Hi,
Thanks for being here.
Here when you could be in a myriad of other places.
I Need a Minute offers short practices for when you need to step away from your day and come back to yourself.
Each offering is 15 minutes or less with simple practices in meditation,
Pranayama,
Movement,
And stillness to help you pause,
Breathe,
And reconnect with your body.
For today's practice,
We'll begin in a comfortable seat.
Please make your way to a chair.
Or to a bolster,
Block,
Or blanket on the ground.
Set yourself up with a tripod base.
Feel the sits bones anchor down into that which your bum touches beneath you.
Begin to shift forward and back,
Side to side.
Notice how the sensation feels in your body.
And please come to the place where you feel centered,
You feel well aligned in your own body.
If you find that you're rounding through the back body,
I'll invite you to shift forward just a bit.
Come off the tailbone,
Which is part of the spine.
And feel into the sits bones part of the pelvis.
Bring your awareness if you're in a chair to your feet.
And see that they're equally weighted beneath you.
If you're seated on a cushion,
A block,
A bolster,
Bring your awareness to your knees and see how that feels.
Begin here to lower the gaze or close the eyes.
And ask yourself how you're doing.
Let's see if it's possible to set aside any stock replies.
I'm good,
I'm fine.
And come to the truer answer that exists inside of you.
Notice how you rested last night.
The activities of your day that have brought you to this moment.
Acknowledge any thoughts here that are holding your attention.
Meet yourself here.
Welcome.
The practice we'll explore today is samma vritti.
Now Pranayama practice with the inhale and the exhale,
As well as the holds between the two.
Are equal in length.
This is also called a box breath.
Vritti means wave or length And sama means same.
The count I'll offer you today is a four count breath.
But please modify the count if it feels too long for you.
You can absolutely switch to a two count or three count breath.
If you haven't yet softened the gaze or closed the eyes,
Begin to do that now.
Take your awareness to the natural rhythm of breath in the body.
Notice where you experience the sensation of breath.
And as you begin to lengthen and deepen your breath,
See the ways in which those spaces grow.
The spaces in which you experience the sensation of your breath.
Moving perhaps for the first time today into an intentional breath.
Before we begin to incorporate Samavritti.
Let the elbows get heavy.
Feel the shoulders drop away from the ears.
Invite a sense of groundedness,
Rootedness,
Heaviness into your seat.
And from that place of anchoring.
Exhale all the breath.
Inhale for a count of one,
Two,
Three.
3.
4.
Pause,
Four,
Three.
2.
One.
Exhale.
One.
Two.
3.
.
.
Four,
Pause,
One,
Two,
Three.
3.
4.
Inhale,
One.
2.
Four.
Pause for a moment.
3.
One.
Exhale 1,
2,
3.
Three,
Four,
Pause,
Four,
Three,
One,
Inhale.
Pause.
Exhale heart.
Inhale.
Pause.
Exhale.
Pause.
Last round,
Inhale.
Pause.
Exhale.
Pause and return to your natural rhythm of breath.
Notice here the imprint of your practice.
And what is left behind in the mind.
In the body.
Bring into your mind here something for which you feel grateful.
Envision this place,
This person,
This thing.
This practice,
Whatever it is.
Bring it into your mind's eye and see it clearly here.
Feel the gratitude inside your heart space.
You might even envision the gratitude radiating out from the center of your being,
From your heart.
From gratitude and from centeredness,
All things are possible.
Please bring your hands to touch at heart center.
Feel the connection between your palms.
I'll close our time together with the teacher student prayer.
Om Sahana Bhavatu.
Saha nao bahu naktu.
SAHAVIR YAM KARVA VAHAI Tejas vina vadhi tamas tu.
Ma ved vishavahai om shanti shanti shanti May we be protected together.
May we be nourished together.
May we study together with great vigor and may these studies be enlightening.
Let there be no animosity among us.
Let there be peace,
Peace,
Peace.
For we are all teacher and we are all students.
May we walk the path.
With gratitude as our guiding light.
Thank you for being here today.
