Guided Practices: Surrender
Special**Sri Shambhavananda leads a Surrender Meditation on the Breath
In his recent Satsang, Babaji led a breath meditation practice focusing specifically on how to watch the breath without doership— aka, with surrender. Multiple times within the practice we are told to relax, to observe and allow the breath to work us, instead of us working it. It is important to note that many of the cues in this practice were advanced energetic cues, and may not be suitable in your specific teaching environment. Also, we should always remember to only teach what we have experienced— so just because Babaji says it doesn’t mean that we should give the same cue. Enjoy!
Surrender and the Breath
Surrender Meditation is generally associated with the heart, as it is taught in Sacred Journey, but it can also be approached through practices like pranayama and breath meditation. In this guided audio meditation I talk a little bit about experiencing surrender in our breathing practices, and use it as a natural segway to a Ham Sah breath meditation.
Surrender and Mantra
Swami Rudunanda’s practice of asking deeply from the heart to grow and surrender is a powerful practice that can transform your mantra practice. In this guided meditation, we begin by repeating Swami Rudrananda’s mantra “I deeply wish to Grow” (which is synonymous and can also be replaced with the wish to surrender) in order to understand the mechanism of ‘increasing sincerity’ which is at the heart of the practice. We then transfer that mechanism to our Om Namah Shivaya mantra practice in order to ensure that our work always drives us deeper and deeper to our hearts, the source of our wish. You’ll find that this practice really gives you the tactile sense of ‘growth’, and helps you bring it to the often repetitive practice of mantra.
Surrender and the Heart
Traditionally the practice of surrender is taught through our work directly with the heart. Specifically, we use the inhale to expand beyond the tensions we feel in the heart, and our exhale to deeply release our attachments there. This process of expansion and release creates the experience of Surrender, of growth. In this guided meditation we use the heart, our breath, and a little bit of visualization to reach for this goal.