Power Meditation

This is my favorite personal empowerment meditation. I do this shit ALL THE TIME. Whenever I need to. Whenever I need to recenter and remember the power that I  have in my own life. Meaning, very specifically, I do this in times when I feel that my sense of power is being challenged and I am needing a visceral reminder of the fact that my life belongs to me, and that I command it.

OK, this is a moving meditation. It is about synchronizing action and intention. You can practice at home, and then you can apply it in other aspects of your life.

If you’re a person who gets around by walking, it’s best to do this standing up. If you get around by wheelchair or other mobility device, you can do this sitting. You’ll need your mobility device, because we’re about to move.

First we need to establish proper posture. Give your spirit room. So, I want you to stand or sit upright. Stay looking forward, but reach above your head so that you are stretching to the ceiling/sky and inhale through your nose. Then, as  you exhale, slowly stretch your arms out to your sides on their way back down to your side, but while you do this and exhale, don’t drop your chest. Keep your ribs expanded and your shoulders level as you exhale and bring your arms down. This movement leaves you sitting/standing tall, with your back in the proper position. You’ll also notice that in order to exhale without dropping your shoulders, it accidentally forces you into diaphragmatic/belly breathing. Nice.

Ok, now that you’re discovering how tall you are, stay at your full height and breathe slowly, in through your nose, out through your mouth, without dropping your chest, head, shoulders, or upper back. You can do this by allowing your diaphragm to drop and come back up, or by allowing your lower ribs to expand laterally. As you get used to this position and breathing pattern, slowly start to walk or move forward, but as you do, picture that instead of you moving your body forward as you move, you are pushing so that you are changing how the earth is rotating, pushing everything behind you.

This is not about discarding troubling things. It is not about force. It is not about escape. This is about centering yourself as the source of power and stability in your life, so that instead of changing yourself to fit your world, you are secure and stable and evoking power within your world to effect the desired change and outcome.

You are the author of your life.

You might need to do this slowly at first, until your consciousness shifts and you can feel the world is moving at your will instead of you moving through the world. But as you become comfortable with this perspective and sensation, you will be able to do the meditation at will while walking or moving at speed. Always start with establishing posture and breathing to the best of your ability.

I like to do this when I am walking into an interview. A work meeting, An exam. A challenging social event. A challenging conversation. Or anything else where I need to feel both confident and calm. If done correctly, this is not a meditation of arrogance or control. But of stability and fluid ease, recognizing that you are moving your world to fit your needs, but also, you exist in someone else’s periphery. To them, you are a part of the world moving around them.

It is ok to desire power. It is not ok to get that power by stealing someone else’s.

All the best to you as you move forward crafting the story of your life.

– Hopper