Welcome to Day 4 of my free 21 Day Yoga Challenge. I’ve included a 9 minute audio meditation that you can use in your practice to settle and anchor the mind. This meditation uses a pranayama (breathing practice) with a kumbhaka (a pause in breathing).

Today, the pause on the inhale will represent what you’d like to bring more of into your life, what brings you joy. During your meditation, you can set an intention around this idea. In more general terms, a pause during the inhale helps bring more prana or energy to the body. So if you are sleepy, you can use the pause on the inhale to wake you up.

By contrast, the association that we’ll use today for the pause on the exhale is the ability to surrender or let go. Set an intention for something that you are ready to let go of, such as a relationship that no longer works, a pain in the body, etc. In more general terms, a pause on the exhale is calming for the body and mind, so that’s a perfect practice to do to help you get to sleep or to relieve anxiety.

Let me know how you like this and how it works for you.

Namaste,

Suzanne