2. Tantric Exercises

Transcript

Episode 2, Practice, Meditation of Inner Alchemy So now that we've gone through some of the basics of Tantra, it's starting to look at the splits in our lives. We will do a little meditation to merge the splits back into wholeness, called Inner Alchemy, coming from a Chinese Dao tradition. So pick one of the conflicts you discovered earlier, and for this meditation you want to sit down comfortably, and we are going to use our bodies, or more specifically our hands to work with healing energy.

In the right hand, you will imagine the part of the dilemma that is more young, more energetic, more active, extroverted, structured, and organized. In the left hand, the more yin side of the dilemma, the side that is lacking energy, more in the shadow, internal, relaxed, or drawn back. So what we will do is to feel into each one of these energies, and as we do this meditation, make sure to also move your center out to the hands, following with your face, and even if your eyes are closed, following the energy as it moves from one hand to the next, as if your eyes were open, where your attention goes, your energy flows.

So find a comfortable seat, and a tall spine, and place your hands out so that the palms of the hands are facing up, relaxing at the elbows, maybe resting your hands on a table, and make sure that the hands are at the height of the heart, and take a deep breath in. Now start to imagine the situation you want to focus on. See the people involved, the place where it takes place, and bring as much detail you can to the situation.

Now keeping your eyes closed, turn your face towards the right hand. Give your attention and focus to one side of the dilemma. The side that is the most prevalent and more energetic in nature.

The side of the dilemma you show or talk to others about. The part of the dilemma that is in the light. Now switch to sense into what feelings are present in this particular situation.

See if you can locate how the feeling shows up. How does it make you feel? Is there any one feeling that is more present than others? Or are there many feelings at the same time? Just notice without judgment.

Now move from the feeling into the energy. What is the energy behind it all? Is there an energy of expansion or contraction? Maybe there is a color attached to the story.

Locate now a ball of energy in your right palm that represents this side. This one aspect behind the situation. Your desire or maybe it's a pattern in your life.

Whatever it is, give it an energetic quality and feel as if this ball of energy, this energy of she, almost touches the skin of your hand as if the energy almost fills your hand. Now let's bring your attention back to the center and move your face along with it back to center, keeping your eyes closed. Now let's face the left hand and feel your left palm.

Let's imagine the other side of the scenario or conflict. Bring your attention to this part. Maybe seeing it from a more objective side than usual.

Take some time now to connect to the feeling that comes up. Allow the feeling or feelings to fuse into an energy, a vibration. Giving this side of the scenario an energetic charge and allowing to melt into your palm, creating a ball of energy.

Maybe there's a color attached here as well. Maybe a density. Allow yourself to feel in to this ball of energy.

Now leave that in your palm and come back to center, keeping your eyes closed, bringing your face back to center. Feeling both balls now in the palms of your hands and let's revisit again the ball of energy in your right hand. Feel into the energy without going back into the story.

Just repeat to yourself the feelings and the energy. Then come back to the middle and now move over towards the left palm, feeling into the other energy residing here. Then come back to the center and feel into the two balls of energy, two chi balls of energy.

Slowly, very, very gently turn the palms to face each other. Very gently and slowly start bringing the palms of the hands, the balls of energy towards each other, towards the center, very slowly so you do not lose the energy. And as the hand starts to come closer towards the center, allow the two chi balls to touch.

Allow them to meet each other, eventually pulsating together as they meet in front of your heart. Pulsating the energy there with the palms of the hands facing each other, allowing the two different energies to merge and dance together. Eventually merging into one ball of energy, allowing the energetic pulsation to merge, becoming one.

And breathe with the energy. Allow the pulsation of your heart to merge with the energy in front of your heart, creating space and a flow of love. Breathing into your heart and allowing the exhale to bring more energy into the space in front of your heart.

After a while, you notice that the energy is taking a new form, as if the two energies merging into a new chemical compound. Holding now the ball of energy in front of your heart at a still point, feeling into the new combined energy forming in front of you. Maybe there's a feeling of unity, of love or compassion.

As you inhale now, pause to just sip this energy into your being. When you exhale, move the ball of energy down towards your belly, gently placing the palms of your hands onto your lower belly, just below your belly button, allowing the energy to enter your system, merging back into your body. Breathing that ball into the core of your being, integrating it into your very center, making it become part of yourself, of your inner being.

Take some deep grounding breaths, allowing the ball to move into every cell, as you find the still point underneath your hands, breathing yourself into a relaxed, calm state, as if the ball now has integrated, dissolved. Bringing the hands back up to face each other in front of the heart, allow yourself to bow to yourself, to the integration that took place, to the inner alchemy of your being. Bow to the universe and allow yourself to feel gratefulness to your own inner light that is one with the cosmic light.

Namaste.