The journey to our heart center continues. In two of my recent blogs, Healthy Habits to Live to 100 and Making Friends with Your Body with Guided Meditation, it was all about being in our physical bodies so we can step forward through life with confidence and grace.

The Yogis call the 5 subtle layers of the body the Koshas. From the Upanishads, they used this 5 layer model as a road map of sorts to guide one through their personal spiritual journey. First is the annamaya kosha , our physical sheath. The next layer is our energy body.

Let’s draw inward to explore our energetic body. I offer a sweet 6 minute meditation to get you a bit more energized and centered into your heart space.

Prana means “vital Energy”. Prana is our life force. The second layer, the pranamaya Kosha, envelopes our energetic body. It is that energy within our bodies that also permeates all of creation. Our breath is the vehicle in which energy is distributed throughout our subtle body weaving in and throughout our chakra system, the energy centers in our bodies. All the way through from the crown of our head down to our fingers and toes. These energy currents or channels (in the yoga world they are referred to as a network of chakras, prana vayus and nadis) are essential for bringing nourishment to our physical systems in our bodies as well as cultivating a sense of balance in our emotional bodies.

I just had my birthday. I feel so joyous to have experienced one more trip around the sun and I am feeling especially alive and energetic as I am in the podcast studio recording today. I am feeling especially awakened to the body of energy that allows us to see that we are more than just our physical dimension. Thus, I feel like I am at the threshold of a doorway if you will. Are you ready to open that doorway and journey towards your heart’s center with me?! Let’s do it. I hope you will accept my little meditation in this podcast as my birthday gift to you. I have been doing this meditation personally and the sense of integration and harmony that it invokes is just, well, really yummy. It is really helping me attune to the free flow of vital energy, so that I can move more fluidly with the natural rhythms of life more smoothly and easily.

The Mudra that we are going to explore today is Vittam Mudra. If you aren’t familiar with the word mudra, it is just a yogic way of saying hand gesture. We use hand gestures, or mudras to direct the breath and awareness in our bodies. Because the health of our subtle body depends on the quantity and quality of the life force energy we receive. It is important that it moves uninterrupted and flows freely. Have you ever noticed when you are stressed how you might hold your breath or that your breath becomes ragged and choppy? Today, we are going to establish the free flow of parana so that you can actually use this as a tool the next time you are experiencing stress.

This is a very calming meditation which balances the second chakra by bringing the energy into the pelvis and abdomen. Vittam mudra activates the water element so fluidity, metal flexibility are supported through the rhythmic abdominal breathing that arises as a result of this gesture which is super great for the health and support of the reproductive and urinary systems in our body. Also, for anyone with back problems, I have found it quite helpful in relaxing the lower back.

Lets begin:

Vittam Mudra, gesture of Vital energy for pranamaya kosha, the energy body

Hold your hands with a slight cup shape in the front of your lower abdomen with the palms facing towards one another with the palms facing each other. Your hands are about 12 inches apart.
Allow the hands to naturally expand away form each other on the inhalation and to rest gently back towards each other on the exhalation.
Relax the shoulders up, back and down with the spine naturally aligned.
Take a deep breath in - inner body bright, release deep breath out - outer body soft.

As you hold vittam mudra, just begin to take several breaths in and out to attune to all the feelings and all the sensations that are awakened by holding this hand gesture.

Take a few moments to notice how your breath is gently being directed into your pelvis and abdomen, allow this experience to bring forth a spring of vital energy.

Continue your rhythmic breath and witness how the abdomen rises and falls in synchronicity with the breath.

As your abdomen, hands and breath move in harmony, take some time to sense this vibrant energy awakening within your inner spring.

As this energy expands, you are able to naturally channel it into each area of your body. Thus, reestablishing the free flow of parana, your life force, thus optimizing your health and well being.

With your next inhale, gather the energy of your inner spring and as you exhale channel your prana down to your legs, feet and toes.

Take several such breaths and sense how your legs and feet begin to soften energetically in synchronicity with your abdominal breathing.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

With your next inhaling breath, return to gathering your inner spring and as you exhale sense the vital energy infusing your lower back down and through your buttocks.

