Good morning.
I'd like to welcome everyone to this Monday morning meditation on the lawn that's offered by the University of Virginia's Contemplative Sciences Center.
It's really my good fortune.
My name is Martha Rouleau.
It's my good fortune to work with the Contemplative Sciences Center offering mindfulness programming.
I've done yoga as well too.
And for the past several years,
I've offered well-being through mindfulness through the School of Education and Human Development.
So for this morning's meditation,
We'll begin to enter into the body,
Which is the container of course,
That's breathed by the breath.
And then I'll move us into a bit of a guided meditation that really is based a bit on neuroscience,
But it will be gentle and kind and it's an invitation for you perhaps to offer a light touch.
It will be across the body and we'll be releasing.
And again,
You can just sit and breathe,
But it's a way to begin this Monday morning to check in with the connections and see if we can keep coming back to the middle over and over again and begin doing that by balancing the brain and the body.
And this is taken from Rick Hansen's work for those of you that might know him.
So first and foremost,
Let's find movement or anything that will help us get set up.
We want to support the body so the body can support us and sustain us through this meditation practice.
Perhaps it's useful to begin by noticing the connection to the floor,
If it's the feet or the lower half of the body.
Perhaps with an inhale and exhale,
Allowing that lower half to receive gravity,
To let go and sit and settle.
And then shifting awareness to this upper part of the body,
Sensing the uplift and always making any type of adjustments,
Being curious perhaps about on this Monday morning how this body is feeling,
Allowing it to be just as it is.
And then offering awareness to the face and the head.
And of course,
Perhaps there's thoughts and we get the opportunity to set them aside.
However,
That works for you.
Perhaps imagining a suitcase or whatever it is,
Knowing there will always be time to get back to them.
But for now,
We're creating that purposeful pause and intentionality to be here,
To allow things to,
All things to be as they are.
So once again,
Now settling into this posture,
Perhaps moving a bit more to the stillness as we recognize the breath.
Wherever you notice the breath the most this morning,
Perhaps that's where you'd like to bring your awareness to is the touchstone.
Perhaps some deeper inhales and exhales will allow that recognition to be a bit more.
And then slowly and purposefully bring the awareness to each inhale all the way through the pause and then through the exhale,
Through the pause,
Being curious about this cycle of breathing.
Using that intentionality to recognize that each part of the breath is just as important.
Using the breath to help us come back to right here,
Right now.
And of course,
Eyes can be opened or closed or shift at any time.
So of course,
This is your time in continuing to do what feels right to support your practice.
I'd like you to consider taking your right hand and placing it very kindly on that left clavicle,
Just below it.
Noticing the sensations of the light pressure of the hand and placing your awareness on this area as you breathe in and out for several rounds.
And then the next breath cycle,
Moving that right hand and slowly returning it to perhaps your lap or your chair or whatever it was resting on,
Noticing the moment it arrives.
Just bringing awareness into the fingertips.
Now shifting the awareness as you breathe in and out to the left torso,
Just the left side of the torso as it inhales and exhales.
And we'll be shifting again as we take that left hand and we bring it to the right clavicle.
And noticing what it feels like and sensations of the hand as it rests on the right heart area.
As you offer a breath,
Bringing awareness to that right area where the hand is.
Now similarly,
After the end of the next breath cycle,
Removing that left hand and allowing it to arrive back to a place that feels comfortable,
Noticing the time that it arrives,
Feeling its arrival through sensations.
And then bringing awareness now to that right torso for several rounds of breath as you inhale and exhale.
And now lastly,
Bringing awareness to the midline,
Perhaps as we inhale and exhale,
Noticing both sides of the body working in tandem.
And allowing it all to be enough and just right for our practice this morning.
We'll continue with sitting mostly in quiet and if you find your mind is busy and you would like to offer yourself a word on the inhale and the exhale,
Perhaps it could be nourishing,
Soothing,
Inhaling,
Exhaling here and now.
Just options.
You you you you and as we get ready to come to the end of this time of shared practice together noticing the value of shared practice perhaps there's an intention it could be a single word that comes to mind you'd like to set setting an intention sets the compass of the heart perhaps we can use the breath as a reminder throughout the day come back to that intention whatever word that comes to mind remembering the tension the intention represent what matters to us as we sit for just a bit longer until I ring the singing bowl three times breathing deeply into the intention that you have and the gratitude that you have perhaps for being here in this community offering kindness to yourself and strength and presence to all that we practice all we practice with and to all the people so wishing you Monday filled with much ease and thank you all for being here today as I said supporting each other as we do this all-important work of being present for ourselves to be present for others and please know attending next week is a beautiful option and gift to yourself thank you so much my best
