Hi,
My name is Karen.
This is a seated meditation to help you create a sense of calm,
No matter what the chaos is around you or within you.
Samadha is a Buddhist term that's often translated to mean the tranquility of the mind or mind calmness.
The Pali Canon describes it as one of the two qualities of mind which are developed Bhavana in Buddhist meditation and the other quality of mind being Vipassana which is insight.
Samadha meditation brings a laser-like focus to our monkey mind.
By removing the clutter it makes the mind one-pointed thus enabling us to see clearly.
It can be practiced almost anytime,
Anywhere.
Think of it as your go-to meditation whenever you feel overwhelmed in life whether sitting on a bus or standing in a line at the bank.
I'm not going to offer much direction in this meditation.
If it becomes physically challenging,
Rearrange yourself to be comfortable with as little disturbance to you as possible.
When it becomes uncomfortable emotionally,
Lean into the physical sensations rather than pursuing the emotion itself.
In this way you'll remove the power of the emotion and learn to see emotions as reactions to your thoughts.
Emotions have no real power and so by practicing learning how to release them more easily you'll continue to understand that releasing transient thoughts and their accompanying feelings are really the relief we're searching for because they're often so very disruptive for us.
Let's begin by checking in to see what is present right now.
Notice any thoughts.
Notice any emotions.
Now scan your body with a loving heart space and compassionate mind.
Notice any sensations in the body without feeling the need to judge it.
Without feeling the need to judge anything.
Instead simply allowing whatever is there to be just as it is and holding it all with a gentle open and spacious awareness.
We'll begin by presencing with a breath practice known as 4-4-4-4 breath or box breath.
This will help us to ground to the present moment.
Finding a place to sit whether in a chair or on a cushion on the floor.
Stack one vertebra on top of the other.
Your spine is the main conduit of your central nervous system so it's really important to keep it erect.
Relax your shoulders and keep your head evenly balanced tucking your chin slightly inwards towards your throat.
Allow your tongue to touch the palate itself.
Relax your face and close your eyes if you're comfortable with that and if not just soften your gaze and turn the eyes slightly downward with a half focused gaze.
Let's begin to draw in our box breath.
So breathe in for a count of four,
Pause for a count of four,
Exhale for a count of four and then pause once again for a count of four.
We'll do this three times.
Breathing in deeply for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let your breath now move very naturally.
Breathing in and out and allow your mind to rest lightly on the falling and the rising of the breath.
Specifically paying attention to the small triangular area between your upper lip and your nostrils.
Whenever your mind wanders gently bring it back to the awareness of the breath flowing in and out.
Allow yourself to acknowledge any sounds that might be present near you or further away without allowing them to draw you into their story.
Periodically,
Check in with the muscles of the face and the head.
If you notice tension is present in the face,
Maybe turn up the corners of your mouth just a little bit.
This relieves the tension in and around the eyes and forehead.
G Okay.
If you find that your mind becomes too active,
You might need to switch your attention from that small triangular area between the upper lip and the nostrils.
Just switch down to the belly and if you find in staying with the belly for too long,
If you become somewhat dull and sleepy,
Simply shift back to the space between the upper lip and the nose.
Is your jaw relaxed?
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out,
The belly falls.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
Breathing in,
The belly rises and breathing out.
And now begin to breathe in and out a little bit more deeply,
Just drawing focus to how you're feeling in this moment,
In this seat.
Scan your body from the very top of your head down to your toes,
Out to your fingertips,
Breathing more deeply and as you exhale let everything go.
Just relax and release everything.
Allow three more deep breaths in and out.
And gently,
As you're ready,
Flutter your eyes open,
Re-presencing yourself into the space.
I hope you have a really wonderful day.
Until we sit again,
Namaste.
You
