Today's practice is all about taking a moment to connect with nature in whatever way is accessible to you.
So if you're not already,
Go ahead and pause this and go outside to a park or maybe just to your yard or any green space around you.
And once you're seated,
Take a look around you.
What do you notice?
What do the clouds look like today?
Are there any plants nearby?
And do you know those plants?
Are there any other people?
Are there any animals?
Just start to take in your environment.
And then taking a moment to either close the eyes completely or just taking them to a low gaze.
And start to tune in to some of your other senses.
What are the smells that you're taking in right now?
Does it smell like the city or does it smell fresh?
Are there any food smells?
Any flowers?
Any blossoming trees?
And now,
Listen for what you can hear around you.
Maybe in order to hear clearly,
You'll need to take out an earbud.
That's totally fine.
But listen to the sounds in your environment.
And lastly,
Where are you sitting?
Are you sitting on the ground or on a bench?
And what does it feel like beneath you?
Is there a specific temperature or texture to the place where you're sitting?
Really just getting as specific as possible with all of these senses.
And now that we have attuned to our environment,
Let's take a few breaths together.
We'll start with box breath.
So it'll be an inhale for four,
Hold for four,
Exhale for four,
And hold on the bottom for four.
All done through the nose.
Let's meet on the exhale here.
And breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Hold,
Exhale,
Hold.
Continuing this in your own time for a few more rounds.
And on your next exhale,
Release all of the air from your lungs.
And together we'll take one big deep breath in through the nose.
And now exhale with pursed lips like you're blowing out through a straw.
Making it as quiet and as subtle as you possibly can.
Inhaling once again,
And exhaling again like you're blowing out through a straw.
Imagine a feather is right in front of you,
And you don't even want that feather to move.
That's how gently you're blowing.
Take two more rounds of that type of breath.
Now letting go of any technique,
Just exhaling and coming back to the breath.
In and out through the nose.
And notice how your state may have shifted.
What noises are you hearing now?
What textures are you feeling in the ground beneath you?
What smells are you taking in?
And is it the same as when we started this practice just a few moments ago?
We live in such a fast-paced world where we never actually notice what's going on around us.
At least I can say that for myself.
And so I want to acknowledge you for coming into this practice,
For grounding through your senses and truly experiencing what's going on around you.
Thank you for practicing today.
