A few decades back,
As I embarked on my meditation journey,
I recall really grappling with the challenge of calming my mind.
It was a hurdle that seemed to hinder my progress,
Leaving me somewhat frustrated.
Focusing on my breath,
Which is the most common way to settle your mind,
Just didn't seem to be anchoring enough for me.
We are all unique individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Hence,
Our responses to techniques will vary.
I want to present alternative methods that may shift your perspective on what we're actually wanting to do while settling your mind during meditation.
It's essential for us to feel comfortable in allowing our body to relax into our sense of ground,
But to really and truly be able to let go,
We need to really trust our sense of ground.
Of course,
We can spend time in meditation becoming aware of the sense of our physical ground,
But there's also a subtle sense of ground,
And this is a connection to a feeling of steadiness within ourselves.
We can begin to feel steady when our body starts to relax and let go.
So if we can spend some time gradually allowing our physical body to relax into our sense of ground,
Our whole system starts to ease,
Relax,
And feel grounded.
It's almost like we have to give ourselves permission to really let go,
Instead of trying to make ourselves relax.
So let's give that a try now and see how it feels for you.
Before we begin,
Find yourself somewhere comfortable to sit.
It's really helpful to have your back tall and straight,
But don't be too rigid.
Allow a sense of ease and movement in your body.
In this meditation,
I'll give you a bit of guidance and then I'll leave a space of silence.
This is a space where you can really drop into your own experience and feel what is happening for you.
We'll start by doing a couple breaths together.
We'll breathe a really full deep breath in through our nose and then a long slow breath out through our mouth as if we're breathing out through a very fine straw.
And as you breathe out through that fine straw,
You can really feel your body relax down as you do it.
So take a full deep breath in through your nose and then breathe a long slow breath out through your mouth through a fine straw.
And as you do that,
Really feel your body relaxing down.
Take a second full deep breath in through your nose and then a long slow breath out through your mouth,
Feeling your body relax as you do that.
And now as you rest there,
Breathing naturally,
Rest your awareness onto the rhythm of your out-breath and follow your out-breath down.
Feeling your body relax deeper and deeper with each out-breath.
Now move your awareness slightly to become aware of your sense of ground.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the ground or the cushion or the chair pushing up from below you.
The feelings and sensations of the ground supporting your body,
Holding you as you rest there and allow yourself to relax.
If at any point you notice that you're distracted,
No problem,
Just notice that you're distracted and then notice what is happening in your body.
Do you feel any sense of tension in your body?
Do you feel any sense of holding or contraction within your body?
And then allow any holding or contraction to soften and relax again into your sense of ground.
See if you can really trust that sense of ground.
Trust that it will always support you and hold you.
And breath by breath,
Especially the out-breath,
Keep allowing your whole body to really let go and relax into your sense of ground.
Keep being inquisitive of the feeling and sensations of your sense of ground.
The sensations of the ground against your skin,
The feeling of the weight of your legs gently holding you down into that sense of ground.
And notice if you can really allow your whole body to trust that sense of ground and allow your whole body to really let go as you breath by breath,
Gradually allow yourself to relax into your sense of ground.
You may notice that you don't have to worry too much about trying to hold your mind on something to try settle your mind.
You may notice that as you keep allowing your body to really relax into your sense of ground,
It naturally frees up the tightness that can be found when trying to settle your mind.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
I hope this meditation helped you to feel grounded and connect to a sense of steadiness that you may hold for yourself.
It is always there.
You may just need to start allowing yourself to trust your ground.
And start letting go into it.
