Mindfulness Meditation

A recording of our online morning meditation. The 7 pillars of mindfulness. Starting with Sama Virritis our equal breath to find an equanimity for our practice. Find a Dharana (Sanskrit word from the yoga sutras - one point of focus for our practice) whilst we explore the seven pillars - Non-Judgement, Patience, Beginners Mind, Trust, Nonstriving, Acceptance, and Letting Go. Ending with a few minutes of silence before closing our practice.

Thank you for meditating with me

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation this morning.

Today as we go through our practice we're going to sort of explore the seven sort of pillars of mindfulness.

It's going to be a mindfulness practice today.

And we're going to start as we usually do,

Just getting into the body a little bit and finding our breath as well.

Because the breath is really important for any kind of meditation or mindfulness practice.

Especially mindfulness because it's that link to the present moment.

So wherever you are just take a moment to sit up nice and tall.

You can be sat on a cushion,

On a chair.

There's no right or wrong way.

And if you do need to move through your practice today it's okay.

You can change position.

Try to resist the urge to fidget around.

But you can certainly change positions or even lie down if you can't get comfortable where you are.

That's not a problem at all.

So wherever you are just begin to stack the spine.

So stacking the pelvis,

The shoulders,

Back of the head.

And then take a little bit of movement here if there's any part of the body in particular that you want to move maybe you join me in rolling the shoulders up to the ears and rolling the shoulders down.

Maybe you do that a couple of times.

Maybe you want to reach the arms up.

Take a big stretch out to the side.

Just take any sort of little movements that help you really just begin to sense and drop into the body.

Might be a neck roll,

Big stretch.

And then from there when you're ready just drop back to seated.

Any position that you want to meditate in today,

A steady and comfortable seat.

Being that little bit of movement just a little bit of energy a little bit of awareness into your body.

And then beginning to draw the breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

We're going to do about four more of those together breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.

In through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

Beginning to close the mouth sealing the lips.

And then just finding your breath in and out through the nostrils.

We're going to begin to do a sum of ready and equal breath.

So in your own time just begin to count your inhale in for four.

And your exhale out for four.

Inhaling for four.

Exhale for.

Keeping it going in how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

Exhale for.

In how for.

Exhale for.

Exhale for.

Just gently beginning to let that breath go.

No longer counting the breath.

Just seeing,

Feeling,

Sensing in the body,

Maybe the subtle shifts that occur with that breath.

The soothing calming balancing breath,

Maybe feel some of those remnants in your body.

And then we're going to go again adding in a pause this time so it's going to become an inhale for pause for exhale for.

So just making that box as we go.

So we can do it together or you can go off in your own pace.

We're going to take an inhale in for four.

Pause for.

Exhale for.

Pause for.

In how for.

Pause for.

Exhale for.

Pause for.

In how for.

Pause for.

Exhale for.

Pause for.

In how for.

Pause for.

Exhale for.

Pause for.

Keep it going last couple in your own count or just a feel for the equal breath.

Exhale for.

Exhale for.

Exhale for.

And then the time you reach your exhale you can just begin to let the counted breath guy.

Taking a few natural graphs.

It's noticing little shifts in your energy your mood your feeling.

And then notice.

Begin to notice whether you judge yourself as well whether you begin to attach a label of good or bad to that.

The first pillar of mindfulness.

So as we sit for a couple of moments here just noticing.

See if you can bring the awareness to the tip of the nose.

And see if you can just follow the breath.

Or hold the awareness at the tip of the nose.

While you just gently breathe noticing the breath.

This is called our dharana our one point of focus for our meditation.

We're not going to be able to hold this point of focus indefinitely.

Remembering that the aim of our meditation practice.

It's not to have a completely still and quiet mind.

It's not always possible because the mind is a natural thinking machine.

Heart beats the lungs breathe.

Mind thinks.

But in these moments,

Maybe we can just have a little bit of space between the thoughts as we hold our dharana our point of focus.

