And then once you've found your comfy position,
Beginning to close your eyes,
Just beginning to notice as we first close our eyes how we're doing.
And so noticing this evening if for you right now maybe this is a very necessary part of your week or your evening,
Just being in silent by yourself.
Maybe for you,
You've had a little busier week and so taking a moment of silence,
This perhaps could even be your first one of the week,
Or maybe you're really settled tonight.
It's just kind of noticing where you are.
And as always,
This is not the moment to critique ourselves.
We're just taking awareness.
And so if it is one of those busier weeks for ourselves,
Just being a little more gentle and maybe perhaps our mind might wander a little bit today.
And that's okay.
This is why we practice every week.
And some weeks and days are better than others.
So let's begin today.
We're going to just start with the breath.
We're going to do our three-part breath,
But let's first just begin by connecting with your fluid inhale and your exhale,
Being as exploratory as you possibly can with it.
So noticing the length,
Noticing parts of the body that expand with inhale,
Release with exhale,
Even noticing if when you breathe,
The right side is different than the left side.
So maybe you can feel your breath expand a bit more on the right side of your chest versus your left.
Maybe it does feel the same.
And then we're going to begin to add on to the breath.
So as we said,
We're going to do our three-part breath.
And so when you inhale,
We will feel the breath first in our belly,
Then our ribs,
And then in the chest.
And when we exhale,
The breath will move out of the chest,
The ribs,
The belly.
So you can kind of imagine as if your body is like a container and you're going to fill it up with water.
It's the same thing with breath.
So just imagine like you have a water bottle,
Same sort of idea here.
When you fill the water bottle up,
The bottom first fills up,
Then the mid layer,
And then the top.
And then when you pour out that water bottle,
You first pour water from the top and then the middle,
And then you empty it out completely.
And so holding the awareness to our three-part breath for a couple moments.
And as you stay with the breath,
Can you expand your awareness a bit to the physical body,
Noticing how the physical body is feeling right now,
Sensations within the body.
And also maybe even noticing if the mind has settled a bit as you just simply focused on your breath,
Specifically this pattern of breath.
And maybe there are a couple points of your body that are calling your attention.
And so can you hold your awareness to those points,
Maybe exploring them a little bit more,
Giving yourself permission as you focus on a point or a couple points that if another part of your body or that part of your body wants to move or shake or release,
Let it do so.
So don't feel like you need to stay still right now.
And as you hold your awareness to those body points,
Maybe you did move,
Maybe you didn't,
But did you notice that maybe there was a shift that happened within the physical body?
Now we're going to begin to connect to different elements.
And so the first element I want you to connect to is water.
And so we all have different ways that will resonate with us as we connect to water.
An example might be that you're sitting on the beach and you're overlooking the ocean,
Or maybe perhaps you can imagine your body is floating on the ocean or on any water,
Or maybe perhaps you are sitting on a dock overlooking a lake.
And so whatever way you would like to connect to water,
Beginning to imagine this element.
And as you watch the water element,
Seeing it flow,
Seeing it moving without being forced,
Seeing it be fluid and calm.
And as you connect with that element of water,
Can you bring in those qualities into your body?
And even if you start maybe gently rocking,
Because you're connecting with the water,
Allow the body to do so.
Or maybe you can even imagine if you're floating on it,
Just feeling it support you,
Or just seeing it.
And I want you to stay for a couple moments of silence,
Continuing to connect to the element of water,
Seeing it and feeling it,
Feeling the qualities.
And if there's anything distracting happening in your home,
Just gently pulling yourself back,
Even if that distraction is just your mind.
So come back to that fluidity,
Allowing yourself to be open and flow with the flow with the water.
And now let's move on to our next element.
We're going to connect to earth.
And so maybe for some of us,
We're at the beach still,
And our feet are sinking deeply into the sand.
Maybe we're sitting up against a tree,
Supporting our back,
And we're sitting on the ground.
Maybe you're walking or hiking,
Or even just laying in the grass.
So how do you like to connect to the element of earth?
And I invite you to connect to the earth.
So whether that is you imagine yourself sitting or lying down on the earth,
Or your feet are deep in the sand,
Or against that tree,
Feeling that stable part of the earth,
The grounding sensation,
Feeling it supporting you,
Knowing that it is solid and steady and unmoving,
And pulling in those energetic qualities into your body,
And continuing to connect with the element of earth,
Whatever that means for you,
And really allowing the body to settle and relax and become heavy.
Feel the earth.
Now let's begin to move on again.
Now we will connect to the element of fire.
And so maybe your favorite way to look at the fire is at your fireplace in your home,
Or a bonfire outside,
Or it could even just simply be a candle.
And as you begin to connect to fire,
Seeing the difference of colors associated.
So maybe the bottom part of the flame is a purple or blue,
Even a green could be associated with that bottom portion,
And then maybe it turns into an orange,
And even the top could be this lighter yellow.
And so it could be a tiny little flame,
Or maybe a big roaring bonfire,
Connecting to the light,
The radiating pure light,
Knowing that it is unmoving,
And it can absorb anything,
And even maybe taking this opportunity to release anything into that flame,
Anything that's not serving you,
Knowing that whatever the conditions are around this fire,
It still radiates,
It's bright and beautiful,
No matter the conditions.
And now lastly,
We will connect to air.
And so for you,
Maybe you can feel a gentle breeze in your favorite location.
You can smell it.
Maybe if you are at the beach,
You can smell the salt in the water,
Or if you're outdoors hiking,
Maybe it's that crisp air,
Or even you can see the smoke from incense or sage.
So connecting to that element of air,
Whatever way resonates with you this evening,
Knowing that it is clear,
It is pure,
It is cleansing,
And pulling in those elements of the air into the physical body,
Feeling those cleansing clarity elements within yourself,
Allowing the air to heal any stagnation,
Removing it.
And now I want you to choose one of the elements that felt the most connecting for you.
So going back to that scene as you connected to the element,
Whether it was the water,
The earth,
The fire,
Maybe you're staying with the air,
Maybe one of those elements is what you need right now.
And so bringing yourself back into that place as you connect to that element that you might need,
Seeing it,
Feeling its qualities,
And pulling those qualities into your body this evening,
Allowing the energy of that element to heal you.
And we'll take a couple moments of silence as you stay with that element,
And I will chime the bell,
And we'll start to release from that place,
Allowing that element to release,
But continuing to stay within the sensations of it,
Noticing how your physical body is feeling,
Noticing if there was a shift within the mind,
Or even the breath,
And knowing that at any moment we can connect to one of those elements again outside of this practice,
Or maybe even all four.
And then connecting to our heart center,
Whether you are seated,
Hands in prayer,
Or if you're lying down,
Stacking hands on your heart center.
And as you connect to the heart center,
Bringing awareness to that space,
And you can even place one or all of those elements inside that space so that you can connect to it again when we leave here.
And then whatever element you reconnected to,
Sending those qualities to yourself,
Placing them inside your heart,
And you can also connect to these qualities again outside of the meditation,
Especially if you need them right now,
This week,
Or today.
Holding loving awareness to yourself,
Gratitude,
And from this space,
Let's shine out love and light to somebody else,
Whether it's someone you love,
Or someone who might need it right now,
Or even a group of people,
From my heart space to each of yours.
Thank you so very much for joining me this evening.
I wish you a beautiful evening and rest of your week.
Namaste.
