Welcome to today's meditation time.
As you have arrived at this present moment,
I invite you to notice how you feel.
Notice the effect of this intentional pause that you've taken.
This intentional stopping of all the day's activity.
Notice how the pause feels on your body.
Perhaps you notice you're a bit restless.
Perhaps you notice that finally you feel at ease after a long and busy day.
Now begin to notice the effects of this pause on your breath.
Maybe it's deep and it's slow.
Maybe it's rushed and hurried,
Reminding you that you were busy just before this moment.
I invite you to take all of that in without judgment.
Without really trying to change anything,
Just take it in.
As you begin to settle just a bit more.
As we each settle into our own space,
Collectively sharing an energetic space,
Sharing a hope,
A vision,
A belief,
That peace is not an elusive idea somewhere out there.
Beginning to understand that it is available right now,
Right here,
For both you and for me.
Let's take a couple of breaths together,
Grounding a bit more as you breathe in.
Settling a bit more as you breathe out.
Breathing in,
Grounding.
Breathing out,
Settling.
And now allow yourself as you pause to notice again.
Notice how you feel.
Often when we pause trying to reconnect to this present moment,
The space around us begins to feel like a gentle hug around our heart,
Reminding us that this is how we're meant to live.
This state right here.
We can still get the things done that we need to do.
We can still go to the places that we need to go.
We can still interact with and see all of the people.
But this state right here,
This is how we're meant to be.
A state of ease,
Calm,
Peace.
In Yoga Sutra 114,
Patanjali reminds us that he has already revealed the elements of this practice through those first sutras that he gave us so long ago.
But then he comes to verse 14 and he tells us that this practice of ours,
It must be done with earnestness.
It must be done with consistency.
And it must be done without pause.
He's not directing us to sit on our cushion and forget the other parts of life.
But he is assuring us that when we practice with earnestness,
With consistency,
Without pause,
Eventually the state of being that we feel right now becomes the state of being that we take with us out there.
Out to all the things and all the places and all the people.
The state that you're feeling right now can be the way that you move through life.
It can be the way you show up at work,
In your relationships.
But before we can really experience this way of being in those parts of life,
Patanjali says you must practice with earnestness.
You must practice with consistency.
And you must practice without pause.
And with that instruction,
He gives us a beautiful Sanskrit word to meditate upon.
To repeat again and again,
Reminding us of the importance of this practice and reminding us what it offers.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Sometimes Abhyasa comes on a yoga mat.
Sometimes Abhyasa happens in a thoughtful study of a text like the Yoga Sutras.
But today Abhyasa is showing up in meditation.
The earnest,
Consistent practice of meditation.
Let's use Abhyasa as our mantra,
Gently repeating it again and again,
Reminding us that on the other side of this consistent,
Earnest practice is the peace and the ease and the calm that will accompany us to all the other parts of life.
Many of us have already tried it the other way.
We already tried it through the rushing and the doing and the noise.
And in that way of living,
We find that we come up short every time.
Tired.
Ungrounded.
Unable to find the calm.
Yearning for something different.
Shall we invite Abhyasa to help us shift the narrative to all the parts of our lives?
Shall we allow Abhyasa to bring us back to that gentle hug of this present moment where the rushing and the doing and the overwhelming busyness of the world can pause?
I invite you to adjust any part of your body that needs to shift so that you feel comfortable.
And as I offer this mantra of Abhyasa,
Just be.
Maybe you'll hear the sound of the mantra,
This word,
This vibration many times in a row.
Maybe you'll lose the sound as your mind becomes still and quiet.
Maybe you'll hear the sound coming back even as my voice grows quiet.
The sound of Abhyasa will come back each time that the mind tries to wonder if you will allow it to.
Allow the earnestness,
The consistency of Abhyasa,
This practice,
To hold space for you in this present moment.
And then hold space for you in the next.
Let's take a slow,
Deep breath in together.
And ever so gently,
Let it go.
Another slow breath in together.
And ever so gently,
Release that one.
And as you continue to breathe and be,
Allow the vibration of Abhyasa to resonate physically,
Emotionally,
And energetically in the space where you are.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Abhyasa.
Invite the resonance of Abhyasa to grow within you.
To grow with each breath that you take.
Knowing that over time,
New skills become our own if we practice them.
If we want to play the piano and play it well,
We commit to the practice with earnestness.
We commit to practice without pause.
And to consistently keep showing up to learn.
Until one day we realize this piano has become an extension of us.
Part of who we are.
Our sounds.
Its sounds.
All coming together from one source.
This practice is the same.
The more that we meditate with earnestness.
Without pause.
Consistently showing up.
Eventually we look up and realize it's no longer just these sweet moments of stillness and peace.
As we sit on the cushion.
It has become a way of life.
This practice has become a part of who we are.
And we are one with it.
Abhyasa.
Take the mantra with you.
Abhyasa.
Allow it to continue to support you.
Abhyasa.
Allow it to remind you.
Encourage you.
Affirm you.
Abhyasa.
Earnestness.
Consistency of practice.
Practice without pause.
Namaste.