And when those thoughts do arise.

See if you notice.

Whether you're impartial whether you're just the mindful watcher of the thoughts.

Or whether there's a little bit of a critic judgement coming in.

Notice if there is.

See if you can come back to your point of focus.

And just neutralize it accept it let it be.

A couple of moments with this practice so just being mindful.

Particularly being mindful of judgement.

I guess we've heard.

These pillars of mindfulness,

They all sort of weave in and support each other.

The second pillar is patience.

This virtue that we all know we might need a little bit more work on.

Patience reminds us that our life will unfold in time.

We're drawing our inspiration from nature,

You can't rush the way that nature will unfold a flower or how it will move with the seasons.

Each time will come.

We draw on this knowledge of knowing that in time everything will unfold in its most natural way.

Maybe we can just let go of the reins a little bit,

Trying to control every outcome.

We just have patience.

Patience in our practice.

Patience in our life.

So as we stay here in our comfortable seat for our meditation,

See if any of the thoughts come up.

Without judging them,

See if any need a little bit of patience to temper them.

For me in meditation,

Often there's a feeling of wanting to skip to the end,

Wanting to skip to the bits that feel lovely.

Just drawing in that patience to let it unfold.

Working with your dharana,

Your point of focus,

The breath at the tip of the nose.

Theuscult MIT right back.

The third pillar of mindfulness is a beginner's mind.

It's easy to bring past experiences and expectations to our practice.

Because it was once like this,

We expect it to be the same again.

And that can bring all sorts of feelings to our practice.

How about if we just sit in this moment as it is knowing that we have never experienced this exact moment.

Maybe we can begin to let previous beliefs,

Previous experiences that we can let them soften,

Let them fade.

We can be truly present in this moment.

Being what gifts are right here.

We don't have a beginner's mind or we don't try and bring a beginner's mind to our practice.

We can get lost in expectations or trying to find something that we previously found.

Staying with your dharana,

Your point of focus of the breath that the nose is noticing,

Noticing the space between the thoughts.

Seeing the thoughts themselves.

We're seeing when we judge,

Noticing when we feel impatient.

Noticing when our beliefs and expectations are clouding,

Colouring our experience now.

Next,

We find the pillar of trust.

Seeing if you can just trust the practice.

Trust that you are on the right path.

Trust that you are guiding yourself.

Even looking to every moment that's led you here.

Have trust that the same way you've been guided here,

You'll be guided onwards.

Trust the practice.

Trust the path.

Staying with that dharana,

That point of focus,

The breath that the nose.

Enjoying that space between the thoughts.

And as the thoughts come,

Drawing on these pillars of mindfulness to navigate our practice.

Without judging,

Without expectations,

With patience and trust.

As we come next,

We find non-striving.

Understanding that we are enough.

That we don't have to be reaching for something different or something better.

Stay in this present moment as you are.

Next pillar we find is acceptance.

Learning to just be content with how things are.

Drawing on all the other pillars to find this acceptance.

Final pillar we find is just letting go.

Just letting go because this is such a hard thing in itself to do.

Even just letting our thoughts come and go and fighting the urge to follow the thought or create a story from that thought.

When we practice letting go,

We free ourselves from our worries.

Our thoughts.

Focusing on the present.

Seeing if that helps us find this inner peace in the present.

Coming back to that dharana,

That point of focus at the tip of the nose.

Finding that space between our thoughts.

And as the thoughts rise and fall,

Drawing on the pillars to navigate the practice.

The last couple of minutes of our practice,

We will take these in silence.

I will turn down the music.

In these moments of silence,

You might notice sounds around you more.

That's okay,

Use them.

They can be gentle reminders to come back to your practice,

Your dharana.

Noticing if the mind has wandered.

Just breathing there.

Staying present.

So long,

Everybody.

And now gently coming back to the breathing state.

Thank you.

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