Be present in this moment,
There's nothing to do,
There's nowhere to go.
You are here,
Committed,
In practice.
And it's all done through the natural rhythm of your breathing.
So again,
Long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
As the chest fills,
You notice the ribcage expanding.
You get to the top of your breath,
Pause for a moment.
And again,
The exhalation is just a reverse of the inhalation,
With the exception that the outgoing breath,
Ideally,
Is slightly longer in length than your incoming breath.
Then again,
At the bottom of the breath,
Pause again,
Before inhaling again.
So be fully present in your body with this exercise.
Now,
Any mind chatter,
Any thoughts that appear,
And they will be there,
It's fine,
It's not a problem.
Thoughts are never a problem.
Because the discipline that you will develop is that you do not attach any direction to those thoughts,
Just let them go.
You're not being distracted by the content of your thinking.
The thought will appear just as a cloud appears in the sky,
And the cloud just fades.
And the discipline you will develop is not focusing on your thinking.
Do not give mind anything to do.
Just ignore the thoughts,
One after another,
Just ignore them.
You could liken it to the appearance of a leaf floating in a mountain stream,
And you're sitting on a boulder in that beautiful stream.
And out of the corner of your eye,
You see this leaf floating,
It passes in front of your face,
You see it in the water,
And then it's gone.
And what remains after the leaf is gone?
The stillness,
The purity of the mountain stream.
So coming back to the focus on the breath,
A long,
Slow,
Relaxed inhalation.
And as you reach the top of the breath,
You will have the physical sensation of the lungs,
The chest expanding,
Then at the top of the breath,
Then pause,
Then release.
Long,
Slow,
Relaxed,
Outgoing breath,
Longer than your incoming breath.
And then at the bottom of the outgoing breath,
Again,
Pause for a moment.
Now,
What is happening in the body right now,
With your outgoing breath,
Is essentially what you are doing,
You are now bypassing the left-hand brain.
You are moving away from the beta brainwave frequencies,
And you are now engaging the right-hand brain,
Those states of deep meditative awareness,
Calmness,
Clarity.
And that is happening because your outgoing breath is activating the vagus nerve,
And that in turn is stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system,
And all of the feel-good hormones are now present in your body.
And then there will be just a natural awareness of a deepening relaxation,
Quietness,
A spaciousness within the body,
To the point where you will undoubtedly at some point in this not even be aware that you are either breathing,
Or that you are aware of your body at all.
Because your breath,
Incoming breath,
Is actually prana,
Life energy,
And as you accentuate the length of your breath,
Then that is bringing all of the healing elements of oxygen into the body.
So there's a natural lightness being felt,
Maybe a tingling sensation,
It's all part of the parasympathetic nervous system being engaged,
And you may notice that you're sitting a little bit deeper into the chair or the cushion where you're sitting.
In this practice,
This discipline of focusing on your breathing is the beginning of every practice when you are choosing,
Desiring to control the nervous system,
To help minimize any stress or anxiety,
Doubt or fear or concern.
This is the mechanism,
And it's very powerful and it's very simple.
It just requires your concentration to be able to firstly sit,
Be present in this moment.
There's nothing to do,
There's nowhere to go,
You are here,
Committed,
In practice.
And it's all done through the natural rhythm of your breathing.
So again,
Long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
As the chest fills,
You notice the ribcage expanding,
You get to the top of your breath,
Hold it,
Pause for a moment,
Then exhale,
And you are here,
Present in the moment,
And the body is responding,
The body is relaxing,
Releasing,
Opening,
There's nowhere to go,
You are here,
Present,
And you are sensing the body's reaction,
You are noticing the subtle movements within the body,
Sensations arising,
Feelings.
Now let's take that one step further.
Let's go down to your feet,
Without shoes or socks,
Sense the surface that your feet are touching on,
Move your feet slowly across that surface,
Whatever it might be,
And sense the feelings in your feet.
There are a lot of pressure points,
Acupuncture points in the feet,
All of them relate to various parts of the body,
To the organs in the body.
You may have a sense of that rising energy into various parts of your body,
It doesn't matter if you don't,
Just be aware and sensitive to what the body is experiencing as you move your feet,
Maybe in small circles.
The breath continues in its own quiet,
Natural rhythm,
And you are simply here,
Experiencing the shifting energies,
The sensations that the body is experiencing,
Not only through your breathing,
But also through what you are sensing in your feet.
Now,
I'd like you to take your right hand,
Your open hand,
And move it across to the bicep on your left arm,
And place it there,
And then very lightly just close your fingers softly around the bicep itself.
What are you experiencing?
In the palm of your hand,
Your right hand,
What are you experiencing in the bicep itself?
If it is skin on skin,
What is being experienced?
If it is skin on clothing,
What is being felt?
Now,
Take your open left hand and move it across to do the same on your right bicep.
Again,
What is the sensation being felt here?
Now,
It's a whole body experience because your arms are crossed across your chest.
Your arms are resting on your chest.
What experience,
What sensation are you feeling now?
It becomes more of a whole body experience,
As if there is an embrace.
You are embracing yourself,
Comforting,
Supporting.
