My name is Larissa and we're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
Spending a little time in your body,
Spending a little time in the present,
And the good news is our body is always doing that.
Our breath is always present and that's why we choose our focal point as somewhere within our body.
So I'll invite you to settle in.
Maybe making a couple of shoulder rolls,
Giving a little wiggle to your torso so you can settle just one to two percent deeper into your seated position or your reclined position or however you ended up.
Just remembering there's no quote-unquote proper way to show up for meditation as far as position,
As far as tools to use.
Just checking in,
What feels supportive for me in this moment?
You're welcome to close your eyes or set your gaze downward if you haven't already done so.
I'm starting to turn your attention a bit more inward.
Then just notice for a moment your feet and whatever they're touching.
Just the tiniest little wiggle of your toes or squeezing and releasing of your toes helps you notice and experience the sensation of your feet.
Bring your attention to your hands.
Just notice that little tiny shift in intentionality and attentionality.
So bringing this intention to notice your feet and all of a sudden your feet become more obvious but how easily we can shift from feet to hands.
And as you notice your hands,
So what do you experience there?
Weight,
Temperature,
Pressure.
Sometimes when we notice hands,
We move them a bit.
It's just an automatic sensation or response to paying attention.
And then just for a moment,
Spread your toes,
Spread your fingers as wide as you can and give them a little wiggle.
Notice the sensation you create in your palms,
Across the tops and the bottoms of your feet.
And then when you feel ready,
Just releasing again.
Let your feet relax,
Let your hands relax.
Invite your shoulders to soften.
Then your jaw.
And even your eyelids.
Is there some softening that can occur?
Letting your face rest.
Rest.
And that little tool of just noticing your hands and feet is a way to ground your attention back in the present.
So often our mind is moving future and past,
Planning,
Creating,
Worrying,
Excited.
All of these different experiences we can have in our mind.
And right here in the present,
In stillness,
In this time that we've set aside,
There's often broad spaces of just neutrality.
And the more we practice just open awareness of these open spaces,
The more we can settle into them.
Just remembering that we don't have to use forcefulness,
You don't have to force yourself to be still.
Anytime you need a little refresher,
Take a deep breath and sigh it out.
Stretch your hands as wide as you can.
Notice that sensation that you create and then soften again.
Creating purposeful tension in our body by stretching our fingers or our toes wide.
And then releasing that tension purposefully.
It's one of the many ways we can remind our minds that it can rest.
It doesn't have to be so vigilant.
Right now in this moment,
As you soften your shoulders on this exhale,
Invite your mind to soften as well.
And somewhere in the midst of hands and feet,
And that soft skin around your eyelids,
In these places we're inviting to just rest in their deep stillness,
There's still somewhere in the middle your heart beating.
And on occasion,
In times of intense physical exertion,
When we're carrying something heavy,
We can feel our heartbeat in our fingertips.
It's always there.
But sometimes it requires that intense exertion in order for us to really feel heartbeat in our fingertips.
It's a reminder that it's always there.
We don't have to feel it to remember that it exists.
And it might be possible to be still enough,
Especially in that space between breaths.
You can notice your heartbeat somewhere in your body.
But even when we don't feel it,
We trust that it's there.
Because life is still moving through us.
Even on the days I don't feel particularly grateful,
Gratitude still exists.
Even on the days that I feel lonely and disconnected,
Connection is still right here.
It's not separate.
Very often,
As Thich Nhat Hanh would so wisely say,
It's letting the mud settle.
It's this churning of my mind.
Sometimes I'm so lost in thought that I forget the sensation in my body altogether.
Something as subtle as heartbeat in my fingertips feels impossibly far away.
Just like connection and love sometimes feel impossibly far away.
But when I allow my mind to settle,
It's resting in the exhale just like my shoulders can soften.
Just like my hands can create tension and soften.
When I allow my mind to this softening,
Suddenly I'm right back in the present,
Which carries peace,
Ease,
Comfort,
Joy.
Just noticing again your hands.
Letting your hands be what grounds you into this present moment.
You might even place one hand inside the other,
Over your chest or in your lap.
Seeking that contact of your own supportive self.
So remembering it's always just right here.
I can take a breath and I can invite a softening in my shoulders.
No matter how sticky a thought,
That moment of invitation disrupts whatever thought loop it is,
Just for that half second.
And I can remember my heart is still beating.
I can rest into this exhale.
When you feel ready,
Start to bring your hands into any of your own closing habits or practices.
We might do poems together as a symbol of gratitude.
You might place a hand on your heart,
And the other hand on a body part that needs support.
Hands stacked on top of each other.
Whatever you choose,
It's a way that you're contacting yourself.
And this little seal,
This gesture,
It's a way to remind yourself of your practice.
Many times throughout the day,
I just simply tap my chest.
It's this physical reminder,
The steadiness of my practice.
It's,
Oh yeah,
That's right.
Everything is right here.
And we'll end with a few loving kindness phrases,
Just repeating them back as they make sense for you.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
May my hands today remind me of my practice.
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.
Take a moment to thank yourself.
Find movement when you feel ready.
As always,
Thank you each for being here,
For supporting each other,
For being a part of our sangha,
Our community.
