Deciding this evening whether you would like to take a seated position or lie down.
Taking a couple moments to ensure that you are extremely comfortable and feeling balanced.
If you are seated,
You are grounded in the sit bones,
In the feet,
But also the spine is upright.
So even if you are relaxing against something,
Ensuring that you feel this elongation of the spine,
But also the settling of the shoulders,
That settling and grounding of the feet.
And the same thing with lying down,
Ensuring that you feel equally weighted on the ground,
Allowing the body to become heavy,
But the chest is uplifted,
The breath is fluid through these areas that are lifting.
Your face is soft.
Release any tension in the hands.
We're going to begin this evening using our three-part breath.
I will first have you focus on the three different portions of the body,
And then we will put those three areas together for a fluid inhale and exhale.
Bring your awareness to your belly.
Feeling the movement as you inhale,
The expansion,
The release,
The gentle falling of the exhale.
If your mind is busy today and you're having a bit of trouble focusing,
You can even place a hand on this area.
And then go ahead and draw your awareness up to your ribs.
Your ribs wrap from the front of the body,
Around the sides,
And into the back portion of the body.
But for purposes of this meditation,
We're going to focus solely on the front portion of the ribs,
Noticing that the torso expands and opens with the inhale.
And as you exhale,
It's almost as if the ribs are knitting back closer together.
And now go ahead and draw your awareness up to the heart center,
The center of the chest,
Right below the collarbones.
As you inhale,
The chest lifts,
Expands,
Rises.
As you exhale,
Feel the letting go,
The release of the chest.
And now we're going to put these three parts together.
I want you to imagine as if your torso is as if it's a container of water or a glass of water.
And if you're beginning to fill up this glass of water,
You start from the bottom,
Middle,
And then the top.
And if you pour out the water,
It releases from the top,
The middle,
And then the top.
And now we're going to breathe in this pattern.
Inhaling belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
Exhaling chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
Continuing with this breathing pattern.
And as you continue to breathe,
Allowing the breath to move fluidly through each of the portions of the body.
So just like if you filled up a glass of water,
It wouldn't be jerky and stop in the three parts.
Water is fluid,
Just like the breath.
And it travels gently all the way up and releases from the top.
All the way down.
Go ahead and do one more round of this inhaling and exhaling.
Releasing the attention to the breath and resting in the stillness.
Before we begin to address the goddess Sarasvati,
Formulating a question.
The question related to education or music,
Creativity,
Free flow of the mind and consciousness.
And once you state your question,
Releasing it.
Being open to any answer that might come.
We will now begin to repeat the mantra.
I will say it first,
And then you can silently repeat it to yourself.
Om Aem Sarasvatiya Namah Om Aem Sarasvatiya Namah Om Aem Sarasvatiya Namah Om Aem Sarasvatiya Namah Say it two more times.
Om Aem Sarasvatiya Namah Om Aem Sarasvatiya Namah And releasing the mantra.
I want you to imagine as if you are sitting on a riverbank.
The soft grass below you supports your entire body.
You are steady in your seated position and relaxed.
You look out into the calm waters of the river.
And as you continue to watch out,
Beginning to see a figure coming closer to you.
At first,
You can't see exactly what this figure is.
But as you see it come closer,
The lines start to become more clear.
It's the goddess Sarasvati.
She has beautiful black hair and fair skin.
Her vehicle is a swan.
In her hand,
She's holding on to a stringed instrument.
Watching her come closer.
Noticing whatever features you might see.
And maybe perhaps she's foggy and you just see the energy associated with her.
Invite her to sit down next to you on this riverbank.
Asking your question.
And with no expectation,
Just sitting next to her.
Noticing the scenery.
Feeling your breath.
Feeling the body in this calm state.
Taking a couple moments of silence.
You're just noticing.
Completely open and free.
And trusting that Sarasvati will answer your question,
Even if it's not in this exact moment.
It may pop out at another time.
Continuing to sit here with the energy of Sarasvati.
Just breathing.
Spending a couple more moments in silence.
Turning to Sarasvati and sending a heart of gratitude.
Trusting that you will get your answer,
Even if it's not now.
And then watching the energy or the figure of Sarasvati beginning to travel and fade away.
Re-grounding yourself in this moment,
Wherever you're located.
Feeling a chair behind you or underneath your seat or thighs,
Feet on the ground.
If you're lying,
Feeling the head.
The wave of the back supported by the floor.
The calves and the heels.
And then connecting with your heart space.
Whether mentally connecting here or physically placing hands,
One on top of the other.
Or bringing hands to prayer.
Take this opportunity to connect with yourself.
Feeling the breath underneath of your hands.
Your open,
Fluid breath.
Acknowledging that letting go.
Feeling the balance between the lifting and the releasing.
Deep within the chest,
Right in the center of the body,
Is where your heart chakra is located.
Take this opportunity to send yourself a message of love.
Acknowledgement or gratitude.
Notice how the physical body feels whenever you say that message to yourself.
Reminding yourself just how easy it is to pause and just send a kind message.
From this heart space,
Also sending a message out to someone whom you might love or who might need it in this moment.
Even maybe someone you walked by,
A stranger today.
And from my heart center to each of yours,
I'm deeply grateful.
I'm grateful you joined me.
Namaste.
