Meditate they tell you. With your two toddlers, diapers to change, meals to cook and a full time job, you have no time to meditate! I get that - I have a 5 minute solution for you to practice in bed! My 5 minute energy mediation practice will change your life, strengthen your pelvic floor, open your chakras and calm your mind.
Pour the coffee, and read on. When you understand yourself as a system of energy, you can see how you have waves and currents that run through you that make you unique. I like to look at each human as either authentic energy tuned into their own station, or playing a radio station that someone tuned for them (parents, peers, society, church). It is time to clean your air waves.
There are thousands of studies on the benefits of meditation. For example:
HARVARD: Found meditation changed the structure of the brain in only eight weeks. The Hippocampus, which governs learning and memory, showed increased brain cell volume. The Amygdala, home of fear, anxiety, and stress showed a decrease in brain cell volume. Changes were visible in MRI scans and were confirmed by participants’ reports of their stress levels.
JOHNS HOPKINS: Found meditation effects rival antidepressants for depression and anxiety. UCLA: Found long term meditators brains functioned better than non-meditators as they aged. YALE: Found meditation decreases mind-wandering and self referential thoughts.
Sacred self ritual
The proof is in. Now we just need to find a way to embrace it. Initially, meditation was not something I felt compelled to do. Sitting and emptying my mind seemed like a waste of my precious time, and was definitely not enjoyable. Until I studied Tantra. Tantra is a practice of connecting body and mind. Tantra is an ancient Sanskrit word for a life practice of “weaving together” body and mind. Tantra taught me to connect my body and breath to create joy in my brain instead of telling me to sit still and empty my mind. Tantra is a gift of sacred self ritual.
The connection is done by combining the "secret squeeze" (Ujjayi Breath) and the light pelvic “secret squeeze“ (Mula Bandha). The easiest way to improve your energetic pattern is to engage your pelvic floor by practicing what I like to call the “Secret Squeeze” aka Mula Bandha, translated to mean “root chakra lock”. When Mula Bandha accompanies both breath and meditation, your energetic system is fully engaged and supported.
This is a meditation game changer. It quickly moves your energy from your pelvic floor to your brain, and the resulting joy empties the mind quickly and easily. This allows you to reach the relaxed state in your brain needed to achieve meditation. Once you get the hang of it, you can achieve this state in seconds. Your life force energy moves into your nervous system and the oxytocin released creates an overwhelming feeling of unconditional love. You feel more alive.
This practice is the most essential body to brain connection tool to learn. The pelvic floor is where the secret squeeze starts. Home of your life force energy that you want to move up your body to your brain. These muscles are often overlooked in regular exercise programs, but are the most important muscles to strengthen so that you can achieve a light secret squeeze. From the pelvic floor your energy moves up your vagus nerve to your brain and into your Pineal Gland, which, in eastern medicine is know as the Third Eye. Think of pineal gland as the brain’s radio antenna. You can send and receive signals to it. You will feel a pleasant sensation in your brain, and your thoughts will go on pause. Do this anytime you need to change your state.
5 Minute Chakra Clearing Energy Meditation
Sit, or lie down on your back and place your hands on your belly or your heart, whichever is most comfortable for you. Close your eyes. Using the Ujjayi Breath slowly inhale for 3 counts and slowly exhale for 3 counts. Ujjayi Breath (Calming Breath) releases fear and calms the body, mind and nervous system. Constrict your throat as you inhale and exhale. Feels and sounds like a quiet purr! Breathe only through your nose.
On the next inhale, add in the secret squeeze to fully connect mind, body and soul. It is a light squeeze, engaging your perineum and lower abdominal muscles moving energy from your root chakra to your crown chakra.
Count 1 at the root chakra, 2 at the heart chakra, and 3 at the pineal gland chakra. By focusing your breath count on specific chakras during meditation, your energy is placed there. As you’re inhaling, engage the diaphragm by expanding it sideways because your heart needs room to expand! Release the secret squeeze on the exhale.
Focus on being consistent. Show up and be deliberate about practising for 5 minutes every day for 63 days without a break. It is ok if you are not great at it, just show up. Remember: It takes 21 days to create a new habit. It takes another 21 days to strengthen your resolve to embed that habit so your poor habits cannot overpower it. It takes the final 21 days to make your new habit authentically part of you.
Where you place your attention is where you place your focus. As you practice energy meditation you will start to notice that as you move your energy through your chakra system the movement creates a bubbly feeling in your body that brings you back to practice daily.
Meditate. Move your energy through your energy channel. Daily. Until it is automatic.
Meditation is known to reduce fear, stress & anxiety, and improve perception, productivity and creative thinking. Just do it!! Meditation washes your mind, and trust me, it needs washing daily. Start thinking of meditation like brushing your teeth or washing your face.
Meditation can also look like this: Walking in a forest Walking along the water’s edge Running, especially if you get runner’s high
Be open, and find a meditation style that suits you. I still want you to do the 5 minute energy meditation a minimum of 5 minutes before you get out of bed in the morning or just before you go to sleep. Preferably both! 5 minutes can make a huge impact on your life. Consistency is more important than length of time meditating. Integrate this in your day in a way that makes sense for you. Practice this first thing in the morning and before bed as a sacred self ritual.
If you want to experience a longer, guided mediation, check my Youtube Playlist!
XO Celia