Author: Ki McGraw

This practice involves inhaling for 10 seconds while raising the arms to the side of the body up overhead, opened to about a 60° angle. The hands are formed into soft fists with the thumbs pointing toward one another. The breath is held for approximately 40 seconds. exhale slowly for 10 seconds, allowing the arms to come back down to the lap.

This one minute long breath gives us a chance to reset many internal systems. I repeat it twice. It is especially good for warding off repeated headaches.

As mercury continues to be retrograde, I am supported in returning to yesterday’s post, with the following further detail. Visualize each syllable entering through the crown and exiting through the 3rd eye.

Sa enters the crown and exits 3rd eye.Ta enters crown and exits 3rd eye. Na enters crown and exits 3rd eye. Ma enters crown and exits 3rd eye. For all 11 minutes, visualize truth entering as well as exiting.

This next practice involves chanting for 11 minutes. Beginning in full voice for 2 minutes then a quieter voice for 2 minutes then in silence for 3 minutes then in the quiet voice for 2 minutes then ending with full voice for 2 minutes. Sa Ta Na Ma invokes the vibration of truth.

With each syllable, press your thumb together with each of your four digits. One by one, chanting the syllables as you press them to each digit with a significant amount of pressure. This helps to anchor the vibration of truth into your body.

Conclude by taking long slow deep breath‘s, and retaining that for as long as it is comfortable, sending that vibration into all of the levels of being.

On this new moon, I share with you my next practice in the morning which I learned from Sufism. It’s called Dhikr. Repeated 11 times, inhaling, I circle my head to the left shoulder and down to my heart, and up to the right shoulder and back up to upright. Doing so I say silently “there is no God“ on the outer realm. I take a sip of water.

On my exhale, I descend my head towards my heart and say silently “but God” within my heart. Doing so, I deepen the practice of working within to find light, love, and the peace that are the attributes of the one I referred to here as God.

Continuing to utilize this Mercury retrograde phase to share with you my morning practices. Doing so now as we approach this New Moon phase will support you in setting your own intentions for the practices that will serve you the best.

Initially, I chanted the Gayatri mantra 3x with mudras. Many versions are out there, and you can chant along with me on my YouTube channel, or on our website. And many other songs could be chosen, that are uplifting, traditional, and infusing your day with light.

Ultimately, I have learned the five entire verses in the Indonesian language which are chanted throughout Bali daily, by the school kids, as well as by the priests at all rituals..

Utilizing this wintry mercury retrograde to continue to share with you my morning practices. My next balanced breath practice is regarding physical mortality.

Inhaling for 10 heartbeats contemplating Life, take a sip of water, then exhale for the same 10 heartbeats, contemplating Death. Repeat 4 times. Next, inhale for 10 heartbeats, contemplating Life in the Presence of the One, (who you may call God, Great spirit, or any of your preferred names), take a sip, and exhale for 10 heartbeats, contemplating Death in the Presence. Repeat four times.

The third set of four balanced breaths is similar with the following change. Inhaling for 10 heartbeats, contemplating Death in the Presence, take a sip, and exhaling for 10 heartbeats, contemplating Death in the Presence. Repeat four times. Lastly, inhale for 10 heartbeats, contemplating the All Pervading Light in Space, take a sip, and exhale for 10 heartbeats, contemplating the All Pervading Light in Space. Repeat four times.

Continuing to share with you details of my morning practice for your own usage…

After my chakras are cleansed, and I am grounded, I begin with four sets of four balanced breaths for each of the four Elements of the body. Earth, Water, Fire and Air all respond to breath entering and exiting differently. Feel free to start with a shorter amount of time with each breath, as needed.

Earth (physical) cleansing occurs as we inhale through both nostrils for 10 heartbeats and exhale for 10 heartbeats also through the nostrils. Water (emotional) cleansing occurs in as we inhale through both nostrils for 10 heartbeats and exhale for 10 heartbeats through the mouth. Fire (spiritual) cleansing occurs as we reverse that, inhaling through the mouth for 10 heartbeats and exhaling through the nostrils for 10 heartbeats. Air (mental) cleansing occurs as we inhale through the mouth for 10 heartbeats and exhale also through the mouth for 10 heartbeats. I take little sips of water after each breath.

How balanced are you feeling? Which elements do you most relate to?Ki to Happiness relates to all Elements with balance.

With mercury retrograde, I continue to back up into descriptions of my morning practices. In addition to breathing into each chakra and invoking Lord Shiva, I use particular hand positions (mudras) to direct energy.

In a comfortable seated position with hands face down in the lap, a gentle fist can be made with four fingers coming to the base of the palm of the hand and thumbs outward pointing towards one another. This position is for the root chakra. doing this as I inhale invoking Lord Shiva, exhale, and take a sip of water cleanses that energy center.

Similarly, for each of the subsequent chakras, with a 15° incremental movement with thumbs shifting upward by 15° for the second chakra, another 15° for the solar plexus chakra another 15°, (now thumbs are straight up) for the heart chakra, another 15° now wider open with the thumbs for the throat chakra, another 15 wider open for the third eye chakra, another 15° wider open, (now the thumbs are pointing away from each other) for the crown chakra, and lastly another 15° wider opening outward and download slightly, for the transpersonal point. The final grounding breath retraces each of these angles with thumbs wide open, invoking Lord Shiva, and then rotating the thumbs back down until returning to the start position. Concluding with palms face down on the lab for grounding purposes.

What hand position are you most often in unconsciously?Did you know you could direct energy with your hands? Ki to Happiness appreciates these handy mudras.

Mercury has just shifted it’s apparent orientation, and now appears to be going backwards, bringing us all an opportunity to redo, rewrite, revisit, reevaluate our communication, as well as transportation. This gives me a chance to back up and further illuminate my morning practices.

Once I have invoked my Higher Self, lit the candle, and have my water at the ready, I take nine slow deep breaths invoking Lord Shiva. He is the first Yogi, and his number is nine, which is the number of completion. In this way, the anthropomorphic principle of Lord Shiva completes energies with which we are finished.

I breathe into each of my seven major energy centers (chakras) with his mantra, (Om Namah Shivaya) taking a sip of water before each exhale. My eighth and ninth breath are all the way up to the transpersonal point, 18 inches above the head, to remove designated energy in that “seat of my soul”. In my ninth breath I integrate all 8 points, starting with the transpersonal point, and descending through crown, 3rd eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, genitals and root, concluding with the grounding mudra, hands face down on my lap.

What communication do you wish to redo? Which energies are you reevaluating as ready to be complete? Ki to Happiness calls on assistance for daily cleansing on all levels. 

Continuing to share with you the various aspects of my morning practice, I light a candle.Simply sitting with the candle light and enjoying the sense of warmth and presence it exudes is meditation. Yogis, swamis, priests, shaman all sit by the fire, the flame, or a candle. This connects us to all others who have participated this most basic spiritually centering practice throughout all of history.

The flame is like our spiritual aspirations,buffeted about by the changing winds. The wick, like our spine keeping our heads upright, keeps our efforts ever Upward. The wax is like our daily experiences, which when processed, melts, in order to keep the flame of aspiration burning.

How does the candle serve you? What other object may bring you such a service?Ki to Happiness lives close to the flame.