Sense the lower back and buttocks pulsing in synchronicity with your abdominal breathing.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Inner body bright, outer body soft

With your next inhaling breath, return to gathering your inner spring and as you exhale sense the vital energy infusing your solar plexus at your navel center, your chest, mid and upper back.
Experience the nourishment of prana in these areas as they expand and pulse in synchronicity with your abdominal breathing. Feel them being bathed with vital energy.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Centering breath in, centering breath out

Your entire torso down to your toes are nourished completely, now allow the life force energy to be channeled into your shoulders, arms and hands, filling your upper extremities.

Continue with the breath, continue sensing these areas expanding and releasing in synchronicity with your abdominal breathing. Feel them being infused with vital life force energy.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Inner body bright, outer body soft.

Next, return to that column of life force energy that is running along your spinal column at the very center of your being. Allow the pran to radiate out from your inner spring. Sense your entire being expanding and softening energetically as it continues to synchronize with your rhythmic breathing.

You are completely attuned to your energetic body. I invite you to repeat with me either aloud or in your mind's eye the following three times…

“As my life force flows freely throughout my body, I experience optimal vitality”
“As my life force flows freely throughout my body, I experience optimal vitality”
“As my life force flows freely throughout my body, I experience optimal vitality”

Slowly, release the gesture taking several breaths to experience the complete embodiment of this meditation.

When you are ready, butterfly open your eyes, returning to the present slowly and gently grounded and fully present in your energy body, the pranamaya kosha.

How do you feel my friend? It is my heart's deepest desire for you to experience the oneness and unity that arises through meditations work. I know the transformational journey isn’t always an easy path. I really love using hand mudras to guide the breath. Did you notice how almost immediately the hand gesture changed the speed, focus, location and quality of the breath? Wow, as I was doing the meditation I really felt the massaging effect on my lower back. It released a lot of tension and tightness. At the physical level this meditation supports the return and exchange of blood and lymphatic fluids from our lower extremities so we can get rid of waste and it is fantastic for our immunity. I also love the mental effects of meditation on the body. With repetition it has certainly instilled a sense of fluidity and adaptability to help me cultivate emotional balance and as prana flows more freely, we experience a deepening connection with the more subtle layers of our being. So, I hope you will use this meditation and do it over and over. I have been creating 21 day habit challenges for 2021. Can you commit to a 21 day meditation practice with me? I hope so because with repetition, using breath and meditation, you can establish a firm foundation that I know will bring you a real sense of integration and harmony. This work, it is your foundation to support optimal health, healing and wellbeing.

Again, I am going to continue to sprinkle these meditations in between my longer podcast episodes. So, be sure to hit subscribe and turn on your notifications so that you get alerted to their release or go to my website girlfriends guru.com and sign up for my bi monthly newsletter. The next meditation to heart center is the manomaya kosha or psycho emotional body. I hope you will continue your journey inward with me.

Real happiness isn't something we endlessly chase nor is it brief bursts of joy. Chasing joy and happiness in the future will never make us happy in the present. You my friend have the power to create lasting happiness and it starts right now. Tap into the wisdom at your heart center. Elevate to the realm of joy where Love and light is always flowing. I am thinking of our last episode together - how to capture Joie De Vivre and Create Happiness Daily.

I encourage you to relisten to that episode to help you to let go of comfort and expand into new horizons. In life, we do need to continually grow or we risk stagnation. Tap into the cycles of nature - birth, growth, decay and death. Embrace non attachment, take that first step towards a life of joie de vivre. Open wide your heart and wings and soar into a new life. Allow yourself to reflect on all the little miracles that are happening all around you. You have got this my friend. I am here to support you.

It is on my heart to share these tools for transformation because I want everyone to boost self love, compassion, extend understanding and even maybe there is even a little bit of forgiveness. If you are new to meditation or hand mudras I just give these practices a try - they may just have a profound effect on how you relate to yourself and others. If you know of someone with whom you would like to share this podcast, please do not hesitate to do so.

I believe that we're shards of glass broken from the same vessel. It is in looking at our own pieces of shattered glass that we seek to unify these pieces and recognize that same light in others.
I am here to support you, you know where to find me, GirlfriendsGuru.com but regardless of the actions you choose to take, the essential element will be the internal gesture of choosing to remain in love, It’s all that is needed. - Until next time - Love and Light - Namaste !!!