Floating Exercise: The Floating Exercise of Kundalini Tantra

By Rev. David Howell

The floating exercise is an important part of the meditation practices of kundalini Tantra, and as such is normally one of the first exercises taught to a new student. Mastery of the floating exercise can bring alignment to virtually any technique or physical world method wished. The floating exercise can also open the student to alignment to any spiritual world method or benefit imagined. It is important to remember that the simple method of active meditation allows one to find the total universe within and the connections to the total universe without (Microcosm within, Macrocosm without).

 Examples of the things the floating exercise can attain include astral projection, alignment with some physical item the person wishes such as a new automobile, job, money, or other mundane requirement. In the spiritual realm, the student can attain mastery over clairvoyance, become a prophet, seer, psychic, or any other spiritual ability imagined. The Floating Exercise is one of the most powerful tools in the Tantric Path. A simpler and even more important benefit of the floating exercise is that of peace, joy, happiness, and internal rest. The floating exercise allows practitioners a space that is uniquely their own and gives them the space and place to practice happiness in a world of their own making.

 To begin your Floating meditation, you must find a quiet, secure location you can be comfortable in. Quiet is very important since this is an imaging meditation, and TV, radio, or music will keep you from succeeding. Secure is helpful since the exercise is to be done nude and you will need a comfortable space of uninterrupted time to complete the meditation. Set up your space to be able to lie down comfortably for as much as an hour. Falling asleep is OK, so you might as well know that at the start and get rid of any pressure about it. Close the curtains to lower the light levels, cut off all outside sound such as television, radio, and the neighbors, close the doors, and begin to relax. If you cannot cut off the neighbors or other noise, use a new age tape with no words and very simple chording in the instrumentation. Play this to drown out any outside sounds.

 When settled, lie comfortably and fluff pillows about you. Make sure you do not get chilled. Remember to start this exercise nude (you will still be nude when it ends). Begin to relax consciously step-by-step through the muscles of your body. When you feel relaxed from this, begin to slow your breathing from the usual 12 to 14 breaths per minute to about 4 breaths per minute. Do this by counting slowly to seven as you breathe out and again to seven slowly as you breathe in. Do not stop and hold your breath. As soon as you have filled your lungs with air, immediately breathe out. Do not rush the air in or out, allow smooth air movement without forcing. If you feel short of air, you may gasp a few lung-fulls to catch up as you learn to slow your breathing down. Ultimately, you can slow your breath down to one breath per minute. This is very relaxing and aligns you with cosmic energy fields. This breathing technique is a Pranayama method. Continue this exercise for about 12 minutes.

 Now, you begin the Floating exercise by imagining a river and a raft. You will be lying on the raft, nude, with complete visibility so you can see the river all about you. Imagine your river to be completely isolated, containing no traces of civilization. Allow no other humans to intrude into this space. This will be your haven of safety and security.

 Imagine this river fully and completely. Do this well, since you will want to imagine the river exactly the same each time. Make it as lovely as you can imagine and allow no hurtful elements to intrude. If you have butterflies and birds, do not allow the birds to eat the butterflies. Allow the weather to be perfect, whatever that may be to you. For me, it would be a summer's day with warm, nearly hot, temperatures and a slight breeze that mitigates the heat to a comfortable level. The sky would be bright blue with a few fluffy clouds and the river a gentle wash of blue and white reflections and some gentle, breeze produced waves. The shore is of low, sharp mountains and cliffs with pines, spruces, and firs abounding. Rocks line most of the shore with a few sandy beaches showing for easy landing. The fish rise gently to check the surface of the water and the air has a visible number of butterflies and bluebirds.

 The raft may be any design you believe fits your character. It may be Huck Finn's raft on the Mississippi, or Cleopatra's raft on the Nile. It can be whatever you wish, so long as you are fully exposed on a comfortable bed on the raft and can see all the river you are on at any time. You are lying nude on the raft and enjoying perfect security and peace. Once you have designed the raft, please try to leave it that way for a while. Once you have set the river, please keep it that way and continue to add detail as you visit it. Make the river no more than about two miles long at this time, ending at each end in a bend that you cannot see around. Don't worry about those ends right now, we'll visit those in later exercises.

 The whole exercise right now involves simply floating about on the raft (which will go where you want it to go) and enjoying the scenery. It is also possible to enjoy your own creation and understand the godhood involved since you have built a paradise you cannot be chased out of. This is your space and you are the creator. Make the river, your raft, and the circumstances of the day as beautiful and peaceful as you can and enjoy.

 After about 15 or 20 minutes of this enjoyment and river creation, float your raft to a selected sandy beach and come to rest at the shore. Now you must imagine getting out of the raft and moving back into your body lying in the mundane world, waiting for your return. Try to do this each time at the same beach and in the same way. If you fall asleep and wake up, re-imagine the river and raft, move it to the beach and imagine returning. This is important to maintain your grounding and keep your spiritual entity safe.

 Do this exercise several times a week or whenever you need a break from the daily grind if it is getting to you. This exercise is yours, not that of someone else who is guiding you and influencing your thought patterns. This time, only you know the river and only you should ever visit the river you have created. Be careful to follow the directions to create your river and it will remain yours. Never allow any harm in your river and never allow anyone else in your river, not your spouse, not your best friend, not your guru, no one.

 More about tantric exercises can be found at http://www.kundalini-tantra.com.