Welcome in,
I'm Kim Pask.
Today we will further explore the kleshas.
Kleshas are obstacles of the heart and mind that pull us away from our natural state of clarity and peace.
Today we will explore devasa,
To better understand the human tendency to avoid pain,
Discomfort and unwanted experience.
When discomfort appears,
The mind may search for a quick escape,
But sometimes healing begins by meeting pain gently.
Begin by settling into a comfortable position for you,
Softening your gaze and just noticing your breath.
Notice a small area of your body where you sense discomfort,
Nothing overwhelming,
Just a mild sensation.
Beginning to breathe toward that area with kindness.
You're not forcing yourself to stay,
Just acknowledging and noticing.
Pain does not mean that something is wrong with you.
Pain is a part of being human.
Compassion is the gentle willingness to stay present with ourselves even in moments of suffering.
We'll begin to practice the healing breathing technique of apajapa,
Beginning to nestle your awareness at your tailbone,
At the base of your spine.
Begin to notice the movement of breath up through the tailbone,
Along the spine,
All the way up to your midbrain as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Imagine the breath trailing down from the midbrain through the spine all the way down to your tailbone.
As you inhale,
Imagine the breath traveling upward through the center of your body,
From the base of your spine to the space between your eyebrows.
As you exhale,
Feel the breath gently flowing back down the spine,
Softening and grounding.
Inhale deeply,
Breath rising.
Exhale fully,
Breath returning.
Breathing without force,
Without striving.
Continue a full few more rounds,
Simply just noticing breath moving gently up and gently down the spine.
Now we'll begin to silently introduce a mantra.
As the breath rises upward,
Silently repeat,
I can meet pain with compassion.
As the breath flows downward,
Repeat,
I can soften my resistance.
Again,
Inhale,
I meet pain with compassion.
Exhale,
I can soften my resistance.
Again,
Inhale,
I can meet pain with compassion.
Exhale,
I can soften my resistance.
Breathing in,
A sense of compassion.
Breathing out,
A sense of ease.
Breathing in,
I call in compassion.
Breathing out,
I move towards ease.
One more round.
Breathing in,
Up the ladder of your spine from the tailbone to the space between your brows,
Compassion.
Breathing out from the space between your brows down to your tailbone,
Ease.
Allow this breathing and mantra to create spaciousness around discomfort.
Notice that pain does not always require avoidance.
Sometimes healing begins with gentleness,
Presence,
And the willingness to stay connected to yourself.
And if and when discomfort arises again after this practice,
You may return to your breath.
One inhale to call in compassion,
And one exhale to call in ease.
May this practice remain available to you whenever you need grounding,
Softness,
Or support.
May you move towards peace and steadiness.
I'm Kim Pask,
Sat Naam.
