Find a comfortable seat.
With your hips a little bit elevated.
That helps to keep your spine straight and your shoulders over your hips.
But even if you just join me.
Joining me.
It's so low.
Welcome.
And so often we will.
Take the spinning of the world.
Into our meditation practice,
Then we keep spinning.
Bye.
So I always like to do a little bit of reading.
Before I start any sort of meditation practice.
And sometimes I will focus on a word or phrase.
And yoga tradition.
It kind of calls this Joppa.
But.
.
.
Thanks a lot more.
Deeper than that.
But sometimes when we have a word or phrase to anchor us,
It just kind of becomes that lifeline.
And we and can use that throughout the day anytime our lives get out of control.
We can bring it back to that word.
And the word doesn't have to be a positive affirmation.
It can just very easily be.
I'm just a word of virtue.
Where you're not really trying to elaborate on it.
You're just kind of speaking it over and over again.
And just letting it echo through your mind.
So you're not asking any questions.
You're just kind of.
.
.
Allowing it to just kind of.
.
.
Tick off like a mindfulness bell.
And so.
One of the words that just kind of has been resonating with me.
Lately is the word sarama.
I'm sorry,
Sarama.
Sarva.
Saranam.
Sa-ra-nam.
Sarah Adam.
Sa Ra Na.
And so the N,
The M is.
Planet the closing of the lipsada num.
Ta-da!
None.
And what that means is refuge.
And you know in the Buddhist tradition,
They take refuge in the Buddha.
I'm.
.
.
And let this be your refuge.
Just that anchor,
That.
.
.
Net.
Feeling of everything is going to be okay.
And if you have a word or phrase that means something to you,
Then by all means,
Use that.
So let's just.
.
.
If you're not already.
Taking deep breaths.
Let's just kind of take some deep breaths and Again,
Just as you breathe in,
Feel your seat anchored.
But also feeling the lift.
So it's a breath coming in,
Opening the chest,
Opening the belly.
Grounding through your seat.
But also lifting.
Through the crown of the head.
And that just kind of reminds you to.
.
.
Keep the spine straight throughout the practice so you're not slumping over.
And let the breath,
Obviously you exhale.
And let that breath be kind of that background music.
So even if you lose the mantra,
Lose that word,
And you're like,
What was it again?
You can always just go back to the breath.
So it's just taking some deep breaths in.
I like to open the collarbone.
Manchester.
So.
In some traditions,
They will have you continually repeat the mantra.
So you might repeat that on and on.
On the inhale and on the exhale.
Or you can anytime your mind deviates just from this sense of groundness,
You repeat the mantra.
So let's begin.
Ground.
Inhale.
Sadang.
And ale.
Sat on that.
And now.
.
.
Sarana.
So you continue on your own,
Repeating the mantra as often or as little as you like.
Just knowing that the breaths.
And the word are your anchors.
Sat on that.
So long.
SEM Satana.
So if you have.
.
.
A few more moments,
You can pause.
And stay in this sense of groundedness.
But for the rest of us,
So you can.
Invite a few movements in the body sometimes.
I like to just kind of do some slow Those men.
Of the torso around the sit bones.
One Direction.
And then the other direction.
A few more breaths in.
So.
.
.
Rather than just getting up and.
.
.
Jumping in the shower.
Allow your legs to unfold.
Maybe straighten them,
Maybe hold them close to you.
And sets an intention for the day to remain in this sense of groundedness.
Because as you know,
Life can be pretty chaotic.
Life can be.
.
.
A little out of hand.
But just returning to that refuge,
Sarana.
Remembering just that groundedness that we started the day with.
Hopefully,
You can.
Maintain your center.
Even if the world is spinning.
And make fruitful decisions for your life.
Rather than erotic ones.
Ones that are reactive.
And that's really what we want to do.
We want to ground ourselves in truth.
Compassion.
As we do good works for the benefit of all beings.
Take care.
