You Are Peace

This practice includes breathing techniques, visualizations of the ocean, and an introduction to the mantra/phrase SO HAM.

Transcript

Namaste.

Take a moment now to find a comfortable position for your body.

This could be sitting upright,

Supported in a chair,

Or laying on your back.

As you settle into your space,

Imagine that someone you care about has placed their hands on the tops of your shoulders.

Feel the shoulders releasing outward and downward,

Away from your neck.

Let your next breath fill you up,

Sensing the swelling in your belly,

In your ribs,

In your chest.

And on your exhale,

Gently release that breath.

Just a few more times,

You might allow your posture to change just by taking deep breaths that allow you to feel full.

And when you release your breath,

That sensation of settling into your posture,

Settling into your body.

The premise of today's meditation is that you are peace.

Peace is not something that you have to seek.

It's not something that has ever left you.

It's something that is inside of you,

Maybe covered over,

Maybe harder to see or feel.

But it's always there waiting to be remembered and waiting to be uncovered.

Settled now in your body,

Take your awareness to the palm of your right hand.

Let the palm of your right hand turn open towards the sky.

And do the same with your left palm,

An open sensation through both palms.

Re-adjust your body to make this comfortable.

With your palms open to the sky,

Direct your awareness now to your right palm.

Re-adjust any sensation that's in your palm.

On your next inhale,

Imagine your breath drawing up your right palm,

Your right arm,

Towards your shoulder,

Coming all the way to the center of your chest.

As you exhale,

Imagine your breath rolling towards your left shoulder and down your left arm,

Out your left palm.

Breathe in again,

This time feeling the breath come in through the left palm,

Up the left arm,

Towards the center of the chest,

And then back down the right arm,

Moving to the right palm and out again.

Feel the experience of breathing right to left and left to right.

Regel,

Tell us why.

As you breathe,

You can feel the point at which your breath switches,

Right at the center of your chest,

Moving from inhale to exhale,

And from exhale to inhale.

Focus your attention now on that point,

And take a few more rounds of breath.

You can still feel the movement,

The sensation of rising from the palm to the center of the chest,

And from the chest back out to the opposite palm.

And you can also feel a sensation at the center of the chest.

The movement and stillness,

The wind and the anchor.

And you can feel the movement,

The sensation of rising from the palm to the center of the chest.

Now release those breaths.

And on your next inhale,

Imagine breath sliding up from both palms to the center of your chest,

Exhaling out as if your breath could move up through the center of your head and out into the sky above.

Inhaling through both palms to the center of the chest,

Exhaling from the center of the chest to the crown of the head and beyond.

It's as if each breath releases just a little bit more mental chatter or mental clutter.

Return your awareness now to the feeling of your body.

And allow yourself the image of resting in front of the ocean,

Looking towards that vast body of water.

You might see the colors in the sky.

You might feel the sensation of being in a wide open space,

The sand beneath you,

The water in front of you.

Even if the image isn't clear,

You might sense the sound of waves crashing and then drawing back in again.

As you rest here,

Near this vast body of water,

As you take your breath in,

The waves move towards you,

And as your breath moves out,

The waves move away from you.

There is a simple rhythm to your breath,

And it is mimicked by this vast,

Giant ocean.

Your breath,

Like waves.

As you continue to breathe,

Inhaling,

Feeling movement towards you.

As you move towards you,

And exhaling,

Waves moving out.

You can hear the syllable SO,

S-O,

Breathing in.

HUM,

H-A-M,

Breathing out.

SO,

HUM,

SO,

HUM.

I AM,

THAT.

I AM,

THAT.

This mantra,

SO HUM,

Translated,

I AM,

THAT.

Feeling your breath,

Mirrored like waves in a vast body of water.

The poet Rumi said,

You are not just a drop in the ocean.

You are also the entire ocean in a single drop.

This is the peace you carry with you.

In some way you have seen it all.

You have known it all.

You have felt,

Or you will feel,

Everything there is to feel.

The peace is knowing that the waves will come,

The waves will go,

And somewhere right in the center of all that movement,

There is a stillness and a steadiness watching.

That stillness and that steadiness is limitless.

It's vast.

And it is peace.

Take your breath in,

And let it go.

And let it go.

As you exhale,

Let your breath out through your lips,

Releasing your jaw,

Softening your mouth.

And take that again,

Breathing in through your nose,

Filling up with air.

Exhale softly through your mouth.

Take one more breath,

Filling up as fully as you like,

Pausing for just a moment.

And then let the breath rush out full and deep.

Return your awareness to your hands.

And now turn your palms towards one another and bring them to touch.

And draw the shape to the center of your chest,

Thumbs moving towards your heart.

Thank you for taking time to practice today.

Reviews

With much, much gratitude 🙏🏼 this was simply and absolutely perfect for me and what I needed …a beautiful gift to the world, thank you so much 🙏🏼🌠☀️ Namaste ☀️

the first time wasn’t easy but in the second time I realised that meditation is really beautiful thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Awesome, nice calming voice and perfect balance of guidance and quiet. Thank you

This was so relaxing and meaningful to me. I have always been drawn to Mother ocean and received much healing from her. Thank you for this connection to breath and waves…and the perfect Rumi quote!🩵🌊

A beautiful and deeply restorative meditation, moving the breath through the body, reconnecting with an inner sense of peace 🙏🏼❤️

Lovely! “Peace is knowing the waves come and go and in between there is a stillness” ❤️

Thank you deeply for this beautiful practice
Just what I needed today 🙏🙏🙏

I was exactly in the front of the sea while listening to your meditation. What a beautiful feeling. Thank you again for your comforting meditations. Namaste! 🙏🏼

Wow, that was amazing . You voice and pacing were great. So relaxing! Thank you, I’ll be returning to this.

Beautiful! Just what I needed this morning. Thank you.🙏

Lovely meditation to help me focus. I really like your style. Thank you

Absolutely wonderful and perfectly described. Namaste 🪷

I found a depth of peace so profound for 17 minutes and it abides deep within for the day. Thank you ❤️🔆🙏

Great guidance. Peaceful. Thank you for your time. Namaste 🙏🏽

Still among my top 5 most favourite teachers here on IT, this meditation is perfect for the energy I am cultivating today and every day.

Deep bow of gratitude to and for you and your accompaniment on my journey. May your path be rewarding always and in all ways.

Loved it, truly finding peace through your soothing voice, breathing techniques and the spaces you allow to find my own rythm

Very very relaxing. Beautiful voice and pace. 5⭐️ Namaste 🙏🏼🍀

Spending a few days with my 90 year young parents. I’ve started my day with your gentle meditation and hope to share this peaceful energy with them throughout our day together. 🙏 Namaste Heather

Thank you for sharing this practice with us this morning. Namaste

I really enjoyed this meditation. It brought to a very deep and peaceful place. Thank you