Welcome to today's meditation.
Finding presence or stepping into the present moment.
Quite simply I want you to find a comfortable seat using whatever props beneath you help to support the utmost comfort.
And we'll just sit down into what we yogis call steady seat.
Steerum Sukham Asanam.
It's this ability to find poise at the same time as being relaxed.
So we're allowing the weight of the body to drop down into the sitting bones and the buttocks.
Using whatever support,
Rolled up blankets or cushions underneath the knees with a cross-legged position.
And then gently elevating the spine drawing the ribs away from the waist.
Fearing that space between the vertebrae of your spine as you lift the crown of your head and your heart gently upwards while softening the shoulders down the back.
And your hands can rest easy in your lap if you'd like to ground the energy of your body.
So if you're feeling maybe a little wild,
A little anxious,
Thinking too much,
Feeling a little bit untethered,
Feel free to turn the palms of your hands down onto your knees.
Conversely if you feel like you're kind of ready to experience a bit more energy,
To receive a bit more and you already feel quite grounded,
You could just turn the palms up towards the sky.
And you might notice that sense of openness in the palms,
Spaciousness between the fingers.
Maybe even an aliveness,
A tingling sensation.
Let's take a deep breath in through the nose,
Fill the heart and the belly,
Receive that breath.
And then let the breath go again through gently parted lips.
Drawing in breath again when the body is ready,
A nice full but gentle,
Smooth inhalation through the nose.
Feeling the whole body now receiving that breath,
Expanding beyond your physical space,
The physical space of your body.
And then just as gently letting that breath go through an open mouth as if you were blowing gently through a straw.
Again just when the body is ready you're finding your own natural rhythm.
And this time as you draw to the top of that inhalation just hold the breath again easily,
Softly,
For a couple of beats.
And just as smoothly like a wave that breath can exhale again out through an open mouth.
As you come to the end of your exhale let the body rest again,
Not grasping on the breath but holding it gently,
Just waiting again for this wave of inhalation to come back through.
So we're just going to continue in the same way,
Beginning to encourage our attention towards the breath so that the mind becomes focused on this gentle wave like rhythm.
And you're neither grasping or forcing or sweating your way into an effort with this,
Nor are you waiting with anticipation for what happens next.
Rather you're allowing the breath,
Smooth and fluid and easy,
Just to roll in through the nose drawing some energy in from the environment around you.
Holding for a moment at the top and then letting that breath go just as smooth,
Maybe even elongating that out breath so that it's a little fuller,
A little longer than the in-breath.
And again resting in that pause at the end.
You're trusting that the breath has a natural rhythm of its own and really just allowing it to wash through your mind and your body without exerting a lot of control.
This element of trust allows the mind to begin to take a step back,
To get quiet as we become the observer of this most natural rhythm.
Nothing else to do here,
Nothing to fulfil,
Nowhere to get to.
If the mind does feel especially busy or distracted,
It might help you to bring your awareness to the nostrils and to feel into the coolness of the air as it enters your nose.
To visualise that journey of the breath through the nasal passages and down into the body.
Again enjoying that rest,
That beat.
And then to notice as the air leaves the body how it warms the nasal passages.
Again stepping back from any over-exertion,
You don't need to effort into this.
By just enjoying being bathed in breath.
Noticing how the body takes care of one breath after another.
How each moment follows the previous moment.
And how if there's an opening beginning to widen in the mind or in the heart,
We can allow ourselves to step into that opening as if stepping through an open door.
Cultivating this essential trust in the breath,
In life itself.
Trusting that one step follows the other.
Coming back to that breath,
Coming back to the gentleness of it.
The ease.
Step stepping back from the need to control it.
Let's hold now in our attention this beautiful rhythmic dance of breath,
Waving and washing through the body.
And at the same time,
Let's tune into the sounds.
So the sound of my voice.
The sound of our music.
I'm tuning into those spaces in between the sounds.
The empty space.
The pause.
Can we extend our awareness out now to contain all of those things?
As well as our experience now of touch.
So feeling into the touch of your body against the chair or the cushion.
Feeling into the touch of your clothes against your skin.
Feeling into the energy of your hands,
Whether they're turned up or down.
Noticing the temperature.
Noticing any sensation or movement in the blood flow,
In the energy of your hands.
Perhaps even noticing the brush of air against your skin.
And then just softening the face so that we're reminded of this really important part of our practice,
Which is to give up the energy of effort.
Let's just relax the eyes and bring a gentle smile to the face.
And in these final few moments again,
Returning attention now to the wash of breath.
The ease with which that breath expands and nourishes and cleanses your body and your mind.
When you're ready to emerge from this space,
You might join me in bringing your hands together in a prayer position at the heart.
Taking a gentle breath in and a breath out to bow the head in the direction of the heart.
Namaste.
