A brief scan from the gross to the subtle through the five bodies or sheaths can help us ground down,
Settle the nervous system,
And really allow our bodies and the integrated layers which make up the self to reveal and show us what's present,
What needs attention as we move from the bondage of body and mind identification into the more refined,
Subtle spaces of peace and oneness and harmony.
So begin with the hips heavy,
The shoulders heavy,
The back of the neck lengthening,
The ears hovering over the shoulders.
Allow the breath to lengthen and deepen as you mentally prepare for your meditation,
Your observation practice.
And first tune in with the world around you perhaps.
There's sounds that you can hear.
You can feel the air on the soles of the feet or the palms of the hands.
And then notice the food body,
Our Manamaya Kosha.
We begin here,
The most dense of the bodies,
Feeling what's present in the skin,
The blood,
The bones,
The organs,
Noticing,
Observing without name,
Without judgment,
Without forcing or rejecting.
We just observe what's there,
What's present in the physical body,
Both the obvious,
The skin,
The hair,
The eyes,
But also we begin to cultivate the interoception,
The awareness of the inner workings of our body,
The digestion,
The reproductive organs,
The lungs,
The heart.
Notice what's there.
Notice with acceptance,
With presence,
With watchfulness.
And allow the awareness to draw more refined,
One layer more subtle to our Pranamaya Kosha,
Our energetic body.
How is the quality of my energy today?
Notice what's there.
As the breath moves down from the external through the nose down into all corners of the body,
The Prana Shakti is vitalizing and permeating your whole being.
So here we're connecting external with internal,
Watching the rhythm,
The source,
The mystery of breath,
Knowing when to arise and when to subside,
Breath being the key to that great mystery in life.
So just observe the Pranamaya Kosha,
Your energetic body,
Allowing the awareness to move one layer deeper to our mental and emotional bodies.
Noticing again the quality of the thoughts,
Noticing the rise and fall of the emotions.
And in this observing and watching and witnessing of this mental and emotional body,
Can you begin to draw your awareness to the space between the rise and fall,
The space between the thoughts coming and the thoughts subsiding.
And in this watching,
We naturally refine the awareness one layer more subtle to the Vyanamaya Kosha,
The wisdom body,
Our higher intelligence.
If we had to place it on the body,
It would be there between the eyebrows.
It might be a subtle whisper or maybe it's there shouting loudly.
But here in the seat of meditation is where your wisdom body,
Your Vyanamaya Kosha,
Has the opportunity to reveal that which you already know,
The answers to all your questions.
They're within you.
And as you connect more subtle,
More refined,
We allow the awareness to hover on the Brahmarandra,
Above the crown of the head.
Connecting now with the most refined,
The most subtle body,
The Anandamaya Kosha,
Your bliss body,
Which is there beyond any sense of body,
Any sense of mind,
Emotion.
The bliss body is there ever present,
Ever permeating.
This is your moment of yoga,
Of connection,
Of oneness with that ever present bliss being the highest self,
The most concentrated and all permeating presence is there,
Both within and without.
Always available.
Sometimes we just have to allow the awareness to be where it is in the more gross and dense material world and gently and slowly,
With patience and compassion,
Guide the awareness more refined,
More subtle,
More quiet,
More still,
Until we reach that bliss body,
Which is beyond any sense of happiness or unhappiness.
It's all permeating,
Ever present bliss,
Your true nature.
So keeping the awareness there in that blissful being,
Take a big,
Full inhale through the nose and exhale,
Big sigh out the mouth,
Remembering that the bliss body is readily available for you at any moment.
Gently close the eyes and allow yourself to be where you are and invite that subtle,
Refined awareness to draw towards your true nature,
The bliss body.
Amaramham maduram ham.
Thank you for meditating with me.
