Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy — the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.

Brene Brown
From the book:
“The Gifts of Imperfection” Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – Your Guide To A Wholehearted Life

In addition to meditation, I use a variety of breathing techniques that create a balanced state. One of them that I love is “Pulling in Light.”

Here’s how to do it:

Imagine a round ball of light (like a disco ball)  about 2 feet above your head.

Take a deep breath in and imagine from the disco ball, light coming down through the ball in through the crown of the head and into the body. Imagine the light being any color that comes to mind OR a golden or white light. This light rests first in the heart then after filling up the heart center and lung area, it moves down with every inhalation, filling up the solar plexus (3rd chakra area -above the naval), then the 2nd chakra, (below the belly button)  and eventually the light pulls into the ground roots us on the earth. See the roots shooting from the bottom of your feet into the earth.

Next, imagine the light coming down through your crown and resting  in the throat area and now  filling this area up. Next, pull the light into the  6th chakra/3^rd eye (between the brows) and lastly, imagine the light coming into the top of the head (crown) and then shooting back up to the heavens.

Continue to breath in the light and go back to the heart center, watching it in your minds eye, expanding out and eventually filling up the entire room. There is no time requirement to do this. 1 minute would be of benefit if you don’t do any other  intentional breathing, but doing this for 5 minutes minimally would be ideal.

This breathing exercise pulls an abundance of universal light into your body which promotes healing on all levels of your being (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual). It is also extremely relaxing and centering. You may see colors and that’s fine. You cannot get this wrong, only right, which leads to total relaxation….