How to build a morning meditation routine?
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Many of you have asked about building a morning meditation routine. In this episode, Chandresh shares how you can not only have a morning routine but how to nurture the chakra healing, follow a simple tantra ritual, and maintain consistency with a morning meditation. This episode will hopefully encourage you and inspire you to start a new routine in the morning because morning and evening meditations are very different in nature. If you can build a morning routine, it is going to have its own healing impact.
To learn more about Pritesh, visit his website at www.thepriteshshah.com.
Episode Transcript
We don't meditate to fix something. We don't do it to heal our wounds. We meditate because there's no other, better way to show love for our existence. We meditate because it's an unending love affair with the unknown, with the divine. The day we start to calculate why we must meditate, that's the day our meditation becomes technical, and stops being a love affair. Today, when you meditate, don't make it conditional, don't make it transitional. Keep it simple. Keep it easy.
I am Chandresh Bhardwaj, and this is Leela Gurukul.
Namaste, everyone. I hope you're feeling relaxed, safe, grounded, happy, wherever you are. Before we get on to today's topic, quick technical announcements. I am suspending the conscious texting number. That's the number that I used to have and you could all text me on it, I would reply to you, but that number, that service is limited to only US and Canada, and many of you are from Europe.
I wanted something that's easier, with more features, globally connected, and to make it happen, I have started a channel on Telegram app. Telegram is a safe, quick, easy texting app basically, but with lots of amazing features. The channel is Leela Gurukul. I'm the only one who has access to this channel for now, as an admin, so whenever you hear from that channel, it's me responding to your texts, connecting to all of you. Install the Telegram app, look up Leela Gurukul, and you will join the channel. The link will also be on the show notes. I think this will help us to connect from wherever you are.
Second announcement, many of you asked, "When is the next cohort of Conscious Meditation starting?" The next cohort will begin in a month or two. We are going to open the applications really soon. Make sure you are on the Leela Gurukul email list, because that's where we open the applications to everyone, and it's on first-come, first-served basis, so once we fill in the cohort, we close the applications. Make sure you're on the email list. This cohort will be the last one for now. I'm working on something else for Leela Gurukul, so once we fill up this cohort, I'm not sure when I'll launch the next round of conscious meditation program. So, if you have been thinking, wondering, analyzing, calculating, this should be the group that you should be on. And of course, as always, me and my team, we are there for you to answer any questions.
And now let's get on to the topic of today: building a morning meditation routine in tantric perspective, in tantric traditions.
Thank you, Nakisha, by the way, for asking me this question, and for giving me an inspiration to record an entire podcast on it. Nakisha texted me and she said, "I know you have talked about meditation routine before, but all of those routines are for the night. What about the morning meditation routine?" And I think that's a wonderful point.
To first of all begin with, I never noticed, never thought that all the meditation routines I have given you guys are the night meditation routines. One of the reasons for that is because in tantra, we work with many deities, many energies which are more activated, more aligned and active after sunset. Many rituals are designed to be more present after sunset. That's one of the reasons why you have most of the meditation routines from me for the night.
Secondly, some of you may be wondering, especially the new listeners, "Why do we need a morning meditation routine? Can't we just meditate anywhere, any time? Isn't meditation accessible everywhere? Why do we need a routine for it in the morning?"; why there's a need for all the rituals that I'm going to share.
You know, today, in these times, meditation has taken on many meanings; like how we have seen yoga being confined to sort of a gym activity, sort of a physical workout, and nothing more. I feel meditation is heading to that direction, where people see meditation as a way of relaxing, a way of listening to gentle music, and just getting on with your activity after that, but in tantric traditions, meditation is a whole act of being a witness. It means working with certain energies. It means working through a spiritual science to activate your potential, transcend your emotions, and really unleash the true power in you. It's a much deeper, wide, infinite subject to go into. I try to keep it as simple as possible, and when we meditate through tantra, we are working with certain energies. We are activating a certain dormant power in us. This is why tantra meditations have always been very much confined to people who were seen as rebellious, revolutionaries, or even the powerful people of society because they really activated those energies within.
Thankfully, the tantra traditions are more accessible, more available. That's a blessing and curse, too. It's a blessing, obviously, because we all can actually dive into that; it's a curse because now there's going to be more misuse and abuse, but that's with every science, every knowledge, every piece of information out there. Let's just hope that we continue to stay ethical and honest to this ancient practice.
