Good morning.
I hope you had a restful sleep.
And if you didn't,
That's okay too.
We approach this day and each breath with an attitude of fresh outlook with the beginner's mind.
Because as long as we're living,
Our breath will move.
And each breath has never happened before.
It's fresh.
It feeds your brilliant body with all the necessary oxygen to function perfectly even when the days can be hard.
So today as we begin a meditation together,
The idea is for you to understand how brilliantly engineered your body is for receiving breath and life and fresh approach to all things to come.
And as we begin today,
Find yourself in a comfortable seated position.
I like to lift my hips up a little bit and sit on a soft cushion.
Mostly allow your spine to be straight.
That may include resting against the back of a chair or perhaps just free floating in space as you relax your knees down toward the floor,
Finding the best shape for your legs so that the blood and oxygen can circulate freely and beautifully to the outer tips of your toes.
And so taking a moment to arrange your body in that way for an easeful in-breath and out-breath.
Let's begin with your eyes lightly closed.
Just notice the temperature of the air as it comes in through your nose and out through your nose.
There's a change from in-breath to out-breath.
The out-breath being a little more warm than the in-breath.
There it is.
And how brilliant is our respiratory system that receives the life-affirming and life-giving air,
The oxygen that feeds our body and we interact with our day and our world as we breathe in and out,
Weaving a stream of life throughout your experiences.
And ultimately,
Life is being breathed into you.
You're just allowing life to be residing in your beautiful,
Brilliant,
Perfect body,
The one you brought in this morning.
This one,
Right just as it is.
Allow your shoulders to melt away from your ears.
Loosen your jaw.
Relax your cheeks and just notice the gentle rise and fall of the belly and the chest with the in-breath and the out-breath,
Taking care to make sure the out-breath,
The exhale,
Is just as long and beautiful as the inhale.
With the long inhales and exhales,
Our heart rate responds accordingly,
Slowing down.
Blood pressure comes down with those luxurious inhales and exhales.
And just notice,
Can your ears melt a little more close to your shoulders?
Can your shoulders melt together behind your back and down your spine?
Once again,
Noticing the belly rise and fall.
With eyes closed,
Picturing the shape of your legs,
The geometry of the shape you chose.
Just picture and notice the breath feeding the legs,
Carrying oxygen through blood to feed your extremities all the way to your skin.
Beautiful,
Hardworking legs,
Allowing them to rest and relax,
Knees close more and more to the floor.
Notice your hip points shining out from you like two headlights,
A stable,
Strong structure.
Your whole pelvis holding a whole host of organs in your low belly.
As we take notice of the function of our organs,
The pancreas,
The belly,
The tummy,
The intestines,
The liver,
All the things beautifully working,
Functioning well,
Just as they should.
And with wonder how smart our body is to work so well,
Allowing life to reside.
In gratitude for the ribcage,
The structure that protects and holds the heart and lungs,
Provides a nice platform for the chest to rise and fall.
As we breathe life in and exhale peace.
Breathing life in,
Protected by the ribcage and the chest,
Collarbones,
Heart and lungs working together,
Beautifully feeding our bodies and our souls.
Allow your arms to relax nicely right from your shoulder joints.
Soften your elbows,
Release tension in your wrists or fingers.
Maybe notice sensation at the tips of your fingers,
Sensing your body and the space around you,
The temperature of the room,
Taking it all in,
Breathing in life and peace,
Exhaling,
Preparing for the next gulp of beautiful oxygen,
Feeding our bodies so perfectly formed today with lessons and wisdom and a functionality engineered for interaction of our souls to our life and our day.
As we walk along,
Perhaps later in the day,
As we use the hinge joint of our elbows to open a book,
Carry some groceries,
The complicated bone structure in our hands that might type out an email later,
Or the long arm bones offering a hug around another human,
A moment in time for connection,
All the while breathing and knowing that the breath,
The very breath feeding the body today,
Your soul and your mind with life.
And so just notice and understand the complex and profound work of the structure of your body to exist here today.
And it is in the space of that gratitude and that noticing,
Curiosity becomes peaked,
Our senses become a little more vibrant,
We become present,
Minds and bodies in the same space.
And so we bring our attention always back to that breath,
Amidst the great chaos of life,
And the breath is the beginning,
The beginning of our connection to our day,
Ourselves,
Our intentions,
And the smoothness of our experience.
Breathing beautifully and deeply in,
A soft emptying,
Breathing beautifully in,
And a slow gentle empty.
Indira Gandhi said that we must learn to find stillness amidst the great activity of life,
Because it is in this stillness that we are the most vibrantly alive,
With every breath,
Breathing life into our perfect selves,
Just as we are.
Namaste.
