Good morning,
Good afternoon,
Good evening to students,
Faculty,
Staff,
Parents,
Alumni,
Community members locally and around the world.
Welcome to Meditation on the Lawn.
It is my pleasure to be with you this morning.
My name is Benita Mayo and I am a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences,
A yoga and meditation mindfulness meditation instructor for the Contemplative Sciences Center at UVA and I am a 2021 Equity Center Community Fellow in Residence.
This morning I'm going to lead you in a guided meditation to help you to take a moment to engage in self-care and compassion.
This is a practice that you can do anywhere at any time that you need it.
It's a practice that was created by Buddhist teacher Roshi Joan Halifax to cultivate compassion.
Each letter of the acronym GRACE is a guide to help us to slow down and be more mindful,
Supporting ourselves in any moment and even saying the word grace invites the body,
Mind and heart to soften.
So let's begin.
Find a comfortable seat wherever you are and we'll begin with three gentle and full breaths in and out.
Take in a deep inhale through the nose and then just exhale,
Soften the shoulders,
Soften the belly.
Perhaps noticing the sensation of the breath just at the tip of your nostrils.
We'll inhale resting on the sensation of the breath and then exhale to relax.
And as you take these soft grounding inhales and exhales I invite you to allow yourself to be present for the next few moments.
And perhaps you may notice as you're checking in this morning or this afternoon or wherever you are in the world that there are places that you might be holding tension.
Give yourself the gift to relax in those spaces and in those areas.
Again,
Noticing the breath,
Maybe noticing the sensation just at the tips of the nostrils.
G stands for gathering our attention.
So we take a moment to gather our attention and you can focus on the breath as we've been doing or find some grounding through the soles of the feet or through your hands as they rest together or on your body.
And as we gather this attention I invite you to bring your attention to your strong back representing your capacity to hold yourself up into your soft front,
Opening to the things that are in your capacity to hold compassion.
And so let the breath be deep in the body and grounded.
Soft back,
Strong back,
Soft front.
ARA stands for recalling intention.
So I invite you to recall your intention for this morning,
Touching into your own motivation for being here today.
Maybe your motivation is self-care.
Maybe the motivation is to feel more grounded and connected.
Touch into that motivation which will keep you on track.
And as you touch into your motivation and your intention,
Consider this as a gift and not a destination.
Consider the intention a gift and not a destination.
A stands for attuning to yourself and others.
Notice what's happening in your body and mind.
How are you feeling?
How do you notice the sensations?
Is there a tightness,
A tingling,
Or no sensation?
Really check in and attune to what's happening within your body at this moment.
And the next step to attuning is thinking about attuning to others.
In any situation,
Conversation,
Or condition,
We're attuned to others.
We don't walk through the world alone.
We are interconnected and interdependent on each other and all beings.
And so as you attune to others,
We're cultivating awareness and noticing through emotional cues such as voice,
Tone,
Or body language.
So we've gathered our attention.
We've recalled our intention,
Attuning to self and others.
And next we come to see.
Consider what will serve.
And as you consider what will serve,
We're thinking about the response rather than the reaction.
So what will serve reminds us that self-care is not selfish.
It's actually one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and others because we cannot give our own self-care.
We cannot give others because we cannot give from an empty well.
And as you consider what will serve in this moment,
The invitation is to start with the beginner's mind,
Allowing yourself to be open to things in a fresh way.
Again,
Consider the response and not the reaction and resist the temptation to jump to conclusions.
Start with the beginner's mind,
Allowing yourself to open to seeing things in a fresh way.
And the last letter of grace is E for engagement.
Engage to apply a compassionate action.
What is the compassionate action that you will engage in or that you will act upon?
What is that takeaway,
That one thing that will give you and provide you with self-care?
So just saying the word grace softens the heart,
Mind,
And body.
This is a practice you can do anywhere and any place and any time that you need it.
G,
Gather your attention.
R,
Recall your intention.
A,
Attune to yourself and others.
C,
Consider what will serve.
And E,
Engage and take action.
So as we end our morning practice,
I invite you to take a deep inhale through the nose and breathe out.
Begin to feel your feet on the ground or your seat in your chair.
And then when you're ready,
Open your eyes and you can begin your day.
Thank you.
I want to add that next week we will not have a meditation on the lawn because it is spring break.
So we will see you on the following Monday.
Thank you so much.
Have a great day.
