My name is Larissa.
We're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
It's always just taking a few moments here to settle in,
Checking in first and foremost with your posture,
Finding the balance of effort and ease.
And it's helpful to have an upright spine,
But you might stand,
You might recline.
It's just remembering that your practice is for you.
And there are tips and tools and things that we can work with,
But ultimately it's for you and it's for you in this moment.
So just checking in with your body.
What is it that I need for comfort and support?
That wise balance of effort and ease.
You're welcome to close your eyes or set your gaze downward.
That cue,
That external cue of choosing to close your eyes or set your gaze steady becomes an internal cue to slow down.
And then just bringing deep curiosity.
Where do I feel my breath?
How do I feel the supportive foundation beneath me?
Under my feet,
Under my legs,
Perhaps behind my spine.
That little roomy quote,
What you seek is also seeking you.
In this moment,
Just seeking and finding the foundation beneath you,
Stability,
Support.
And as you witness that stability,
It allows you to also notice the subtle movements that are occurring in your body.
So we need contrast.
If there was no contrast in our life,
Everything would just be bright.
The shadows that give us texture in our life,
Whether it's in an oil painting that gives it depth or the feeling of your sweater or your clothing shifting as you breathe in and out,
That texture gives you sensation.
And that contrast in life is always happening.
When we look out and we see a beautiful landscape,
Looking into the woods or beautiful sunset,
Even just watching a leaf fall,
The reason we can see it is because of contrast.
And this is a good reminder when we're feeling challenging moments in life.
Those challenging moments help us experience more deeply the joyful moments.
And it's not that we want to ask for more challenge in our life.
We have plenty of that.
It just simply exists.
It's the remembrance that whatever we recognize,
Whatever we notice,
Whatever we witness in our meditation practice,
It's something to learn from.
It's showing us something.
It's giving us the ability to experience something.
So what does it feel like to take a deep breath,
To feel the expansive quality of it,
And to allow the softening of your exhale?
And this too is contrast.
Just witnessing this for a time,
Contrast of the stability beneath you,
Allowing you to notice movement.
The movement of your inhale,
Expansive and broad,
Into the softness,
The emptiness of your exhale,
That space between breaths.
Just taking time to witness your breath.
It can become a luxury,
A gift to just have this spacious time,
Giving your mind a moment to rest,
Giving yourself the freedom of mind to simply witness the simplicity of breathing.
Because our minds can get so busy with all of the doings and the workings of life,
Our nervous system so filled to the brim with information.
Here we can allow all of that to settle,
Just like your exhale settles you every single time it happens.
And in this slow time we've set aside,
You can really receive that slowness.
The spaciousness of your inhale,
The softening of your exhale,
That wise balance of effort and ease,
To witness the beautiful contrast of the steadiness beneath you and the movement of your heartbeat.
All of this,
A part of our emotional landscape,
Reminding us that there is no good or bad,
Everything just exists and we get to witness it all.
And as we've been working with emotional intelligence this month,
Just witnessing,
First and foremost,
Just being able to witness an emotion is here,
An emotion has arrived.
I am not becoming that emotion,
Although our language will sometimes claim it,
I am this.
It's just something that's here to be witnessed.
And that's the beginning of our emotional intelligence,
Our resilience,
That there is no good or bad in our emotional landscape,
Just like there is no good or bad breath.
All breath is bringing us life,
Even on days when our nose is stuffy.
All emotion is giving us the opportunity to experience,
Even on days the emotions feel heavy.
So we need both darkness and lightness.
Every seed we've ever planted needs darkness to germinate and grow.
So we also need these moments of brightness in our life.
We don't have to wait until we're getting a massage or going on vacation,
We can just receive the joy that it is to be able to take a deep breath,
Incline our mind in the direction of gratefulness that I get to take this breath right here.
And in this moment in time,
There's absolutely nothing I need to do to prove I deserve this breath.
There's absolutely no responsibility that's requiring my attention.
I can just rest in my body and be breathed.
Anytime our brain or the world comes knocking and says,
These 19 things require your attention right now,
You can pause for just a half second and remind yourself,
Thinking is happening.
Right here in this moment,
I'm just going to enjoy this exhale.
I'm going to witness how my shoulders soften for a moment.
And then I'm going to receive the gift of life on this next breath in.
Just that moment of pause,
Just a half a breath,
Can shift everything for us.
And here in our meditation,
We've just created some spaciousness to be still for a while.
And just witnessing the comings and goings of the mind,
The comings and goings of the breath.
To the best of your ability,
Just resting in your body,
Receiving.
Just noticing again your breath,
That gentle contrast between inhale and exhale.
And that contrast,
A good reminder that we can hold both and,
Both joy and sorrow,
Both an inhale and an exhale.
We don't have to choose one or the other.
And there's a piece that I wrote a while back,
And this line is coming to me.
It says,
When I find myself in darkness,
May I remember that's where seeds are stored.
Darkness offers space to rest before awakening,
To find nurturing,
Support,
And time to absorb everything required for my growth.
I'll invite you to bring your hands into any of your closing habits or practices.
We'll end as we often do,
With a few loving kindness phrases.
Just repeating these offerings of well-wishing back to yourself.
When I find myself in darkness,
May I remember that's where seeds are stored.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
When action is needed,
May I choose to move with ease and peace.
And may the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
And go slow if you can.
Find a little movement.
When you feel complete,
No rush.
Take a moment to thank yourself.
And as always,
Thank you for being here,
Supporting each other.
