We'll begin our half of agataka,
12 minutes of shamatha practice.
Some arriving and centering as we greet some of our parts through the IFS model.
And we'll close the practice with ahara pranayama.
One last technique I'd like to share to cultivate the inner buddha realm.
So first just dropping all activity,
Though heightening your interest in breath awareness.
So the breath becomes your entire world.
Like a cocoon just enveloped in the air.
And then you're felt in a dark simple world of the breathing body.
Yeah.
And then narrow that interest to be most explicitly focused on the exhalation.
And breathe yourself down into your Hara Garden.
Exhale your way into the body intelligence of low belly.
Exhale your way into the body intelligence of low belly.
And notice what landscape awaits you.
In that fertile space.
Sometimes it's like a rich red desert.
Or an ocean.
Or a hidden bubbling spring.
Just meeting your sacred landscape now.
The kingdom of your inner Buddha.
And begin to welcome your parts to join you there.
You're kind of like Lady Liberty here.
Bring me your hungry,
Your tired,
Your poor.
Any parts of you that are fatigued,
Scared,
Anxious,
Lonely,
Ashamed,
Regretful.
All my parts are welcome here.
Arriving.
Fully arriving.
Noticing if any parts have something strong to say.
Like there's a message.
Offering a space for any parts to be heard.
As if they were your children.
What is it my love?
And then offering those parts.
A strong willingness to hold them.
As together you enjoy the landscape of that inner wisdom realm.
As you drink from those waters together,
Gaze out at the horizon.
Often the parts that are the most demanding.
Just like a turbulent child is really just asking for some time with the inner mother.
So see what that part needs to feel cared for.
And then bring them right into the belly,
That part.
And bring your hands there to lower belly.
Meditate now on Hara is just a wide sphere.
Around the whole center of you.
Wide,
Rich ocean.
And then see if you can pinpoint the very nucleus,
The very center.
Inhale,
Max,
Pull in from that center and draw back to the spine and then exhale and just widen and spread there.
Three times like that.
So twice more inhale,
Pull it in,
Feel the front of the abdomen firm,
Drop back and exhale,
Spread and widen.
And again,
Pull in,
Drop back and widen and soften.
Just rest here for a moment.
I'm going to try that again.
But this time,
You'll feel like when you inhale,
You're pulling the soft tissue at the pit of the abdomen,
That center nucleus.
You're going to pull it back to the spine.
But you'll keep the surface of the belly,
The skin under your hands,
Soft,
Pressing out.
So it's like a suctioning back from the center most.
But the surface stays expansive and wide.
It bellows into your hands.
So it's subtle,
It's more energetic than it is visceral.
Just very subtle.
Inhale,
Pull back the center,
But let the front of the belly widen and exhale.
Just drawing and suctioning in from the center most on the in breath.
Exhales widen the whole sphere.
Inhale surface stays expansive and soft.
Beautiful.
Just release that.
For the last minute.
Just soak in this sea of chi.
.
.
Just taking a few moments to journal about any parts that came through,
Any insights.
