Greetings,
Friends.
My name is Dharman.
I'm instructor here on Insight Timer.
I'd like to thank you for joining me in this practice,
Which I think is oftentimes overlooked in meditation.
Often we get right to the practice of breathing or focus on our seat,
The technique that we choose for meditation,
And we might overlook the distractions,
The challenges as we prepare to transition from our busy routines,
Enabling our minds,
Our bodies to be truly ready for meditation.
In the Yoga Sutras,
The word pratyahara describes this withdrawal from senses,
The five senses of sight,
Sound,
Hearing,
Taste,
And touch.
Very little is said.
In fact,
It's separated from the other sutras that talk about specific examples of disturbances.
Whether it be suffering,
The trembling of limbs,
Even the inhalation and exhalation cited as disturbances.
For this segment,
I just wanted to share a personal practice that I use in my transition.
Sometimes it's more brief and easier to drop into the practice,
And other times I'm distracted by the senses,
The perceptions of those feelings received through sight,
Sound,
Touch,
And taste and smell.
And so I've created my own method to acknowledge those and seeing them as distractions,
But welcoming those as part of my practice by consciously acknowledging them,
Just like acknowledging the clouds in the sky and observing them as they dissipate.
And so I take a proactive approach sometimes when I'm distracted or busy,
Just a few moments as I find my seat.
And so today I'm blessed and honored to share this personal practice with you as well.
So if you take a few moments just to find your seat and start to close your eyes,
You can find a centering breath.
Close a deep breath in and a long,
Relaxing breath out.
Just begin to notice.
You might even shift a little bit side to side in your seat just to feel that connection.
And we'll begin there with a sense of touch.
Just welcome the feeling with a moment or two of gratitude.
Just thank your body for the ability to feel.
Just recognizing the feeling of your seat.
Maybe acknowledging even a few aches and pains.
It's okay,
Just allow them to serve as reminders of your blessing,
A feeling.
Give yourself just a few moments just to settle in.
As you scan your body,
Start to let go of any tension,
Any gripping,
Any physical sensation holding you back from your practice.
Just one small space at a time,
Breathing in energy and circulation,
Breathing out a sense of release and letting go.
Just say to your body,
Any part specifically or generally,
May you be happy.
Recognizing and honoring the places that your feet have taken you.
The legs have walked so many miles.
It's honoring each step.
Maybe noticing the feeling in your hips,
The sits bones.
Just acknowledging and honoring how many places you've sat down.
The rooms,
The places around the world,
Your home,
Those who have joined you.
Just honoring that space,
That feeling.
Moving up through your body,
Noticing your breath with gratitude.
Knowing this breath is life,
This breath is enough.
The air fills your lungs,
Your life is filled and complete.
This breath is happiness.
Each inhale fills your body with health and happiness.
This breath is peace.
My life is filled with peace.
I am at ease with each breath.
My life is filled with health and happiness and peace.
Energy is life giving.
My mind can be happy and healthy and at peace.
Allow your thoughts to transition very gracefully with forgiveness.
Moving on,
Notice the taste on your lips and your tongue.
Noticing maybe the last meal,
The last drink.
Allow yourself to savor that taste.
Not with judgment,
Not with guilt or resentment,
But gratitude for the feeling of taste,
That sensation.
Allowing yourself to savor what passes your lips.
Knowing that you have the choice to choose food and drink that brings happiness and sweet,
Sour and savory.
Allowing that nourishment to feed your body,
To feed your soul.
May those choices for food and drink continue to bring happiness,
To improve your health,
Your vitality.
May you be at peace.
We move to the sense of smell.
Notice the smells,
Even the taste to bringing back certain memories of a place or a time.
Allow those memories to be filled with happiness.
There's any certain smells in this certain moment.
Be present,
Grateful for the ability to smell.
Allow it just to be a reminder of our choice,
The environment that we create.
May that environment bring us happiness and bring us health.
Help us to maintain a life of peace.
We move to the ears.
The sounds that we hear,
Maybe the sound of my voice,
Maybe in your own environment,
The sound of the world around you.
It can be challenging with sound,
Easily distracted.
Our mind wanders to those places,
The origins of the sound we envision behind our eyelids.
Welcome those sounds.
See the unity of your place in the world,
In the world,
The entire universe within you.
It's okay to notice those sounds.
Try to find the harmony of your breath,
Those sounds around you.
It's okay to acknowledge,
Just to observe and offer a blessing,
Whatever the point of origin of the sound.
Just send out a heartfelt blessing.
May you be happy.
May the sound be a sound of health,
Movement around you,
Signs,
Life,
Living.
And may these sounds reflect peace,
Harmony,
And stillness.
And then finally we come to our eyes.
And often,
Even with our eyes closed in meditation,
We create stories.
Sometimes visual depictions of memories or predictions of what might be a future incident,
A place or a time where we might be or might have been.
Just acknowledge.
Acknowledge these as figments,
Illusions,
And begin to see as the witness.
Shifting from thoughts of past,
Visions of future,
Into witnessing the present.
See yourself in the universe and see the entire universe within your true self.
We can be grateful for the ability to sense the world around us.
May each sensation bring you happiness.
May your senses recognize and honor the health both within you and in the world around you.
And may you sense the unity between both within and those things around,
One reflecting the other,
Allowing us to witness the senses of our energy.
As you come back to your seat,
Noticing once again just the sense of peace,
Allow yourself just to honor that space,
A moment of gratitude for this time to be aware,
To observe.
Noticing your body,
Honoring the choices,
Each step that's brought you to now.
And take a full,
Deep cycle of breath.
If you'd like,
You might bring your hands together at heart center and find an intention of unity,
Of harmony.
Let's join in one cycle of breath together.
It's a deep breath in and a long,
Relaxing breath out.
Whether you continue in your seat for meditation or maybe use this as your practice,
May it bring you happiness.
May you enjoy a sense of health,
Calm,
Stillness,
Knowing you have the ability to both observe,
To be grateful and to honor your senses and choose to let go the distractions and be present.
This presence allowing space for peace,
Letting go of the physical distractions,
Letting go of tension and that space of stillness,
Witnessing,
Honoring,
Recognizing your true self.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Om Shanti.
Om Peace.
Namaste.
