My name is Larissa and we're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
It's taking a little bit of time here to settle into your body,
Just the smallest little movements can help you feel a little bit more comfortable.
Maybe just a little wiggle in your torso,
Rotating your neck a bit side to side,
Maybe even just stretching out your hands,
Making some wrist rolls,
Just checking in.
Very often those little tiny movements help us feel where there might be a little bit of tension in the body,
And anywhere where we feel a little tension,
That's just our body asking for tending.
And as you just check in,
You're welcome of course at any point to close your eyes or set your gaze downward.
Slowly,
Starting to turn your attention inward,
And not the kind of attention that we're searching for something,
And just like when the sun comes out,
And you're just basking in the glow of it,
We're turning that kind of attention towards ourself,
Just this gentle illumination.
Rather than again seeking or pinpointing anything to figure out in our meditation,
We begin with just simply being.
And perhaps you're even imagining,
If imagery is helpful for you,
That whatever light source is around you,
That's imagining it like the sun,
Just warming you.
And then noticing your eyes behind closed lids,
And just allowing your eyes to be soft.
And no imagination required here,
Just the simple act of softening your gaze,
Closing your eyes,
Is a way to invite in a bit of rest,
A bit of slowness.
And sometimes when we slow down,
We notice our mind is busy,
Or we notice it's fixated,
Or we notice it's sleepy.
Just like we can notice the heaviness of closed eyes,
We can also notice our thoughts.
And that's the idea.
It's anchoring into your body.
And no matter how busy or dull the thoughts are,
We're just witnessing them.
On this next exhale,
Can you soften in a little deeper?
And just receive,
Just receive the softness of your exhale.
Receive the life of your next inhale.
Just slowly unhooking from any doing that's required,
Just being with your breath for a few moments here.
And as we witness thoughts,
We're witnessing the left side of our brain and all of its beautiful functioning.
And there's not a true separation between right and left hemispheres of our brain.
Our brain very often is working in conjunction side to side.
It is true that the left side of our brain speaks in language,
And the right side is imagery and color,
Sensation.
Very often throughout the day,
It's one particular part of our brain that's active,
Telling us what to do,
What comes next,
Working through challenges,
Using this cognitive word-oriented ability.
But just because that's familiar doesn't mean it's the most important way to process.
But because it's familiar,
It's usually the most obvious way.
So these invitations to slow down our mind,
To witness our breath,
Is an invitation to let that very,
Very cognizant,
Intelligent part of your brain a moment to reflect on and to rest.
That part of your brain that's almost always active.
Just inviting other parts of you to awaken.
Just the simplicity of noticing the weight of your hands in your lap.
It might take a moment to wiggle your toes.
The movement itself brings our sudden attention there.
Not a ton of effort,
But wise effort.
And just noticing your toes,
Your hands,
Your breath.
Letting your eyes rest heavy.
These are just moments of inviting in your body's wisdom,
That bottom-up wisdom.
And letting your top-down thinking settle just for that half second.
Just notice again your hands.
Can you notice the temperature of them?
The weight of them?
Perhaps even the texture beneath them?
Just curious.
Sometimes as we witness different patterns in the mind,
They can get a little sticky.
We just keep falling into a particular loop of thought.
Sometimes just the awareness of it is enough to allow us unhooking for a moment.
Sometimes those thoughts are just a little extra sticky and hard to unhook from.
That's where our physical body can be so supportive.
Movement is the language that the right side of our brain speaks.
Movement.
Sensation.
And I'll invite you,
Depending on how you're situated,
How you're sitting or reclining,
I'm going to do a little bit of movement,
Just very gentle.
If it makes sense for you,
I'll invite you to bring your fingertips towards the tops or fronts of your shoulders.
And if that doesn't quite feel right for your wrists,
You can just bring your fingertips to the back of your neck.
Elbows wide.
And then take a moment here,
And the next breath in,
Lift your chest up and forward as your elbows go back,
Chin goes up.
And then when you exhale,
Tuck your chin,
Round your upper back,
See if you can even tap your elbows together.
Do the same thing on the inhale.
Elbows wide,
Chin and chest lifted.
And then as you exhale,
Round,
Maybe your elbows touch,
But moving in that direction.
Do two more just like that,
Opening up.
And then allowing that softening,
That closure as you exhale.
One more just like that.
Elbows nice and wide,
See if you can linger on this inhale.
And then same thing,
Tapping forward,
And then just lingering on this exhale.
Pause here for a moment.
Press your elbows forward,
Press the space right between your shoulder blades backward.
And then finally,
When you feel ready,
Just allow your hands to rest again.
You might notice a new circulation,
New blood flow.
And in its simplest form,
That movement gets us out of our head for just a moment.
Our meditation is designed to support us,
Rather than trying to force meditation to always be a certain way.
Sometimes those movements are the most helpful thing.
Settle into a bit of silence here again.
If that movement was supportive,
You can continue.
Maybe some neck rolls would feel nice,
But just checking in,
Does my body need movement?
Or does the stillness work today?
Wherever you are,
Still just noticing your breath coming in and out.
Whenever you feel ready,
Bring your hands into your closing habits or practices.
Just noticing again,
Just the weight of your hands.
This little gesture,
You can come back to this anytime throughout the day.
It's another way that we can use that bottom-up wisdom.
Instead of the top-down thinking,
Just placing your hands in this gesture for even half a second,
As your body reminding you of your practice.
I'll end with a few loving-kindness phrases,
Just repeating them back as they make sense for you.
May I be healthy and supported.
May I seek and find contentment today.
When action is needed,
May I choose to move with ease and peace.
May the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
Go slow if you can.
Whenever you feel complete,
You can find a little movement.
Take a moment to thank yourself just for showing up.
And as always,
Thank you for being here,
Supporting each other in our sangha,
Our community.
