In the midst of life’s challenges, it can be difficult to see beyond your own pain. You may not be able to connect with your own heart enough to know what you’re feeling, let alone know how to feel and connect with another’s. You may have a desire to experience empathy and compassion in the depths of your own suffering, but it may feel out of reach.

This is a practice John led for his Embodied Men's Leadership Training program during the Coronavirus Pandemic in April 2020 to activate and radiate heart energy out to those suffering in the world. You practice finding your own sense of grounding, heart connection, deep breath, and pure mind, so that you can let your breath, presence, fierceness and practice be an energetic blessing to everyone across the world.

If you are so deeply entrenched in your own pain that you can’t feel beyond it, this 11-minute practice will help you to see a way through.

Begin in a strong seated position with your feet firmly planted into the earth, almost as if they were 6 inches under the earth's surface. Feel a little pressure on your knees as you press your feet into the ground. Pull in your lower belly just below your navel, which will cause your sacrum to tip down. This creates a "Grounding Tripod," which is the core Masculine seated meditative posture. If you are seated cross-legged on the floor, you will root your sacrum directly into the earth.

Using the muscles at the base of your heart just below your ribs, press down through the center of your body so that your sacrum grounds even more into the earth, like you are plunging a huge root deep into the earth.

Then, maintaining this sense of grounding, with your eyes and mouth closed, and pressing your tongue gently against the roof of your mouth, begin to inhale through your nose into the back of your throat, making the back of your throat wide. Set your intention to focus on breathing into, and activating, the back and side ribs. Pay attention to what this does to your energy. Stay still as much as you can and make this an internal journey.

After a few breaths in this way, you will begin a "Warrior Exhale," inhaling with your mouth closed and then opening your mouth and releasing a "hot exhale" from the bottom of your lungs, the muscles of the back and side ribs, and the back of your wide throat. It is almost like a "Darth Vader" breath.

Then bring your arms up with your palms facing you. Make your fingers strong like steel, which will turn on electricity through your body. Then make your core strong, like a Warrior ready to spring into battle, and activate the electricity and life force in your heart.

Begin to send the electricity from your heart down into your groin and out into your fingertips, activating your "Warrior's Body" as if you have something important to step into, like a battle, a fight, or taking a stand.

Then focus the next 3 breaths on your left lung. On the exhale out through your mouth, squeeze out your left lung as if it is a fist. Then bring your awareness to your right lung for 3 breaths, squeezing it out like a fist. Wring out any negativity, fear, or disease stuck inside there.

Then return to your practice, this time bringing your awareness to your upper heart. Feel how your upper heart is connected to the sky and stars. Open that channel more fully and let the clear blue sky fill your upper heart with brightness, clarity and freshness. Your lower heart stay connected to the earth while your upper heart connects to the sky. Notice how the upper heart cleans out, brightens, clarifies, and freshens the mind.

For the last few breaths, breathe in the world. Imagine you could inhale for everyone across the world who is struggling to breathe. Let your breath, presence, fierceness and practice be an energetic blessing to everyone across the world. Feel your breath carry your activated heart across the planet. Radiate it out. Say to yourself silently, "May you all be free from suffering in the root of all suffering. May you all know happiness in the root of all happiness." Then turn the blessing toward yourself, "May I be free from suffering in the root of all suffering. May I know happiness in the root of all happiness."

Then placing your arms down on your upper thighs, scan your body and see if you can feel more energy, alertness and life force available to you. Bring this practice to close with a bow to yourself and to all of humanity.

Disclaimer: Although anyone may find this practice to be useful, it is made available with the understanding that we are not engaged in presenting specific medical, psychological, emotional, sexual or spiritual advice. Nor is anything in this practice intended to be a diagnosis, prescription, recommendation or cure for any specific kind of medical, psychological, emotional, sexual or spiritual problem. Each individual has unique needs and this practice cannot take these individual differences into account. Each person should engage in a program of treatment, prevention, cure, or general health only in consultation with a licensed, qualified physician, therapist or other competent professional. Any person suffering from a sexually transmitted disease or any local illness of his or her sexual organs should consult a medical doctor and a qualified instructor of sexual yoga before practicing the sexual methods described in this practice.