Laying down,
Or sitting,
Or standing,
Why not go a little bit unusual.
Take the next five breaths to ask your body,
Hello body,
How do you want to be today?
And sense if sitting is a solution that will help you sit quietly,
Or if standing is a better omen,
Or even laying down.
And keep connecting to your breath.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Noticing the depth of your breath today.
Are you stuck up on your upper body,
In your chest?
Are you able to sense the travelling of the breath down to your belly and find a reason there?
Or maybe what comes up easy is the breath at the tip of your nose.
Surrounding sound may come and go from your apartment,
Your neighbours,
Your partners,
Your roommates.
Are those distracting you from the breath?
Car passing,
Reminding you of the life outside your place.
So that no matter what happens outside,
Happens inside,
It's all ok.
How about you have this approach of ever understanding that life just continues even when you slow down.
But that should not stop you from slowing down.
Keep a few more breaths,
Maybe a little slower.
Meaning lengthening a bit your exhale,
Lengthening a bit your inhale.
Steve your heartbeat if you do that.
Sometimes I feel my heartbeat around my throat on the left side.
Sometimes I just need to place one hand over my wrist of the other arm and sense a bit like I'm alive.
You could play with that and move your hands towards your neck or move your hand towards your wrist where you could take your pulse.
And just sense that for a moment you know.
Get acquainted.
Huh,
Heartbeat.
This is rad.
Who takes time to notice their heartbeat unless they are at the hospital?
What if taking your heartbeat had no notion of sickness surrounding it but instead a notion of aliveness?
Could you go for a couple to move from the sensation of the heartbeat that might be around your hand into the sensation of the breath that might be around your lungs?
Could you go from one to the other for the next moment?
Most likely the heart beats much faster than your breath.
And yet know that when you calm down your body,
When you stay in stillness,
When your breath is even,
When your mind is calm,
Then your heartbeat can slow down.
Really,
Really slow.
And as I say that maybe your mind is going 100 miles an hour and it's actually creating agitation in your heartbeat.
I'm not saying it should be calm.
I'm just inviting you to notice.
What's that?
Is the mind triggering your heartbeat into faster mode?
Is the breath triggering your heartbeat into a softer mode?
Let's stay with that for a little while longer.
Of course no pressure.
If it's really disturbing you or creating anxiety,
Come back to a point of focus like sound,
That's better for you.
That's it.
And yet that sage and ancient bearer of meditation or yoga were able to really slow down,
Slow down their breath,
Slow down their heart.
And yet be fully present with the element.
Becoming somehow the element.
And kind of letting go of your hand and continuing with some breath awareness.
Bring your mind into the elements and your body into the earth.
Can you feel the heaviness of the lower part of your body if you're sitting?
Or your whole body if you're laying down?
Bring your whole attention towards that gravity pull.
You're right there,
Heavy.
Maybe even your hand or elbows or wrists are heavy.
Maybe even your shoulders,
Your bones tricked you.
Earth's element grounding you,
Pulling you to rooting.
If the roots are deep enough,
The weather can't move the tree.
So if your focus is deep enough in your root,
The mind can't move your body.
How's that feel?
How's that working for you?
Are you there yet?
No judgment,
Just noticing.
Is this a thing for you?
To feel grounded and because of that grounding to feel calmer in your mind.
Another element,
The sage,
Yogi used to look into is the water.
If you brought your whole attention toward your mouth,
Can you sense your saliva?
Any taste in presence there?
Two-spaced coffee,
Tea,
Croissant,
Whatever it is.
Bubbles texture?
Are you parched?
Is there just little saliva?
Water is more than 65% of your body.
I think it's almost 80% or something.
It's huge.
The amount of water your body contains.
Is there a part of your body where you're able to be aware of the water?
Maybe some of you are digesting and hear bubbling in your digestive tract?
Ladies in mainstream eating may have also the notion of something going on.
Your whole awareness.
And then leaving that and bringing your attention to the breath once more.
Air element,
Air.
How is this moving through?
And block that place maybe?
Fluid or constricted?
Passing through with your attention.
Any scent transported with the air?
Any flower near you or incense or perfume?
Breathe with the intent of smelling life around you.
And for the element of fire,
I'll just invite you to notice in your body any place that is feeling warm.
So you can scan from the top of your head to your feet.
And I know some of you feel cold a lot,
Feel cool in meditation.
Can you find that little spot that might be warm?
Belly,
Under the armpit,
And further it's your hands,
Your throat.
Find heat in that body.
It is alive so it's warm.
And from that place of deep connection with yourself,
With your mind,
Heart,
Check in.
How are you doing?
Maybe the unpleasantness of the stiff body because you've been sitting and laying for a while.
Maybe some calm or agitation.
On an emotional level,
Is there an emotion that is persistent?
And as we come to the end of this practice,
Maybe formulate a phrase in your mind,
What do you think is important to remember?
Very gently,
Take in the sight of your room by opening your eyes if they were closed.
Turning those little eyes in their socket and looking around,
The light,
The colors,
The structure of furniture,
The shapes.
Move your body in any way that feels pleasant.