Now, I want to briefly explain you what's the core difference between the morning and the evening meditation practices in tantra. When we meditate in the night, we connect with certain specific forms of the goddesses, like Goddess Kali has many forms, and in the night we connect with a form that's more intense, more fierce, much more on a higher frequency. And when we meditate on Goddess Kali in the mornings, it's a very different form of her that we invite in. We invite in a gentle, more aligned, playful form of the goddesses, or other deities, or other energies. It's simply the principle of working with the nature, being in alignment with the nature out there.
Just like our way that the Indian medicine system, it teaches us to eat certain food based on what the collective consciousness is out there, what the temperature, the nature of the place you are at, the same way tantra will say you've got to meditate based on what's the temperature within you, and what's the vibe around you. So, you work with certain energies at a certain time.
And it's really fascinating, actually, because there are days devoted to certain specific energies as well, so that makes the daily routine of meditation even more interesting. For example, as I'm recording this podcast, it's a Monday today, and Mondays are devoted to Shiva consciousness; the founder of tantra, the Adi Yogi, one of the first teachers, first energy beings in the tantra traditions. Tomorrow is Tuesday. That's the day of Goddess Kali. Friday is the day of Goddess Lakshmi, or Goddess Shidubidia, even more a tantric form of Goddess Lakshmi. So, the days are divided, and that's why the rituals are also divided.
Now, there are a bunch of ways to look at the morning meditation. I'm going to share what I share with my students, and the kind of practice I also follow, so hopefully it will be helpful. As always, do send me your questions, and join the Telegram channel so that we can dive into these conversations on a very one-on-one level there. Okay.
Now, here's what I suggest and do. The last thought before you sleep becomes your first thought in the morning, so in order to build your morning meditation routine, be mindful of, what are you indulging in a night before? If you sleep too late, if you indulge in certain kind of heavy food, if you watch a certain kind of show that has a bit of disturbing, intense impact on your mind, that's not going to work too well for your meditation next morning.
I suggest keep your evenings light, easy on stomach, easy on the mind. Anything you consume do have an effect next morning, right? The food, the emotions, the information. So, keep your evenings lighter and easier. That will be really important, because the morning time is actually very sacred time. The receptivity is so powerful. The evening receptivity is very different. Physically, you are tired. You have too much on your mind. You have gone through too much in the day. You have consumed food, maybe coffee, tea. Lots of stuff, it has gone in the body, so evening meditations are going to be a different flavor.
But, morning meditations are much more innocent, much more pure in nature, and your receptivity, your third eye, all of it is so vulnerable, in such a beautiful space. And I'm going to suggest this particular routine; just keep in mind you don't have to take too much pressure of following it. I of course recommend discipline and consistency, but sometimes I get messages and you're taking it all too seriously. Do not take it so seriously, please. Have fun with it. It's all right to not be consistent all the time. It's all right to slow down your speed. It's all right to bring back your meditation duration from 30 minutes to three minutes at times. You've got to honor your base. You've got to respect where you are. Do not rush. Do not force yourself into this process.
So, having said that, here's what I do and I recommend. The moment you wake up in the morning, I would suggest wash your face with cold water and instantly sit down to meditate. Now, if some of you need to brush your teeth, go for it. If you need to release stuff from the stomach, you need to go to toilet, go for it. But that's it. Do not start making coffee. Don't start looking at your phone, because then you are going to miss that early-morning high receptive awareness. And I really recommend meditate any time in between 4:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. If it goes beyond 7:30, it's not like you will miss out on all the powerful stuff, but you will see the difference. I never say, "Whatever I'm telling you, you should be following it," but you should listen to what I'm saying, experiment with it, and then figure out what feels like the most empowering way for you. And you'll notice early mornings have a very different collective energy out there. So, if you're able to meditate before 7:30, you're going to notice the rest of your day is going to be much more grounded, much more centered a focused.
After 8:00, the world starts to rush. People are becoming anxious, angry, confused. They're running around, so you're going to feel all that energy. But, before 7:00 a.m., things are much lighter. People are waking up, getting started to the day, and you are going to feel the difference. So, my suggestion is, as soon as you wake up, sit down and meditate. Don't worry about taking a shower, don't worry about sitting by the altar. I mean, if you can, great. Do not meditate on the bed. Get out of the bed. Sit on your cushion, light a candle if you want to, but start building this very simple step every morning. Meditate as the first thing you do. The first thing. If you don't have to brush your teeth, don't go for it, just wash your face. Don't keep your phone next to you. Sit down.
