Elemental Meditation: Water

This meditation connects us to the water that sustains all life. It begins with Ujjayi breath, or ocean breath, and moves to a visualization. We follow the streams, rivers, and lakes of a mountain, then we become the mountain. We follow -- with gratitude -- the ebb and flow of water through our body, our thoughts, our hearts. We are relaxed. We are grateful.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation. Today we will explore water, Its ability to cleanse, To transform, And to propel us forward. As Leonardo da Vinci said, Water is the driving force of all nature. Let's settle in. Get comfortable, Perhaps on a chair or a cushion. You may lay down and get comfortable. We're going to take a minute to make sure that there's nothing poking or prodding or distracting us. Settling in. Let's begin. We're going to begin with yujayi breath or ocean breath, Often taught in yoga classes as a means to bring more heat and strength into the body. But it can also be used to bring about a state of relaxation. And that's what we're looking for. It's a technique that allows us to calm our mind, To focus on the breath and to remove those distracting thoughts from our mind. It can actually help to stimulate the vagus nerve, That long nerve that runs from the brain to the gut. And as a result, It can relax the nervous system. So what we're going to do is we're going to inhale and exhale. We're going to keep our mouth closed and constrict our throat. It's almost like there's a little fog at the back of the throat. Some people compare it to snoring. When we breathe in, We're going to constrict and breathe out. You may wish to put your tongue at the roof of your mouth. This will help you to breathe in and out with yujayi breath. So let's begin. And as we begin, Let's visualize waves lapping against a shore. Our first water visualization. So let's mindfully breathe in and out. One more time. This can be a technique that's difficult to get comfortable with, To feel confident in. But keep practicing and it will come. We're talking about water, One of the main elements of life. And we want to put it in the context of gratitude. Perhaps we're grateful for having clean water to drink. Perhaps we're grateful for the abundance of water in many places on earth. Perhaps we're grateful for water that allows life to thrive and to survive. But we'll start with that mindset and we'll start externally and work our way internally. Let's begin by picturing a mountain. A magnificent, Wonderful mountain. There may be clouds and blue sky overhead. There may be a sprinkling of snow. You may hear animals or birds. But you see the water that feeds the mountain. From the top it flows down gently. In some places it may be more rapid. But you can see the path that it makes as it winds its way from the top to the bottom. And along the path you will see the life that thrives as a result. There may be plants or trees, Animals. Perhaps an animal is taking a drink at a point at which the water is flowing gently and easily. You may see animals and plant life in the water. You may feel the water bend down, Take your hand and gently touch the water as it flows from the top of the mountain to the bottom. Take a minute to sit here. Feel the sun perhaps on your skin. See the blue sky overhead and breathe in. You may wish to do your ujjayi breath here. You may want to take a moment and mindfully breathe in and reflect on the water, The properties of the water. You may even smell the water. There may be a scent that you associate with this mountain river, With this mountain lake. And it's making its way down the mountain. And you're following it. You're taking the same path as the water takes from top to bottom. And we'll walk mindfully as we take this path down. It's safe. We are secure. There is no danger here. The path is well trodden. We are comfortable. We are walking gently beside the water. We feel the water beside us. We hear it. We see the life that flows to and from that water. And we see how the water changes and the landscape changes as the water changes. As we move from mountain river to mountain lake to waterfalls, Perhaps there's a waterfall off in the distance that you can see. You can feel the spray on your face. But we are aware of the impact of water on the mountain and the impact of water in our own lives. And as you walk, You may wish to say this affirmation. I am flowing through life mindfully and gracefully. And we'll keep walking and contemplating. I am flowing through life mindfully and gracefully. We'll come now to a little bend in the mountain and perhaps our river forks. And we will choose which fork to take. Both paths are safe and comfortable. They will lead us into forest where they will take us on an open path where the sun shines down. And we will continue to walk, Feeling the water flowing beside us, Hearing the water. We may take a moment to stop and breathe in the environment infused by water. I am flowing through life mindfully and gracefully. We are coming to the end or the bottom of the mountain. There's a lake. We will sit here for a minute and we will breathe in gently and breathe out. We will feel the peace of the lake. We will feel the power of the lake. We will say to ourselves, I am flowing through life mindfully and gracefully. And as we sit here beside this mountain lake, Breathing in all the wonder and transformation, Of water, We become the mountain. We feel ourselves becoming heavy, Rooted, Strong. And we picture now the water as it flows through our mountain, As it flows through our veins and our body, Our hands and our legs, Our limbs, Our face. We feel the refreshing, Cleansing, Transformative water that makes up most of this planet and most of our body. We sit here. We are safe. We are content. We are grateful. We may want to say our affirmation again. I am flowing through life mindfully and gracefully. We feel the water in our body. We feel the power of that water. We feel the relief that it brings when we are cleansed. And to that end, We'll take just a minute to picture a glass of water, Perhaps in our mind, And it's murky. There's debris and perhaps some dirt and clutter and we can't see clearly through the glass that is our mind. And so we take a minute here to settle, To quell the thoughts that we have, To set aside the distractions, The noise, The outside world. We are a mountain and we are looking at this glass, This murky glass of water that is our mind. That is our mind. And now as we breathe in, As we feel our body relax, As we breathe in the gratitude that is inherently connected to the water that fills our body, The murkiness in the glass begins to subside. It collects and it starts to fall towards the bottom of the glass. And as we continue to breathe in, To relax, To focus on our breath instead of our thoughts, We realize that the glass is becoming clear. The murkiness has moved on. Perhaps it's sediment at the bottom of the glass, Still there, But not disturbed, Not forcing its way into the water. Things are clear now. Things are flowing easily. We are a strong mountain and the mountain is fed by water that is pure. And we are transformed and we are calm. And now we will breathe in and we will breathe out and we will begin to let the mountain go back to its original location. We can return here anytime we want, To the mountain we walked down, To the mountain that we are. And we will remember this little saying from Jacques Cousteau, We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. Thank you for spending this time with me. I'm Donna Lee. I wish you joy and peace on your journey. Take care.