Welcome to Chung Hoon Institute.
For these next few minutes,
Allow your heart to become open.
Open to the experience of breath breathing itself.
Open to understanding.
Coming into whoever this self.
Yes.
Take a deep breath in.
And let it go with a sigh.
Making sure you're in a comfortable position.
Sitting on a cushion on a mat or even a chair if you're sitting on a chair making sure that the ankles are right below the knees knees are above the ankles If you're sitting on a cushion,
You're invited to sit in any way that feels good.
Maybe even half lotus.
The eyes close or the gaze soften.
The hands are on the thighs or knees,
Palms face down for grounding.
Take a deep breath in.
Let it go.
One more time.
Letting yourself arrive.
Letting yourself land into this moment.
This moment of practice.
Begin by relaxing the physical body,
Removing,
Releasing all tensions.
Squeeze the toes.
Squeeze as tight as you can without causing pain.
And when the foot is completely contracted into itself.
Hold the breath.
Exhale,
Let go of the contraction.
Relax the feet.
Now do the same thing with the shins.
Squeeze the shins.
Squeeze the thighs.
Keep squeezing,
Hold the breath.
Exhale,
Let go.
Now take your hands and squeeze the hands into fists.
Tighten them.
Inhale,
Lift the shoulder blades up to the ears.
Hold,
Hold the breath.
Five,
One,
Let go,
Exhale.
Allowing yourself to notice.
What happened in these few seconds?
That occurred in the body.
And what occurred in the mind.
What's happening now?
They say that when the body is relaxed,
Your mind can live in concentration and ease.
And likewise,
When the mind is calm,
The body can relax.
Where can you relax just a little bit more?
For these next few moments.
Let yourself rest.
On the natural rhythm of your breath.
Breathing in and out.
Through the nose.
Noticing.
The length of every breath cycle,
Noticing if there's stagnation or flow.
Noticing if there's sound or silence.
Just noticing.
Not changing anything.
And if you can concentrate on your breath in this way.
Your life may be a little calmer.
As you develop concentration,
You open the door for insights to emerge.
And through insight,
There is wisdom.
With wisdom,
We begin to see reality as it is,
Just a little bit more.
Thus we suffer less.
Thereby we have more happiness,
More ease and joy.
So with that in mind,
When your mind wanders,
When your mind realms.
It's okay.
You don't have to judge it.
You don't have to be rude.
You don't have to be mean to yourself.
You notice my mind is going places.
And now I return to my breath,
Breathing in and out.
Noticing.
Remembering that feelings and sensations,
Perceptions,
All may arise.
As they do,
You just return to your object of focus,
Breathing in and out.
If thoughts feel too strong.
Overwhelming.
You can simply say,
Not now,
Mind,
And come back.
Breathing in and out.
If stories persist,
Remind yourself now is not the time.
Because now you are developing the capacity for insight to emerge.
You are developing the space for wisdom.
And sometimes when we develop space,
And we dig.
Can get dirty.
Many creatures may emerge.
In this case,
Those creatures are like gremlins of the mind.
Are you going to let them take over you?
Or are you going to be in control?
And every time you return to your breath.
Your object of concentration,
You're digging.
Digging,
Creating a space again for wisdom.
Take a deep breath in.
And let it go.
Allow yourself to notice.
Any effects your practice has had.
On your mind and body.
And when you feel complete we would recommend.
And you just take a moment to journal.
Or to take note.
What is this practice like for you?
Why is it important?
And how can you carry this off the cushion or off your seat?
