Welcome.
This is Allison with Mindful Pause Center,
And today I'd like to share an elemental practice with you related to water.
Many of us have strong connections to water,
Watching a rainstorm,
Quenching our thirst,
Drawing a bath,
Sitting on the shore and listening to the surf.
Water brings relief and creates an intimacy for turning inward.
It also holds a lot of power,
Not the force of will we see reflected in fire,
Not the solidity we see reflected in earth,
But a stable and resolute power that changes landscapes over time,
That dissolves more substances than any other liquid,
That coheres to itself while also shape-shifting from solid to liquid to gas.
Water can remind us that going slow may support wise action far more than urgency ever could.
Consider what posture would support you for the next 10 to 15 minutes,
Whether that is seated in a chair or on a cushion,
Standing,
Or even lying down.
Just taking a moment to sense what it feels like in this posture,
How the body is settling in,
How the mind is arriving,
Not needing to change anything.
Just becoming curious,
Taking a moment to feel the weight of gravity as it connects you to whatever is supporting you.
Really feeling the points of contact and sensing the support on the other side.
If it's available,
Giving yourself over,
Allowing yourself in this moment to be held.
From this foundation,
Scanning the body for an area of discomfort.
And if none presents itself in this very moment,
Consider an area that often holds tension.
The shoulders,
The neck,
The throat,
The jaw,
The temples,
The gut.
Allow or imagine the area to be tight and constricted.
Bringing to mind the quality of ice,
Its hardness,
Its bound quality.
What do you notice when you allow this quality to be,
Knowing you're accepting it in just this moment?
Take some time to notice the tenderness and discomfort,
Naming it as you do.
This is hard to bear,
Or this hurts,
Or even this sucks.
As your care and concern arise,
Bring your breath into this area of the body.
And as you breathe,
Imagine the ice melting into water.
Give the body some time to experience that sensation,
Even if you feel like you're making it up.
What happens to tension as it dissolves?
What do you notice now?
Consider that stress is a feature of life.
Consider that bodily tension is a shared experience of all beings everywhere.
We are not isolated in our discomfort,
Even if it feels like we're disconnected.
As your care and concern arise,
Breathe again into this area of the body.
And imagine the water evaporating into gas.
Give the body time to experience this sensation.
What do you notice when you allow this quality to be?
Can you sense the freedom that accompanies this fluid property of water,
The way its form changes back and forth across thresholds,
Always retaining the ability to be other than its current state?
Taking some time now to let all effort go.
As you rest here,
In whatever quality of presence,
If the mind leads you forward into the future or pulls you back into the past,
When you notice that you've been pulled away from the present moment,
Gently acknowledge and consider again the ease with which water can flow back into another state.
Allow your awareness to settle once again on the body breathing.
No effort.
At rest.
In a moment,
You'll hear the bell.
And as the sound of the bell fades,
Begin to move your body in a way that feels good.
And as your eyes open or your gaze lifts,
Take time to notice the forms and colors,
The quality of light in the space around you.
Thank you for your practice.
