Spring In Our Practice

Spring invites us to come back to our senses, to pause and take in its unfurling beauty.
It carries a quiet promise of renewal—a gentle invitation to begin again (and again, and again, as often as needed).

It reminds us that everything is always changing, even though the mind presents a picture of constancy.
Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to imagine winter in the height of summer, or summer in the depths of winter?

And it brings into focus the preciousness of our time, encouraging us to notice and appreciate what is good in our lives, and to gently rebalance the mind’s natural tendency to drift toward the negative.

This is a Three-Step Breathing Space which incorporates these themes—coming to our senses; renewal and beginning again; the reality of change; and appreciation and savouring.

Transcript

Christina Rossetti said, Spring is when life's alive in everything. Spring invites us to come back to our senses, To pause, And to take in its unfurling beauty. It carries a quiet promise of renewal, A gentle invitation to begin again, And again, And again, As often as needed. It reminds us that everything is always changing, Even though the mind often presents an illusion of continuity and stability. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to imagine winter in the height of summer, Or summer in the depths of winter? Spring brings into focus the preciousness of our time, Encouraging us to notice and appreciate what's good in our lives, And to gently rebalance the mind's natural tendency to drift towards the negative. So in this practice, I'll weave in four key themes related to the springtime. The idea of coming to our senses, Renewal and beginning again, The fact of change, And appreciation and savouring. So inviting you now to take a position that for you represents dignity, Openness and groundedness. A position that marks your intention to be awake and aware, Present to this moment. Maybe you're feeling the feet on the floor, Maybe the body resting in the chair or whatever is supporting you. Just taking a moment to arrive here, Right here with this body and this breath. And in this first step, This step called becoming aware, Just inviting you to really tune in and notice what's here for you. Noticing any thoughts, Sensations in the body, Maybe noticing the prevailing mood, Emotions, You might even notice familiar patterns in your thinking, Memories, Perhaps striving, Judgment, Maybe wanting is here. Just allowing whatever is here to be here, Knowing you don't need to change anything, Just noticing what's here and just gently labelling it. Knowing there's nowhere else you need to be, Nothing else you need to do, Nobody you need to be. Just here, Gently becoming aware of your present moment experience, Just as it is, Unfolding like petals in springtime. Inviting you now to tune into your senses, Maybe noticing the sense of touch, So maybe contact with whatever's supporting you, Maybe the feeling of the hands wherever you're resting them, Maybe the touch of clothes on the body. Tuning into the eyes now, So whether the eyes are open or closed, Just noticing light and shading, Moving to the ears now and to sound, Maybe noises inside the body, Noises outside the body, Maybe just noticing them as sounds, Maybe turning to the nose now, The sense of smell, Just a passive receiver of smell, Just noticing what's here, Again just taking stock of your general mood, Your feeling tone, Maybe just noticing if it's pleasant or unpleasant or perhaps neutral, Knowing there's nothing you need to change, Just being with whatever's here right now. As we move now to step two, So step two is gathering, So inviting you now to gather your attention to a chosen anchor point in the body, This could be sensations of breathing, So maybe the rise and fall of the chest, The expansion and the contraction of the tummy, Perhaps the air at the nostrils, Noticing the full length of the in-breath, The pause between the in-breath and the out-breath, And the full length of the out-breath, Knowing that each and every breath presents the opportunity to start again, To begin afresh, Knowing that each breath is different to the last one and won't be the same as the next one, Each breath is a new beginning, Maybe noticing any sense of letting go, Of letting be on the out-breath, Just noticing the changing, Moving, Unfolding nature of your breathing, Knowing that nothing stays the same, And if the mind wanders, Maybe just smiling to yourself that you've noticed that it's wandered, And ever so gently, Returning your attention to the breath, Seeing this new opportunity to start again, To start afresh, Just noticing where the mind is, And for step three now, We move to expanding, So inviting you now to move your attention, Expand your attention around the breath, And to take in the entirety of this body, Noticing all and any sensations, From the top of the head, Right down to the tips of the toes, Just resting your attention in this expanded, Open awareness of the entirety of this body, Whilst resting in this expanded attention, Inviting you to bring to mind something in your life at the moment that's enjoyable or uplifting, Could be something you like doing, Maybe people in your life, Something in your home, Or perhaps something in nature, Doesn't have to be a big thing, Just something that comes with a pleasant feeling tone, Just bringing it to mind, Exploring it, Knowing it's okay to savour it, And to enjoy it, Just resting in these feelings of appreciation, Maybe noticing that you may be honing in on something that's pleasant, Whilst also being aware of other things that are maybe less pleasant, Or maybe even unpleasant, Just as much as you're able to, Just expanding and resting your attention on these feelings of appreciation, Maybe noticing your posture, Your facial expression, And as we start to bring this practice to a close, Just inviting you to bring these characteristics of spring into your next moments, Inviting you to take a couple of deep breaths if that's helpful to you, And I'll see you next time.