is enlivening, grounding, stabilizing and expanding all at the same time.

This two technique practice invites us to acknowledge all that came before and all that will come after and allow ourselves to commit to the here and now, connecting with our breath. Celebrating the moment, the present moment in which we are in, showing up for ourselves. How do we show up for ourselves while being aware of what surrounds us.This is a shorter practice, one that you may want to take on as a commitment, doing this practice daily for 21, 27, 30 or 45 days.

*This practice works to warm up the spine, filling up the body with breath and exhaling it all out. It also works with both an inner and external retention of breath. This practice is grounding, opening, stabilizing, calming and working with the retentions, it increases the capacity of the breath, expanding the gap between the breaths.

This practice has the song Iris by Roger Eno and Brian Eno in the background.

This practice was recorded during a Coming to Center series around the time of a full moon and the Fall Equinox. This time was the inspiration for the practice, to balance and come into alignment. It is calming, grounding, balancing. This would be a nice evening practice, one in which you could go to sleep after.

*There is a practice that involves a moving inner gaze, as we say silently a bija sound, a seed sound. These are the bija sounds of goddesses. Hrim, for Ma Durga. Shrim, for Lakshmi. Klim, for Kali Ma.

Kumbaka, meaning retention. So here, in this practice we are really exploring the breath, working with the breath, internal and external retention, inhalation and exhalation. This is a practice that you can do laying down. There is nothing that you need to “see,” you can be guided by the sound of my voice.

*This practice, as it states, explores inner and external retentions or holds as well as ujjayi breath, which involves a partial constriction of the throat.

Follow the breath and explore the breath to find the gap in between the inhalation and exhalation. Accessing the space, the pauses between the breath. Ground in, still yourself, access the silent space within.

*This practice explores accessing a gap, slight pause in between the inhale and the exhale. This is a calming practice.

This practice was recorded during a coming to center series. This practice, recorded on a Tuesday, activates energy and generates heat from within. It starts strong, with an invitation to cleanse and clear away all that does not serve, so that we can access the calm space within. It ends with a silent witness mediation using the mantra So Hum, meaning I am that, that I am.

*This practice has arm movements that are activating, pumping of the navel center and pelvic locks, or holds to bring the energy up the spine.

Access gratitude for all of the steps that have led you here, all of the moments that you have encountered that bring you here, to this current moment.
*This practice has some activation and then it becomes stabilizing and grounding. You may want to stay in the space to integrate and absorb after the practice.
-You can access Aphex Twin’s aisatsana [102] to accompany this practice

As its title indicates, this is a rooting and grounding practice. Working with the breath and maintaining an inward gaze we begin to access the present moment, allowing us to fully be here now.

*This practice uses a mantra based practice paired with an internal and external breath retention or hold. While gazing up at your third eye center, the space between your eyebrows holding the breath in we chant Shunya, while placing our chin down, towards the neck holding the breath out, we chant Sri.