This is a guided meditation to help you really stay present because we know that the present moment is where the gifts are.
So I would encourage you to either find your most comfortable seat or explore laying down with your legs up on a chair or an ottoman.
So I'll give you a moment to just decide how it is you want to be practicing.
It's really comfortable to lay down on the back and let the legs just be resting on a chair or a couch.
So whatever you decide to practice,
Wherever you decide to practice,
Just let yourself commit to that.
And just put your hands on your belly.
Invite yourself to just arrive right here.
Whatever busyness you've been doing,
Whatever it took for you to get right here,
Invite yourself to be right here.
And just notice what's touching down.
If you're sitting,
Maybe it's your seat and your feet just grounded on the earth.
If you're laying down,
Can you really invite your legs to land?
Feel your heels land.
Let your bones land.
Just feel everything land.
Feel that energy from the feet up through your knees,
Down into your hips,
And just let everything drip out your hips.
This time of year,
Spring energy.
So much about air moving that vata time of year.
It's also the time of year when the liver and gallbladder are in high tide.
And if you're feeling balanced,
You might feel that sense of purpose within yourself.
And if you're feeling at all out of balance,
You might feel any irritability or anger.
So just visualize for yourself energy just dripping out your hips.
Just letting go of any anger,
Any frustrations.
Not staying with it,
Not pushing it,
Not grasping it.
And then invite your mind's attention to be right underneath your hands on your belly.
I'm going to practice this ancient technique that I learned in Kripalu at least 20 years ago.
It's called brief wah.
It stands for breathe,
Relax,
Feel,
Watch,
And allow.
So first off,
Just notice the breath underneath your hands.
And without doing anything,
Just simply watch your breath.
Notice the breath comes in.
Maybe there's a gentle pause.
The breath goes out.
Again,
There's just this gentle pause.
Your body is breathing you all the time.
Can you just feel your legs land and feel your breath?
Without doing the breath,
Just watching the breath.
As you tune your mind's attention into the breath,
Your body just begins to relax more.
You can feel your body relaxing.
And wherever you are,
Whether laying down or sitting up,
Just reach the crown of the head up to the sky so you lengthen your spine.
Just invite yourself to just relax,
Relax on your face.
Relax your eyes,
Your jaw.
Relax your shoulders.
Relax your hands.
We breathe just watching the breath.
We relax.
And then we begin to feel what is present.
What is it that you bring to your meditation today?
Just notice what's there.
No judgment.
Just feeling whatever is here for you,
Any messages.
Just simply watching the breath,
Relaxing,
Feeling what's here.
We get to the W,
The watching,
The witnessing,
The non-judgmental witness within you.
Just know that whatever it is that you're feeling is okay.
Now is okay.
So you're breathing,
Not doing a breath but just watching.
Relaxing the body.
Feeling what's here.
Watching without judging.
That's the tricky part.
Just watching without judging.
And the A is for allowing,
Just allowing it all to be without the need to make it any different than what it is.
Can you be right in this moment watching the breath,
Relaxing on purpose,
Feeling whatever there is to feel,
Noticing what it is,
Watching,
Witnessing.
And then just simply allowing it to be whatever it is.
And just as you're there,
I'd love to read you this poem by Nana Folds.
It's called Being Present.
Breathe,
Relax and feel.
Take time to slow down the pace of life.
Watch the rise and fall of moods,
The birth and death of dreams.
Feelings and sensations seem so real,
Yet they shift like changing clouds and flow with the high tide out to sea again.
Allow it all to be.
No need to grasp or push away.
Present with each moment,
The whole of you.
Body,
Mind and soul.
Opens to receive.
You're welcome to stay here for as long as feels good.
If you'd like to end practice with me.
Just begin to bring your hands right into your heart center and just ask yourself,
What do you want to walk through your day with?
What's your positive affirmation?
I like to use the phrase I am.
Just fill in the blank,
Whatever it is you want to cultivate in your world today.
I am.
Breathe it into every cell.
I am.
And then you imagine that energy just sprinkling out into the universe,
Letting the universe work out the details.
But you've got to know what your intention is.
So you know when it arrives.
So breathe it into every cell.
I am.
Then let it go.
One more time.
I am.
Thank you so much for your practice.
Namaste.
