Good morning and welcome to Virtual Meditation on the Lawn.
I'm so glad all of you could join us this morning from the UVA community and those from all over the world.
My name is Jamari and I am a healer.
And I'm honored to be 2019 Dalai Lama fellow,
A global movement of next generation leaders applying universal values and contemplative leadership to solve global challenges.
Today,
What I will be offering is a practice to help you come home to yourself.
When we are moving throughout our days,
Our weeks,
Even our years,
We often move in such a way in which our experiences all run together,
Making it difficult for us to be fully present in any given moment.
Thoughts about our morning class suddenly become the background of what's supposed to be an intimate conversation with a friend.
Our last meeting of the day that maybe didn't go as well as we had hoped now is on repeat at dinner with our families.
Though we might desire to be more present,
There is the obvious truth and sense that all of our being is not quite here.
To be present,
We must call back home the parts of ourselves,
The energies that remain elsewhere.
So the practice I will be leading will help you to do that.
And because it's short,
It's a great practice that you can do as you're transitioning from one place,
Space,
Task,
Or conversation to another.
So I invite you all to get into a comfortable seat and posture.
You can close your eyes or lower your gaze.
And I invite you to begin to take some deep breaths.
And make sure they're soft breaths.
Sometimes when we're instructed to breathe deeply,
We kind of blow our backs out,
Trying to force ourselves to do so.
The breath moves quickly and freely on its own.
So the slower and softer your breath is,
The easier it actually is for your breath to find its way deep into your body.
Notice your breath expand in your chest.
Notice it expand in your stomach.
Relax your shoulders,
Your jaw.
Relax the little muscles in your face.
Your jaw.
Relax the little muscles in your face.
And as you exhale,
Just by intending to do so,
I invite you to breathe out any used energy.
You don't have to judge it as bad or good.
It's just energy that's been used.
Take a few more breaths,
Feeling the expansion of the breath in your chest,
Noticing the used energy leaving with your exhale,
Your body relaxing just a little bit more as you do so.
Now I invite you to imagine that you are in the middle of a golden web that connects each moment,
Space,
Time from your life,
Still holding some of your energy.
This web extends as far back out into your life as you desire it to.
You may see it extending just to this morning and last night or go all the way back to last year.
It's up to you,
Honor whatever your practice is today.
Without getting into the details,
Just notice for a moment and appreciate all of the moments that have made up your precious life.
Remember to breathe.
And just with the ease of your inhale,
I invite you to begin to call your energy back home to you,
Just with your inhale.
Notice as this energy starts to travel across this golden web back to you effortlessly.
And as the energy reaches you,
Notice the web begins to fade and dissolve.
Feel this energy as it comes in with the breath expanding the chest and stomach.
And as we did before,
Allow any used energy to flow out with your exhale.
Don't feel pressured to keep what feels used,
Old,
Or heavy.
Allow this energy to come with your inhale and go with your exhale.
You may notice yourself start to settle just a little bit more.
Maybe you're a little bit more present.
You may feel a sense of completion or relief,
Gratitude that right here is the only moment that matters,
At least for right now.
Take a few deep breaths here,
Really allowing yourself to sink in.
And whenever you're ready,
You can slowly start to wiggle your fingers,
Your toes,
Maybe rotate your neck a little bit,
A little stretch,
Bringing your consciousness back into the space.
And thank you all for practicing with me.
I hope you experienced a deeper sense of presence within yourself,
A deeper sense of home,
Deeper sense of welcome.
And I hope that you return to virtual meditation on the lawn to pause and practice with all of us again.
Have a wonderful day,
Everyone.
Thank you.
