Welcome,
My name is Shalonda and today I'll be guiding a seated posture meditation inspired by Jason Coppa's great book,
On the Steps of the Path.
The purpose of the posture in meditation is multi-fold.
One reason why we find this posture is to allow our prana,
Also known as our life force,
To flow with ease through our central nadi or our central channel.
This channel is known as the Shashumna Nadi,
The good good nadi.
It is said that this is where bliss,
Love,
Compassion,
And the likes reside.
And so with a long spine and a steady posture,
We're able to allow our prana to enter our central channel and flow.
Another benefit of a steady seat is that our physical body settles in and drops into stillness.
That physical stillness opens up the way for our minds to then find stillness.
So when you're ready,
Come to sit on a cushion,
A pillow,
Or a bolster.
You could even roll up your yoga mat to serve as a seat.
The purpose of this is to lift our seat and our hips slightly above our knees,
Creating a strong foundation,
Almost like a tripod base.
If a full or half lotus pose is in your practice,
Take the pose that is accessible to you today.
Right leg first with the left leg on top.
Always being mindful of any strain you may be placing on your knees.
If lotus is not currently in your practice,
You can simply cross your legs,
Otherwise known as easy pose.
It's common for our legs to fall asleep when we first begin,
But with practice and consistency,
That will begin to subside.
You can place your hands on your knees,
Either palms facing up,
If you're feeling a little dull or tired,
Or if you're seeking to receive in this moment.
Another option is palms facing down,
If you're feeling agitated or maybe your mind is wandering and you're in need of grounding.
Another meditation mudra or hand gesture that is common is known as dhyana mudra.
Cupping both hands,
Palms facing up,
Place your left palm in your right palm and bring the tip of your thumbs to touch.
Relax your forearms on your upper thighs.
The touching of the thumbs is said to close the circuit between the left and the right side body,
The subtle channels.
It reinforces the posture and brings our awareness to the center.
Once you have a comfortable seat,
If you haven't already,
Gently close your eyes or lower your gaze.
If the eyes are slightly open,
Fix your eyes past the tip of your nose,
Letting in just a sliver of light,
Such that you're only able to make out the outline of shapes and colors are barely visible.
If your eyes are closed,
Maybe play with shifting the gaze up to the space between your brows,
Ajna or the third eye.
Working with the breath as a means to teleport,
Let's joyfully begin to shift our awareness from outside to the powerful world within.
In and out the nose,
Each exhale transporting you deeper into you.
Begin to envision roots flowing from your seat down through the earth or the ground.
A strong,
Sturdy base.
Rooted in your seat,
Let's introduce movement in the spine.
A gentle wave swaying forward and back,
Side to side,
Until you find that center aligned right over your seat,
Moving into stillness.
One by one,
Stack each vertebrae on top of the other,
Like a tall tower of Legos or blocks,
All the way up to the crown of your head.
Imagine a string at the uppermost point of your head,
Softly lifting and pulling you up to the sky.
One parallel to the ground,
The weight of your head supported,
Floating.
Move your awareness to the point just below your navel and slightly tuck.
Notice how this feels.
With the next exhale,
Roll the shoulders down and back,
Melting them away from the ears.
A reminder to let go of any unneeded tension.
Invite ease into the posture.
As the shoulders roll back,
Your heart center may shine forward.
Take a moment to feel an opening here,
Open to giving,
Open to receiving.
Let an intention beyond learning the physical posture,
Drop in and decide what posture your mind will take.
Maybe you wish to invite impatience,
Or maybe you seek to move your mind to moments of love.
Love or joy with each prompt.
Call in that intention for yourself.
With a clear intention,
Guide your awareness from your heart center,
The center of your chest,
Slowly up the spine until you reach your face.
Allow the jaw to fall,
Slight space between the top and bottom teeth.
With your mouth closed and your lips softly touching.
The tip of your tongue comes to meet the space where your two front teeth touch the palate or the roof of your mouth.
Notice the rest of the tongue.
The posture of the tongue makes it such that there's no need to swallow,
And it makes way for an even deeper stillness.
Fix your inner gaze on the space between your eyebrows,
Unfurrowing the brows and inviting in ease.
Like a scanner from top to bottom,
Scan the face for any lingering tension.
The forehead,
The ears,
Nose,
Your cheeks,
Down to the tip of the chin.
And if you feel comfortable,
Welcome a slight smile to the corner of your lips and the corner of your eyes as you fix your mind back on your intention.
To bring the posture to a heightened state,
We move our focus to the breath as an object,
A very gentle,
Inaudible breath,
In and out the nose.
We work with the breath as an accessible object to strengthen our focus.
On the inhale,
You may feel a very cool sensation as the air enters the nostrils,
Following the breath with your inner awareness to the back of the throat,
Into the lungs,
As it fills the rib cage,
Down into the belly.
Notice the point at which the inhale changes into the exhale.
Maybe you notice a slight pause.
Now follow the breath as it's being released.
There may be a sensation of warmth on the upper lip as the breath leaves the nose.
Envision a small flag just in front of the tip of your nose as you breathe in and out.
On this flag,
You see so clearly your intention is written in bold letters.
Take the next three breaths at your own pace.
This is your meditative posture.
Begin to find ease in it.
With each sit,
You can explore the different modifications,
Hands,
Legs,
Eye gaze,
Until you arrive at ease and settle into what feels most comfortable to you,
Acknowledging that they may change and that each sit may look a little different.
Take a moment to dedicate your efforts to someone who may be in need of stillness today.
Just a moment of pause to move forward with a bright clarity.
Offer up all of your efforts to them.
On the next inhale,
Deepen the breath as you notice the sensation of the clothes on your body.
Maybe you lick your lips or sway the spine from side to side.
You can wiggle your toes,
Your fingers,
And when you're ready,
Slowly flutter the eyes open.
Immense gratitude for this opportunity to guide you into this posture.
May you carry this practice with you as you guide your mind into places of serenity and bliss,
Into the reality that you are able to create for yourself,
The paradise that you build by bringing stillness to the body and stillness to your mind.
May you arrive on your cushion ready to sit.
Thank you.
