Guided Meditation on Finding Inner Balance

Melody Hansen leads a 30-minute guided meditation to help you find your inner balance.
Melody is a longtime meditation and yoga teacher at Ananda's guest retreat, the Expanding Light.

Transcript

Melody Hansen:

Welcome friends to a guided meditation for finding inner balance. Let's begin in a comfortable seated position. Whether you're in a chair or on the floor, just make sure that your spine is erect, chest open, shoulders relaxed, and chin level with the floor.

Let's close our eyes and gently lift our gaze up slightly above horizontal. And bring your awareness to your heart center, the center of your chest where we have our capacity for feeling.

Let's take a few deep breaths from the abdomen all the way up into the chest, opening the heart. Imagine a beautiful lotus flower blossoming opening at your heart center. And feel that you're opening and embracing all that life has to offer you at this moment.

Guiding Us to the Divine Presence in Meditation

Call to mind a time in your life where you felt a great sense of inner joy. Focus on how that memory makes you feel right now. Center that feeling in your heart. Keeping your mind and your thoughts quiet and still. And as you breathe, feel that you're opening to a Divine presence within yourself and all around you that presents which is joy, happiness, and fulfillment.

And with that vibration, let's begin our meditation with a prayer. Feel free to bring your palms together in a prayer position and repeat after me if you feel to.

Heavenly Father, Divine Mother. Friend, Beloved God, Great Masters of Self Realization, Jesus Christ, Babaji Krishna, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, and Paramhansa Yogananda. Saints of all religions. We bow to you all. Oh, Divine Mother, help us to open our hearts so we may feel your Divine presence in all that we do. Harmonize our hearts so that we may share your love with all whom we meet. We are your children. Guide us home to thee. Aum, peace, amen.

Chanting in Meditation

Let's go into meditation now, helping to open the heart with a chant by Paramhansa Yogananda titled, Thou art my life. The words are; Though art my life. Though art, my love. Though art the sweetness which I do seek. Though art my life. Though art, my love. Though art the sweetness which I do seek. In the thought by my love brought. In the thought by my love brought. I taste Thy name. So sweet, so sweet. Devotee knows how sweet you are. Devotee knows how sweet you are. He knows whom you let know. He knows whom you let know. Now (Chant 3x)

Guided Meditation for Beginners

Let's take the vibration of this chant into meditation now, checking our posture and making any last physical adjustments we need to. And then, let's make sure the body is relaxed by tensing and relaxing it three times with the double breath. So breathe in twice through the nose and tense your body. Squeeze everything twice out through the mouth. Relax again, double inhale, and tense. Double exhale. Relax once more.

Keeping the gaze up-turn throughout the meditation. This will help you to keep your mind focused. Let's begin with several rounds of measured breathing to the count of six. We’ll inhale for six counts, hold the breath, and exhale for six counts. This will bring the mind and the breath into one harmonious flow.

Let's begin our inhalation, hold the breath, and exhale through the nose. Inhale again. Take your time. Hold the breath and gaze upwards. Exhale. Continue inhaling, holding the breath but staying relaxed. And exhale nice and slowly. Let's do two more rounds. Inhale, like you're drawing in the quality of peace. Hold the breath and exhale; release any sense of fatigue. Once more, inhale peace, hold the breath, and expel fatigue. Take a nice deep breath in. Deep breathe out.

Let go of the measured breathing technique. Begin to watch your breath as it flows at its own pace. Watch your breath as though you're watching someone else breathe. At first, you might notice the physical aspects of your breath and then gradually begin to notice the air as it enters and exits the nostrils. Continue to watch your breath as though you're watching the waves roll in and out at the shore.

Now let's add the mantra, or words of power, as the breath flows in, mentally think Hong, H O N G; as the breath flows out, mentally think Sau, S A U, Hong on the in-breath, Sau on the out-breath, meaning I am He or I am Spirit. Hong Sau.

If you find it helpful to add one last technique, you can use your right index finger, curling it in towards you when you inhale, and as you exhale, it gently points away from you. Hong, the finger curls in. Sau, it straightens out. If you find that distracting, you can also release that aspect of the Hong Sau technique.

And every time your mind wanders, gently bring it back to focusing at the point between the eyebrows, observing the breath, and inwardly practicing Hong Sau. Let's practice in this way for the next five minutes together.

Let's release the Hong Sau technique now by taking a deep breath in and deep breath out. Breathe naturally now, no longer observing the breath, just simply noticing the fruits of your meditation practice and how you feel at this time.

One of the goals of yoga is to calm our heart’s feelings so that we can perceive our highest reality, our highest potential. Love is the essence of reality. So let's focus on the heart center once again, feeling a peace, a joy, and a state of harmony gained from our meditation. And as you breathe, feel that you're opening yourself and your heart to the Divine presence behind all of life’s circumstances.

Let's use an affirmation to remind us to take this peace and harmony out into our day, no matter what events happen around us. Let's use an affirmation by Swami Kriyananda.

Though the winds of difficulties howl around me, I stand forever calmly at the center of life’s storms.

And let's close our meditation now by sharing the blessings we have received with others. You can bring your palms together in front of the heart. We'll practice Paramhansa Yogananda's healing prayer technique. Call to mind anyone you wish to pray for, especially those in need of physical, mental, or emotional healing. Include your friends and family members at a distance. And in your mind's eye, let's see them surrounded in God's radiant healing light. Let's ask that we may be instruments for this light, that it may flow through us and out to them. Magnetizing our hands with healing energy. Let's rub the palms together and raising the hands; let’s chant Aum three times, sending the vibration of spirit out to all.

Aum Aum Aum

May your life be blessed with the perfect harmony of your innermost heart.