It's an opportunity to slow down a little bit,
Take a little time just to be with yourself this morning.
You might make a little movement in your body as you're settling into a posture that feels supportive.
Something as simple as just wiggling your torso or making a couple of neck rolls can be really helpful to figure out how it is that you want to just settle in this morning and you're welcome to close your eyes at any point and then just take a couple of deep breaths and as you breathe deeply look for a 360 expansion throughout your body.
Just letting your ribs expand out to the side and then as you exhale looking for softening,
Starting with your chest,
Your abdomen,
Your shoulders,
Then eventually your whole body.
Can I let my eyes soften a bit more?
Can I notice my shoulders?
And notice your hands and your feet even.
Is there any part of you that can soften just 5% more?
Inviting that in every time you exhale,
Just a little bit of softening and as we stay,
Just come back to your body again and again.
Just noticing when your thoughts move and that moment of noticing is the moment of presence,
The moment of meditation and that is the wise action that we take here.
Sometimes the wisest action is giving yourself permission to rest.
Rest gives us access to wise action rather than reaction.
It's this moment of pause.
I'm just noticing,
Oh yeah,
There goes my thinking mind headed to the future or past and here's my body right here.
I can notice your breath as it subtly changes from inhale to exhale.
I might be more specific,
Really noticing that expansive quality of the inhale,
Focusing on your abdominal container,
Letting your abdomen and ribs expand every time you inhale.
You might look for that softening quality of the exhale.
Just noticing every time you exhale,
This opportunity to let your jaw soften.
Just witnessing your shoulders,
Your chest,
Your belly softening every time you exhale.
It's just the natural response.
Being able to watch your thoughts move.
It's such an important skill to cultivate.
I was curious,
Not about the thought itself,
Not about the story of the thought and the story of the emotion,
But just to notice,
Oh yeah,
There's a thought happening.
And then coming back to your body again and again,
Where do I feel that?
Sometimes we notice patterns in our mind.
So I'm future oriented today.
That makes sense when we're planning something,
Something exciting or something that makes us a little nervous as upcoming.
Sometimes our mind is just shifting,
Little random mundane thoughts coming and going.
But our thoughts often bring a lingering sensation in our body.
The stickier the thought,
The more sensation we'll feel.
If a thought is a little bit difficult,
It brings a difficult emotion with it.
Or if you're rather excited for something that's upcoming or something that just happened.
It's more likely that we want to follow the story of those types of thoughts.
So just this gentle noticing,
Oh there's a thought.
And then we might notice a pattern,
Oh it's this kind.
It's a future thought,
That's a past thought.
And it's not about ignoring the thought or trying to push it away.
It's just witnessing,
Oh yeah,
There's thinking happening.
For just that half second,
We unhook from the story of the thought and instead of becoming the subject of the thought,
We just rest back into our body.
What do I feel in my body as I'm noticing these thought patterns?
And because we have the habit of thinking,
Sometimes our mind just want to pull us back up.
You just notice that again,
Oh yeah,
My mind is pulling me somewhere this morning.
My body is right here.
Let me notice again the expansiveness of my breath in,
Creating space for me to hold whatever comes.
Let me notice the softening of my exhale,
My literal shoulders soften,
Reminding me that I can let go,
I don't have to hold everything that comes,
I can also soften.
Just breath by breath,
Just witnessing yourself,
And to the best of your ability,
Doing so with gentleness.
No need to judge anything.
When we notice judgment comes up,
We just witness it.
So yeah,
There's judgment happening.
Here's thinking happening.
Right here is breathing happening.
Where do I feel this breath?
What kind of wisdom is my body sharing with me?
Again,
Cultivating that skill of just noticing when you're thinking it's taking you somewhere else.
But yeah,
There's thinking happening.
Just softening it for a moment and noticing,
Can I feel my breath moving into my body?
What parts of me can I invite to soften as I feel my breath leaving my body?
Our breath itself is one of those things that can be the bridge between thinking and feeling.
Your body oftentimes knows when you're in stress before you can cognitively figure it out.
We can use our mind at times to remind us that we're safe.
But we can also use our body,
That bottom-up wisdom,
Rather than top-down thinking.
And when we have a full,
Deep breath,
It helps turn on our calming systems.
So I'm going to invite you to place one hand across your chest,
The other hand on your abdomen.
We'll work with a three-part breath just for a few moments here.
This three-part breathing not only invites your mind to pay attention to breath,
But it also helps turn on your calming systems,
That bottom-up wisdom.
The three-part breath is the invitation to first breathe into your lower hand,
Your abdomen,
And then your mid-ribs,
And then your chest at the very end.
And then when you breathe out,
Let your chest soften,
Then your mid-ribs,
And then finally your belly.
And do that together.
Breathe into your lower hand,
Then your mid-ribs,
And at the very last,
Your chest can move.
And then soften your chest,
Soften your mid-ribs,
Soften your belly.
Again,
Breathe into your lower hand,
Then your mid-ribs,
Then your chest.
And let your top hand soften,
Then your mid-ribs,
Then your abdomen.
Go again,
Belly,
Mid-ribs,
Chest,
Softening chest,
Mid-ribs,
Belly.
Do that two or three more times on your own.
You might be a little quicker or slower than I was going.
Just follow the rhythm of your breath.
And when you feel ready,
Just let your hands relax for a moment.
You can come back to that breathing at any time throughout the day.
Just a moment of calm,
A moment of softening,
And very often just a moment of pause.
And then you're welcome to bring your hands into any of your closing habits or practices.
And just feeling again together to take this breath,
Feeling your own body.
Breathe into your belly,
Your mid-ribs,
And then finally your chest.
And then soften from your shoulders all the way down to your belly as you exhale.
And we'll end as we often do with a few loving kindness praises.
You're welcome to repeat them back as they make sense for you.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
May I seek and find contentment today.
When action is needed,
May I choose to move my body with ease and peace.
And may the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
And go slow if you can.
First taking a moment to thank yourself just for showing up,
Finding a little movement when you feel ready.
And as always,
Thank you for being here,
Supporting each other.
