Hello,
And welcome to the daily insight.
My name is Hillary Jackendoff,
And today we'll be practicing a 20-minute meditation to help you connect to your breath as your teacher,
Grateful for all of the wisdom it contains.
In many spiritual traditions,
The breath is the very foundation of a meditation practice.
Through the breath we calm our bodies,
We quiet our minds,
And when the breath is harried,
Agitated,
So is our body and our mind.
When our breath is peaceful,
Unhurried,
And gentle,
It creates the same qualities within us.
With every breath,
We're granted the opportunity to begin again in a new moment,
Present,
Awake,
And aware in our lives.
What else could we possibly need?
And yet many of us,
After we've practiced meditation for some time,
Tend to seek out Hollywood-like special effects in our meditations hoping for fireworks,
Big,
Exciting,
Energetic experiences.
Put that aside for now,
If that applies to you.
And just for today,
I invite you to come to your cushion with a beginner's mind.
Listen and ready to receive the wisdom of the breath.
Begin by finding a comfortable position,
Ideally sitting upright in a chair or on the floor.
Allow your hands to rest comfortably on your knees or in your lap,
And notice if your palms want to face up or down.
Finding a neutral expression to the face,
Softening the muscles here,
Even softening the tongue inside your mouth,
Bringing ease to the jaw.
Allow your shoulders to release down away from the sides of your neck and tuck your chin ever so slightly to create some space in the back of your neck.
Begin to feel into a sense of natural alignment in your spine,
Feeling into the natural curvature of the spine.
And as you breathe in,
Feel yourself growing taller,
Your spine growing a little longer as you breathe in through your nose,
Feel as though the crown of your head is being gently lifted by invisible strings.
And as you breathe out,
Maintain that height in the spine but allow every muscle to relax,
To release and soften.
Do this twice more.
As you continue to settle in,
Notice if you feel ready to turn inwards,
Giving yourself maybe a little more time to arrive in the present moment for your meditation.
Make any last minute adjustments to your position now,
Ensuring you'll be comfortable for the duration of your practice.
And now,
Take a full deep breath in through your nose,
Holding the breath inside at the top of the inhale.
And then gently open your mouth ever so slightly and allow your exhale to escape on its own,
Slowly and smoothly.
Continue breathing like this.
Exhales focused inhalation,
Spontaneous,
Effortless exhalation.
With every breath in,
Feel into the experience of doing,
Of focused effort.
And with every breath out,
Feel into the experience of pure being,
Effortlessness.
What wisdom is here for you in the interplay,
The relationship between doing and being?
What is the breath showing you?
As you continue to breathe like this,
Drawing breath in through your nose with presence,
Feel that you are deeply receiving,
Intentionally drawing in that which you need.
And as you release your breath out gently,
Effortlessly,
Through your mouth,
As it leaves your body,
Feel that you are easily releasing all that does not serve you.
Let go of this and allow your body to breathe all on its own.
No effort,
No control.
Begin to notice where you feel your breath in your body.
Perhaps there is a gentle movement in the space of the abdomen.
Perhaps the breath can be sensed in the chest.
Maybe the breath is almost imperceptible,
Barely felt,
Lightly gliding in and out through the nostrils.
Then you surrender fully to the breath,
Watching,
Sensing as its natural rhythm unfolds.
Or is there a desire to control it?
Guess whatever is arising and inquire what wisdom is here for you.
What can the breath teach you about your patterns,
Your life?
Write in a feeling of gratitude for each breath,
Just as it is.
Each breath life-giving,
Nourishing.
Each breath,
Enough.
As your body breathes,
Begin to consciously shift towards the attitude of the witness,
Deeply aware of each breath as it passes in and out of the body.
Breathing without judgment,
Without analysis.
Become more intimate with the breath,
Moving towards it.
Be curious,
Observing the difference between one breath and the next.
You might notice that just as no two moments are the same,
No two breaths are the same either.
See if you can recognize each breath as unique,
Beautiful in its own right,
And a perfect expression of impermanence.
If it feels right to do so,
You can focus the mind more fully by mentally saying,
Body is breathing in,
Body is breathing out.
Feel as though it is the witness consciousness rather than the thinking mind speaking this phrase.
Check in with your thinking mind for a moment,
Observing if your mind is content with this,
If the breath is enough for you.
Noticing if any likes or dislikes are arising,
Perhaps boredom,
The desire to make your practice somehow more interesting.
What wisdom could be revealed from this?
You can notice the space between breaths,
Sensing the pause between inhale and exhale.
When the breath is held inside the body,
Begin to notice the space between breaths,
Sensing the pause between inhale and exhale.
When the breath is held inside the body,
Observe the pause between exhale and inhale when there is no breath contained within.
The pause between the pause between inhale and exhale is the fullness between the inhale and the exhale.
The emptiness between the exhale and the inhale.
Allow yourself to rest deeply here in these brief moments of fullness,
Of emptiness,
Of quiet,
Of stillness.
Be here in the spaces between.
Now slowly and gently shift from a natural breath back to a conscious breath,
Expanding your inhalation and extending your exhalation.
Listen to the sound of your deepening breath and feel into how deepening your breath guides you back to your body.
Become aware of the sensations in your body,
Aware of your dimensions,
The direction you face,
Your placement in the room,
Visualizing the room around you,
Knowing where you are,
And sensing that the meditation practice is drawing to a close.
Notice how you feel after this breath-centered practice.
What did your breath teach you today?
As you feel ready to do so,
Introduce movement wiggling your toes,
Your fingers,
Maybe stretching in whatever way feels right for you.
Thank you for choosing to sit with me for your practice as we move towards deeper peace,
Understanding,
And wisdom together,
Breath by breath.
