Relax into a posture,
Just come to rest.
Just relax.
Feel the ground holding you up and just rest upon it.
There's nothing to do.
There's nowhere to go and there's no one to be.
Just come to rest.
Resting here in this posture,
Feel how it is simply to relax,
Just to rest.
Feel the ground holding you up.
Feel how if the ground wasn't here holding you up,
You would simply fall,
A beautiful free fall into nothing.
Just rest upon that ground.
It's easy.
It's simple.
Just relax.
Now move your body,
Move your upper torso forward or back or to one side.
Move it into a position that requires some effort to hold it there.
It may not be comfortable and it won't be restful.
You'll need to put in some effort to hold your body in this position.
Feel what that's like having to hold that position.
Feel the effort that goes into that.
Feel the parts of your body and the parts of your mind that must engage to hold that position.
That position that is out of alignment,
That is leaning forward or back or to one side.
Feel the tension required to hold that position.
Feel the discomfort of that.
Feel it.
Investigate it.
Hold it,
That discomfort.
Touch it,
That effort.
It may not be a big effort.
It may not be strong discomfort,
But it is there.
Feel it.
How does it feel?
Keep holding that posture,
Leaning forward or back or to one side.
Keep holding it and keep feeling it.
How does it feel?
Now gently bring your body back into alignment,
Back into a position of rest.
Rest,
Come back to alignment.
Rest your head on top of your neck.
Rest your neck on top of your shoulders.
Rest your shoulders on top of your chest.
Rest your chest on top of your abdomen.
Rest your abdomen on top of your hips.
Rest the whole structure on the ground that is holding you up.
There's no effort required.
We can just relax in this posture.
Feel it.
This wonderful body,
Perfectly designed to hold itself up.
We don't need to do anything to it.
It can just sit here,
Relaxed,
Holding itself in place.
Feel that.
Feel that sense of ease,
That sense of effortlessness.
How the body can simply sit here,
Holding itself up with no effort required.
It is effortless.
Feel that ease and compare it to the effort that was needed to hold the position,
A position leaning forward or back or off to one side.
Feel the difference between that effort and the sense of effortlessness that prevails when we simply allow the natural structure to hold itself up.
Just rest in that effortlessness.
Just relax and feel it.
Now raise your arms to the sides.
Raise your arms and hold them there in place.
Not stretched.
Feel the effort required to hold them there.
Feel that slight discomfort.
The discomfort of having to hold your arms in place.
Just feel it.
Just notice the effort required to do this.
Feel that sense of discomfort and keep it in awareness as you now gently lower your arms back into position,
Resting in your lap or by your sides.
Just let the natural structure of the body allow your arms to rest in position.
No effort required.
The arms simply rest here.
They just relax.
Feel that sense of rest,
That sense of effortlessness and compare it to the effort that was required to hold your arms out to the side.
The simple effortlessness present when the natural structure of the body allows the arms just to relax where they are.
Just feel that.
Hold it in awareness.
Now shifting focus to the breath of the body,
Try controlling it as it comes in and goes out.
Try forcing the breath to do what you want it to do.
Make it come in on command.
Make it go out on command.
Make it come in and make it go out.
And notice the effort that is required to do that.
Notice how it is something we have to do.
Notice the slight discomfort of having to do that,
Having to make the breath come in and make it go out again.
Notice how unrestful that effort is.
And now just let go of trying to control the breath and allow the breath to come back to its natural rhythm.
Let it come in as it comes in.
Let it go out as it goes out.
And notice how it does that anyway,
Whether we try to control it or not.
In fact,
The breath is effortless.
It breeds itself.
Feel the ease of just letting the breath do itself.
Feel the effortlessness of that.
The breath simply breeds itself.
It happens as it happens effortlessly.
Just rest in that feeling.
Just rest in that effortlessness.
And now reflecting on these exercises,
Notice how easy it is to allow things to happen naturally,
The way they are designed to happen.
Notice how easy it is to simply stay out of the way and allow those processes to happen.
Notice how aligning ourselves with the natural way of things is effortless.
And how so much of what we do in our lives can simply be the effort of trying to control things,
Things that perhaps do not need to be controlled,
Things that perhaps are already happening just fine.
Notice how we can simply let things be as they are and feel the effortlessness of that.
And just come to rest in that.