Now,
Open your hand so it's flat on each bicep.
Now,
Move your hands together from wherever they are resting,
Up to the top of the shoulder,
Sliding across whatever surface your hands are touching,
Down to the elbows.
And keep moving your hands up and down slowly.
Feel this embracing,
This connection.
Now,
This can evoke emotions.
Whatever it is,
Let it be fully present and felt.
You are being supported.
This is self-love.
You are being held.
You are safe.
And squeeze softly different areas of your biceps as you move your hands up and down.
What are you feeling in the body?
What are you feeling on the surface of your hands?
This beautiful body connection,
This self-love.
This self-support,
This warmth,
This embrace.
Unconditional.
And keep moving your hands up and down on your bicep,
From the top of your shoulders down to your elbows.
Be fully present in this feeling.
What are you feeling in your chest,
That your arms,
Your crossed arms are touching your chest?
What emotions does that evoke,
If any?
What are you sensing around the heart?
What are you feeling there?
Maybe an exchange of energy from the heart in that sense of self-love.
Just be present.
Now,
Just gently release your hands and let them come back to resting on your lap.
But there still will be an awareness of the movements,
The sensing in the skin on your biceps.
Your hands are now in your lap,
But there's still the awareness,
The connection that you made in your arms and your chest and your heart.
Just be present with this,
Relax with this,
Be open to allow whatever is felt to be welcomed and free to express itself.
And you are here,
Quiet and still,
Fully present in the body.
And your breathing is the driving force behind all of this.
So simple,
But so powerful.
Now,
Together,
We can sound a hum and it will be through the outgoing breath if we allow the vibration of our breathing.
Our humming to move from the throat down into the chest and then beyond into all regions of the body.
Wherever it chooses to vibrate into,
Wherever it chooses to resonate.
Now,
For those of you who may prefer just to listen to this,
You can have the same experience just by listening.
But there is a more complete,
If you like,
Experience by actually sounding it yourself.
So I will begin,
I'll do this three times.
You can listen to start if that is most comfortable for you.
And then after the third time,
Then join in if you choose to.
Otherwise,
Just sit back,
Relaxed and allow the vibration just to continue resonating through your body.
So breathing in,
Long,
Slow,
Deep,
Relaxed breath in.
At the top of the breath,
A long,
Slow exhalation and allow the length of the hum to be the full length of your outflowing breath.
Again,
Breathing in,
Long,
Slow,
Deep,
Relaxed.
Feel the lungs.
Pause for a moment and have a sense of the vibration,
The harmonics from the hum moving into and through all areas of your body.
It's like a wave resonating out from the source,
Through all areas,
Through the energy fields of the body.
And beyond the body.
Again,
Breathing in.
Top of the breath.
Pause for a moment.
Now,
Even when the hum is not being vocalized,
The resonance of it is still traveling.
Not only traveling through the body,
But traveling through the universe itself.
The sound is not contained within the physical being.
It's an energy and it just travels through the body and continues.
So in that sense of that continuation,
There is a lightness,
There is a presence of expansiveness,
Of spaciousness,
Of stillness,
Which even further deepens the sense of relaxation and connection.
Not only within the body,
But also to that beyond the body.
Now,
I'll sound again and please join in.
We'll do it three times.
Or just sit and listen.
Have a sense of the vibration traveling,
Traveling,
Traveling,
Expanding,
Expanding.
Back to the inhalation.
Long,
Deep,
Slow breath in.
The top of the breath.
Feel the body.
How is the body responding to this vibration,
To the subtlety of it?
Even when you've stopped sounding yourself,
That resonance continues.
There'll be a lightness,
Like a tingling felt in the body sometimes.
There's no right or wrong.
Everything just is as it is.
As you let go,
As you are fully relaxed in the trust of this experience,
This resonance will just continue to expand,
And shift,
And move,
And release,
And open,
And free all elements of the body.
And again,
A long,
Slow,
Deep breath in.
The top of the breath.
Pause.
And then exhale.
And again,
Witness the outflow of the energy from the vibration,
The harmonics.
The body is in a state of wellness and ease.
And flow.
The body is quiet,
Open,
Spacious,
And free.
And you're fully present in this spaciousness.
Just rub your palms together in nice,
Slow movements.
Feel the sensation in the surface,
The skin of both your hands.
Very gentle,
Very soft,
Very sensitive.
The slightest sense is being felt throughout the whole body,
Not just the hands.
And just be here in the aliveness of the experience.
Your body has been activated.
The energies in your body are now freely flowing.
The deep sense of relaxation,
Quietness.
Have you noticed the mind has not been present?
Just remain in this stillness.
And if there's any residual tightness,
You can just sigh again.
And we'll do it together three times.
Long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
Long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
Long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
Then sense the movement through your entire body,
From the tips of your fingers,
Through your arms,
Through your body,
Chest,
Back,
Stomach,
Thighs,
Calves,
Down to the tips of your toes,
Up from the throat chakra,
Into the neck,
To the top of the head.
The whole body now has come into a place of greater balance,
Of harmony,
Of stillness,
Of ease,
Because you have let go.
