Hourglass

This meditation is all about letting go of the old and welcoming the new. The hourglass meditation can help if you’re going through a difficult time, letting go of negativity and allowing positive energy to come through, it can help reduce stress and clear your mind. Even though the hourglass is the theme there is no time limit and you don’t need an actual hourglass.

Start by sitting in a comfortable position, you may sit on a chair or pillow, lift and lengthen through your spine, relax your shoulders, take a moment to connect with your breath and body.  How are you feeling physically? Take a deep inhale and as you exhale let go of any tension and allow yourself to be in that moment. Notice any thoughts or emotions that come up. Take as long as you need, allowing your breath flow naturally. Visualise an hourglass, the shape, the stand, the glass thickness and the colour of the sand. The top of the hourglass is everything that’s happening in your life right now, notice if there is anything that makes you feel unhappy or uncomfortable and hold onto these thoughts and feelings in your awareness. Take time to lengthen and deepen your breath again, as you inhale accept this is how things are at the moment and as you exhale visualise the sand falling down the neck of the hourglass. As the sand falls, you start to let go. Notice if the sand change colour. Allow yourself to feel calm and at peace. Wait until you see all the sand at the bottom of the hourglass and allow the breath to flow naturally. The bottom of the hourglass symbolises your strength, holding all your thoughts and emotions. You are now feeling strong, confident and grateful for everything you have.

If the sand started as one colour and changed, here’s an example of what the colours may reflect;

Silent Meditation

This meditation does not necessarily need to be done in silence, it is about finding your own silence. It’s very difficult with all the noise pollution today to find complete and utter silence. It is therefore good practice to take yourself away from all the noise, stop for a moment and focus on you. Silent meditation is a difficult meditation to master as our minds tend to wonder or find distractions, however when you master this meditation, it can help with remembering, learning and emotions. Silence has a source of energy like no other and helps slows the mind down. Silence is beautiful, but can be scary, we tend to feel the need to fill the space with words or sounds that comfort us. Let’s try to sit back relax and enjoy the silence. Remember this meditation may take more than one practice to master.

Find a quiet space. Sit or lay so you’re feeling comfortable. Take a few deeper breaths and as you exhale let go of any tension. Allow your breath to flow naturally. Listen to your breath, listen to the body, your heart.  The body begins to relax, soften, feel heavy.  Bring your awareness to the sounds in the room, listen to the air moving around you. Just notice.  Listen and observe the sounds outside of the room, can you hear birds, people or cars? Just notice. Are there any sounds you don’t like? Visualise the sounds you hear beginning to disappear so you’re in complete and utter silence. Enjoy this moment.

If the mind starts to wonder, notice your them thoughts and allow them to pass. If the silence starts to feel uncomfortable ask yourself why? Can you push through? Connect back to the breath and follow the natural flow of your breath. It sometime helps to count your breath to keep focussed, for example each inhale is a count, how far can you get before you lose connection? Do you feel the urge to make some noise? What sounds comfort you?

If you struggle in crowded or loud places this practice can be done at any time. Close your eyes and start to visualise the noise around you disappearing. Create a silent bubble of clear energy around you, every time the noise is too much allow it to bounce off your bubble keeping you peaceful in your own bubble of silence.

“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”

Caroline Myss

Music Meditation

This is a beautiful meditation practice and can be done anywhere you find peaceful. You can use any music that you feel comfortable listening to, some like to use traditional music with chanting or nature sounds. If you’re outside the sounds around you may create its own music. The music you choice should help you focus and relax. This meditation helps with stress, anxiety, lengthening your attention span and feeling the music. Music can even trigger a feel-good chemical in the brain.

This meditation can be done sitting or laying as long as you’re comfortable. Turn on your music. Notice all of the sounds you can hear in the music and if there are any sounds you have not noticed before. Visualise each note in the music, inhale taking the music into the body. Feel the vibrations of each note. How does the music make you feel? If thoughts or feelings are coming through acknowledge them, why do you feel this way? Why have these thoughts come to mind? Allow the music to flow through you and as you exhale let go of your thoughts or feelings. Begin to feel the body relaxing. Allow your breath to flow naturally.

Feel yourself becoming one with the music, visualise the music to creating a bubble around you. Allow the music to take you on a journey, to tell you a story. Stay here for as long as you want to. Stay in the moment and If you are in a clear space let the music begin to move the body, you can stand if you feel you want to. Let the body feel free, let the music lead you, try not to think about how to move but just allow it to happen. This may take a few practices. Notice how the body moves. When you feel it’s time to stop moving stay still and notice your breath. Is there a change in your heart rate or body temperature? Now turn off the music and enjoy the silence and stillness. Allow your mind to clear.

“Yoga is like music, the rhythm of your body, the melody of your mind and the harmony of your soul create the symphony of life.”

B.K.S Iyengar