As we begin,
Find that space of comfort of the physical body,
Knowing that the earth will continue to support you as you rest.
To slow down even more,
Tune into the breath with a sense of intention,
To simply observe for several cycles of inhale and exhale.
Enjoy the qualities present in the breath without the need to change.
Do you notice that in each moment,
The breath changes as the body changes?
Rest is the beginning of your unique rhythm to your unique breath.
There is no expectation,
No rules to follow for how you're supposed to breathe in any given moment.
You do the best you can with your best self.
Eventually,
Allow your attention of the breath to slip away on an exhale and imagine the atoms of that breath,
Diffusing and dissolving into the ether and leaving a body in a state of deep rest.
Allow yourself to sink into this space and linger here between the exhale and inhale,
The space between two heartbeats,
The space that rests at the bottom of a wave.
Can you rest here until the gentle movement of the lungs invites the next inhale?
In Sanskrit,
This moment where there is nowhere to go and nothing to do is called NIRADHARA.
In the Radiance Sutras,
Dr.
Lauren Roche writes that when your head becomes cluttered with knowledge,
You need a housecleaning.
Anything that is not supported by your own direct living experience,
Toss it out.
Just throw out everything you used to think you know and start fresh.
In this spaciousness,
We can choose to embrace a complete state of rest.
The most interesting thing about the idea of rest is that we were never taught how to rest fully,
Effortlessly,
And completely within ourselves.
We were never taught and few have ever truly learned from anyone how to rest.
We learned how to sleep.
We learned how to be quiet.
We learned how to calm down.
We were taught expectations on how to behave so that we didn't disturb others so they could rest.
But we were never really taught how to rest for ourselves.
We were never really taught how to take care of ourselves by simply paying attention to what we need in any given moment to find our own sense of healing rest.
Can you tune in right now to what it is that would bring rest to your physical body?
A shift,
A release,
An acceptance.
Can you tune in right now to what it is that would bring rest to your thoughts,
Energy,
And emotions?
Can you tune in right now to what it is that would bring rest to your spirit and all the beautiful parts of your soul?
Can you detach from what it is that you should be doing,
How you should be acting,
What you should be thinking,
And what it all should look like,
And simply surrender to the exquisite experience of being yourself in this moment.
Learning to be yourself requires you to unlearn the behaviors,
Expectations,
Rules,
And habits that you were taught to navigate this world to be someone else's version of you instead of your authentic self.
Can you grant yourself permission to tune in,
Relax into,
And trust in the most authentic and highest version of your best and truest self?
As you rest here,
Can you listen in to what your heart and higher self has to share with you?
Rest here for the next three minutes of your practice,
Bringing your attention back to the breath where it rests with that highest and most authentic version of you.
Tune in to Sutra 76 of the Radiant Sutras by Dr.
Lauren Roche and consider the experience of being yourself as you navigate back into the world.
Beloved,
Reject the reality of everything.
Deny the universe of appearance.
Say no to the phenomenal world.
Reside in the secret place inside.
As joy rises in the heart at this sudden freedom,
Enter there and dwell.
