Posted on December 20, 2009 - by Jennifer

30 Day Meditation Challenge: Day 14

Saturday December 19, 2009: Again today I meditated immediately following a yoga practice but this time it was a flowing sun salutation practice. ¬†So, when I finished and sat for meditation, my heart rate was up and my body was warm. ¬†My mind felt relatively steady. ¬†I decided to meditate in the style that came naturally in the moment and, after a few minutes, began the ham sa/so ham mantra practice. ¬†As I have described in earlier posts, I sometimes get kind of “stuck” in the ham sa practice when I try to move the energy up my spine. ¬†Sometimes I start to get slightly anxious, sometimes breathing seems more labored, and sometimes I feel a very slight choking sensation. ¬†But, in this meditation, the breath seemed to flow very freely and I could really feel energy traveling upward. ¬†Again, in past meditations, the energy seemed to radiate out from my center in a sort of wing-like fashion, rather than up to the crown of my head. ¬†But yesterday I could feel a very steady, strong pulse rising up to the crown. ¬†It was pretty intense, almost like this energy was trying desperately to escape through my skull and rise further. ¬†It was an exact counter to the previous day when it felt like there was a force trying to really pin me to the ground. ¬† I decided to just sit with the sensation for the remainder of the meditation. ¬†I do wonder about the effects of both yoga practices – so different in style – on the meditations that followed.