But Amelia,
I don't have time to get my yoga mat,
I don't have time to meditate.
Okay,
Great.
I'm not going to ask you to do anything like that today.
And instead of reaching for your yoga mat,
I would like to invite you to go and get your laundry basket.
It's all you need.
We're going to settle in and find some time and the quality of spaciousness within the mess,
Within the hectic,
Within the busy,
Within the everyday.
So taking a moment now,
You can pause this,
Go and find your laundry or whatever it is that is on the to-do list.
Just get settled in.
Alright,
So now that you're ready with your task in front of you,
Let's wake up the hands.
I'm going to invite you and everything I say is an invitation,
So please go at your own pace and find adaptations that work for you.
This is an invitation to wake up the hands.
Inspired by Dr.
Betty Martin and the Wheel of Consent.
I'm going to invite you to bring your hands together,
Live in prayer.
Just breathing in.
2,
3,
4 and breathing out.
3,
4,
5,
6 and pause.
2,
3,
4 breathing in.
2,
3,
4 and exhale.
2,
3,
4,
5,
6 and both of you need to turn your awareness to your hands.
Feel their warmth.
Breathing in and feeling the wisdom,
The knowledge that you hold in your hands.
Your hands are capable of so very many things from the gentlest touch,
The lightest caress,
Full of compassion and kindness to strength,
To creativity.
Capable of so very much.
You are capable of so very much.
With this renewed sense of self and grounding in the body,
I'm going to invite you to grab your hands together ever so lightly,
Playing with the strength of the touch,
Swapping from nails to fingertips,
Palm to palm,
Back of hand,
Back of hand,
Building up some warmth in this space and shake it off.
Shake and breathe.
Alright,
Grounded in the body,
I'm going to invite you to pick up the piece of laundry closest to you.
Hopefully you've tipped it all out in front of you.
Pick up whatever is closest to you and before you begin to fold it,
I'm going to invite you to just hold it.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4 and pause,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6 and pause,
2,
3,
4.
You can keep breathing at your own pace and as you breathe,
I'm going to invite you to explore the texture of this item in your hands.
Don't make any analysis of it,
Don't think about anything at all.
Bringing your awareness entirely from your frontal lobe,
Your thinking mind to the tips of your fingers and with all of that intelligence and wisdom,
Just revel in this physical object that you hold with your physical body.
You are a physical creature,
You are here for a human curriculum and part of that is worldly tasks,
The caring for yourself.
Part of that is being the handmaiden,
Rising to tasks like laundry with grace.
With the wisdom to see that this is how you care for yourself,
This is self-care.
Breathe in and breathe out.
With the next breath I'm going to invite you to care for this item with reverence.
Can you fold it with a sense of reverence?
The invitation now is to see this as a ritual.
Instead of romanticising your life relying on the highs and lows and melodramas of romance,
Instead tune in to an idea of ritual and reverence.
As if sweeping the temple as if sweeping the temple you are resting you are capable of resting as you fold.
Breathing in recognising spaciousness breathing out a sense of dignity Moving on to the items as you see fit and when you're ready.
Enjoy the textures with your hands.
Can you marvel at the intelligence of your body this incredible gift?
Holy shit!
How much can you feel?
There's no need to rush through this.
You don't need to get this done at breakneck speed just to be done with it.
Instead this can be your time to radiate and recoup energy and part of that is being able to marvel at the world around you and the world within.
The incredible design of your body.
How much can you feel?
With each new item that you pick up how alive are your fingers?
Recognising that when we're rushing through the world often we do so in a state of numbness and overwhelm because we just can't cope,
We can't keep up with all of the things to process and conversations we've had and are yet to have and the piling to-do lists.
Breathing as you fold.
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
Hmm.
Hmm.
Recognising this practice as Karma Yoga.
Recognising that this is a way to show up for yourself.
Sure you could just scramble them all up and throw them on your bed and then when you finally turn in later than you should for a restless night of sleep,
Then just chuck them all onto the floor and when you wake up in the morning they can go from the floor to the bed.
Of course you could do that.
Smile at the wisdom that comes from these kinds of crutches.
You could do that and you could gift yourself a little bit of extra time to I don't know,
Read or be with friends.
But right now,
You're making a different choice.
Right now,
You are choosing to tune in.
You are actively caring for yourself with each fold.
Hmm.
I'm inviting you now to turn your awareness to the items in your hand.
Recognising the fabrics from the natural world that have come to you.
Recognising the scientific breakthroughs that have allowed the synthetic materials to be in front of you.
Breathing that in.
That you live in such a time.
How amazing.
Breathing in.
Sending gratitude to all the people involved in the production of the item in your hands.
How far does your compassion reach?
Send it all the way up with the breath.
Breathing in and letting go.
Breathing in and letting go.
When you can slow down enough to truly appreciate the things that you have,
You'll have less of an appetite for more.
When you can see the absolute beauty,
Remember fondly all the memories associated with the garment in your hands,
You will just not need so many new things.
Recognise that the more you can pour your love,
Kindness,
Care into these items as you take care of them,
You are also making a radical,
Rebellious act to consume less.
You care for these items in a way that makes them last longer.
They won't need to be replaced.
You don't need so many new things.
Needing less.
Wanting less.
In turn,
Able to leave a lighter footprint on the earth.
What a beautiful practice.
What a beautiful soul.
Thank you for choosing to take care of yourself in this way.
Thank you for pouring your love and care into your clothes this way.
Thank you for leaving a lighter footstep upon the earth.
With the next item,
I'm going to invite you to set an intention Maybe it's for how you show up for yourself in relation to others with the world around you.
Breathing in the spirit of that intention.
Remember that the life that you have is precious.
Please remember with all of your heart that everything exists just where you are.
You don't need a yoga mat to meditate.
You don't need a gong bath.
You just need your breath.
And the intention to turn inward.
Thank you for taking this time and know that you can come back to this practice whenever you have housework to do and the desire to reframe it as a spiritual practice.
The wisdom is in your hands to carry out the task and you can shift your thinking mind as the centre of your being into your heart and from there you are able to show up to any manner of things as a spiritual practice,
Be it how you care for yourself how you talk to others how you show up for work care for plants and trees It's all here in everything.
My name is Amelia Marchington and I am so grateful that you spent this time with me.
You can replay this practice if you still have work to do and feel free to save it for next time.
And to close I'm just going to invite you to flex your hands closed palm breathing in open palm breathing out bringing one hand to chest if that feels comfortable for you and another to your soft animal belly In this dance reminding yourself that you are at home in your body This body and experience belongs to you and is capable of being reframed just with the breath and the intention to do so Another breath as a reminder of your innate power and expansive resources And one final breath for gratitude and grace