And the morning chakras are the naval chakra and heart chakra. I would recommend don't focus too much on the heart center as well, just focus it on the lower three chakras, especially the naval center. Early mornings are very vulnerable for the naval center, and you can keep your hands around the naval, breathe in, hold your breath, and breathe out. Do that for a few moments. Go through your meditation. If you have a mantra, do the mantra. Important step here would be, right after you're done with meditation, place your palms on your eyes. If you have done any live meditation with me on Instagram, you notice that I would lead students into Mayur Pankh Mudra. That's placing your palms on your eyes. Very powerful, very effective to cultivate healing within. I actually recorded a Reel on Instagram a few days ago, so if you can't find the Live video, because I used to do Live a long time ago, you could even go to the Reel on my Instagram and you will notice there's a full-on 10-second video explaining how to do this particular step.
After you're done with the entire meditation, place your palms on your eyes. Breathe gently. Do it for two minutes. After that, read your intention. You could also read your intentions before you start, but for the morning meditations, I recommend read your intention and write the intention after you are done meditating, because the energy becomes way more active, way more open and alive. For people who have much deeper intentions, much more deeper documentation on their intention, you could even listen. You can record your intention, listen after the meditation. Whatever works for you, go for it, but that would be the point of the morning meditation; to bring strength, bring energy into your intentions.
Once the meditation is done, you can begin your routine, take a shower, have breakfast, and now, if you have time, you can follow a simple ritual that will help you to cultivate much more energy in your day, in your meditation practice. Put some petals or flowers on your altar. Secondly, if you can, play mantras in the background. You could play even any YouTube mantra, anything at all, for 10 to 20 minutes minimum in the morning. This will just recharge, restore, almost reignite the energy of your place.
In tantra, we follow something called the standeita, which means the deity, the energy of that place. Creating an altar, meditating, they're simple ways of activating the good energy of these standeitas, but putting the flowers, lighting incense, playing mantras in the background, they are so powerful, so simple, and they just activate everything.
So, some of you may ask that, "What if I do both steps together? That I offer the flowers, I put on the mantras in the background, and then I meditate in the early morning?" If you could do all of this before 7:30 a.m., great, but I feel sometimes people get so stuck in the sacredness of the rituals that they almost get stressed out, and then the meditation becomes too mechanical because they know that, "Before I meditate, I have to offer flowers. I have to light incense. I have to put on the mantras in the background, and then I will meditate." By that time, it becomes a stressful activity.
What I recommend is, don't take the stress. Start the meditation early morning. Enjoy it. If you can do five minutes, 10 minutes, whatever time you can do, go for it. After that, have breakfast. Just the way you were making your breakfast, the same way, you can do this five-to-10-minute ritual, which involves lighting incense, putting the flowers. And many of you now work from home, and if that's the case, the incense and ... stay there, but if you are going out, I do not recommend keeping incense or candle by just themselves. Make sure both of them are not lighted. You've got to keep these little precautions there.
Secondly, meditating on an empty stomach is always so powerful. We can't do it in the night. And I go through the same struggle; that even if I have a lighter dinner, the stomach still had taken too much the entire day, so the night meditations had their own interesting challenge. I will wait for one or two hours after dinner to meditate. But in the mornings, the stomach is empty. It's lighter, so the effect on the naval center is much more powerful. These are very gentle, sacred chakras, and we want to make sure we don't put too much heaviness on the naval center in the morning so that the meditation energy, the awareness energy can really move on and expand well.
Secondly, to keep the consistency going, I would recommend if you live with a partner, family member, friends, encourage them to meditate with you. I think it just sets the right accountability. You could even create a group, like on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, wherever you connect with your friends. Create a group where two, three, bunch of friends who meditate, you can hold each other accountable. Because morning meditations are, I think, a bit tougher than evening meditations because everyone wants to get started with the day, and it takes extra discipline to get onto the morning meditation.
But, if you can sit, even for 10 to 15 minutes of morning meditation, it's immensely powerful. Especially if you deal with any impulsiveness, any addictive behavior, you'll notice the morning meditations work so well on your emotional health, on your mental health. The night meditations are great for your spiritual transformation, but the morning meditations are so powerful for the mental health space.
And finally, be at ease. Don't think of this as a process that you have to be a perfectionist in it. The tantra teaching is, on this path of meditation, you're not moving from imperfection to perfection, but you're moving from perfection to perfection. So, enjoy, keep it simple, have fun, and I'll see you in another two weeks.
May the teachings of tantra continue to guide you and heal you, and I hope Leela Gurukul helps you to unlearn the old and embrace the unknown mystical possibility unfolding before you. To support this podcast, share it among the seekers who are ready for the next step in their [inaudible 00:21:27].
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