Hello,
Everyone.
Hope you're all well.
Welcome to Monday's meditation on the lawn offered by the University of Virginia.
I am John Bultman,
Ashtanga Yoga program manager with the Contemplative Sciences Center.
I've been leading yoga programs and documenting yoga practices at the CSC and UVA for about 10 years.
Today,
Again,
Happy Diwali,
We'll be doing an ancient practice called tratika to help build concentration through gazing on a single point in our environment.
One definition of concentration is just to simply find your mind in one place.
So I found it useful to focus on a physical object rather than a more subtle one like the breath.
This can help build concentration and is sometimes easier to hold in one's mind.
So today we'll be gazing on a small object.
I will use a candle,
But you can use any object at all to put your mind in that one place.
Ideally,
It doesn't move.
If you have a light on,
This could be the tiniest or smallest part of the light bulb or the smallest part nearest to the light sources possible.
But it could also be the end of a pencil or a pen or your thumb or even a spot on the wall.
Just any object at all,
Really.
But focus on the smallest part.
Take a moment to find an object that you will hold your gaze on for about two to three feet or an arm's length away from your eyes.
I would,
However,
Recommend not staring at a computer screen.
If for some reason you're unable to see or find any object at all to fix your mind on,
You may keep your eyes closed,
But try to fix your mind on a single point of light,
An imaginary star or some imaginary point in your mind.
We'll focus on the object for three minutes,
But there is a catch.
Try not to blink the entire time.
Try not to blink.
Try not to blink.
If your eyes get fatigued or even water or if you need to blink,
It's OK,
But just bring them back to the mind on the smallest point you can on the object.
It's sometimes helpful to breathe smoothly and also to intentionally block out surroundings and just return to that smallest point of your object.
So I invite you to sit comfortably.
We'll take a few deep breaths here together.
And before we get started,
Feel free to blink as much as you want.
Make yourself calm and quiet.
And be prepared to keep your body perfectly still.
Remain a silent witness throughout the whole practice.
And keep your awareness fixed.
It might help to steady your breath first.
Then,
With eyes wide open on your particular small part of your object of choice.
Let's begin.
Let's begin.
Let's begin.
Let's begin.
Let's begin.
Before finishing,
Feel free to blink a few times.
And then I invite you to close your eyes and call to mind again the object that you had.
Just close your eyes.
Picture it.
The same distance,
Same shape and same acute awareness in your mind.
And then slowly soften your gaze.
Allow your eyes to be relaxed and not strained.
And if possible,
Not focused on any object.
Just ever so slightly open them,
But not quite all the way.
Keep softening your gaze.
Relax the eyes and unfocus.
It might help to briefly gaze at the tip of the nose.
And then relax the focus on the eyes.
Let go of focusing on any object at all.
And then slowly,
As you like,
Open your eyes if they were closed.
As we bring this practice to a close,
Slowly tune into your surroundings and the subtleties that make them up.
Take a moment to cultivate gratitude for our marvel of sight and its infinite subtleties.
If you like this practice,
You could slowly build up more and more over time.
You could choose any object to bind your mind to.
And today,
See if you can maintain awareness on small points that make up our amazing world.
Perhaps even take a moment during the day to briefly focus on a small point or object at different focal lengths and appreciate them again and again.
Thanks everyone for joining.
I invite you all to join back on the following week or to join me and others that offer instruction through the CSC.
Feel free to join any of my classes or other classes offered at the CSC and you can learn more about our programs we offer at the csc.
Virginia.
Edu.
Have a wonderful rest of your week.
