All right,
So thanks so much for being here everyone.
We are going to discuss today the inspiration for wanting to share this was really simple.
I have been caring.
I was,
I guess still,
But my partner was going through some health issues and I have been caring caregiving a lot and recognizing that I needed some space also to care for myself.
And that led into also connecting to a book that I've been reading,
Who's the author that you might know.
That is Charles Freelig.
He is another teacher on Inside Timer.
He just published this book called The Will to Do Nothing.
It is amazing.
Definitely recommend it.
And I love in this book,
He talks about care and the relation of care and quality.
And he quotes a quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and he says,
Care and quality are internal and external aspects of the same thing.
So if we want to bring more quality to our lives in any area of our life,
The formula is actually to bring more care.
And Charles says in his book,
Care is the natural byproduct of current awareness.
And so the power of our attention,
Of our awareness that in any area of life,
Just bringing that to it is bringing more care and it is bringing more quality.
Now we might not see the quality for a little while.
If you're working,
Let's say a craftsman is working on some kind of project and some art projects,
Maybe a woodworking,
Whatever it might be,
Or an artist is working on a painting.
The care each day,
Even though it doesn't look finished,
Even though it doesn't even look right yet,
That care over time,
All of a sudden there's this beautiful masterpiece.
And so in our practice today,
We're going to look at how to bring more of that awareness,
More of that care,
Really with the intention that it's going to increase the quality,
The quality of our being,
The quality of our life,
The quality of our relationships.
And we're also going to look at what the opposite of care is,
Because that's another way to think of maybe you're feeling off,
Maybe you're feeling like you need some spark in your life.
Well,
Look at the places that you are neglecting.
Where in your life are you neglecting?
And often without the care,
It's a lack of care,
Lack of awareness and attention,
That thing is going to atrophy.
That thing is going to break or lessen in its quality.
And so we're going to come at this practice in two ways,
Looking at things that potentially could use a little bit more care,
Things that are maybe getting a little rusty and need some energy,
And also just a practice to bring this care into yourselves and anything else that you're wanting to increase the quality of.
And so I'm excited to drop in.
So let's get right into it.
Move your body any way that needs to move.
Maybe rolling the shoulders,
Neck,
Any maybe early morning creeks and creeks.
And then closing down,
Tuning inwards,
Beginning to soften,
Beginning to let the energy of your body sink down into the earth.
And taking a cleansing breath together in filling up the belly,
The ribs,
The chest,
Holding the breath at the top.
One more sip of air.
Open mouth,
Sigh the breath out.
Let's do that one more time,
Cleansing breath in,
Holding,
And letting it go.
Audible long exhale,
And then letting the breath be natural,
Letting your body find its proper posture,
Shoulders over hips,
Ears over shoulders.
Exhale extension,
The back of the neck as the chin tucks down.
Feeling the energy opening throughout your back body,
Feeling the strength of your back body and the softness of your front body.
So relaxing the tension in your chest or your navel.
Maybe you can even feel the torso and the side ribs soften.
And each moment,
Each breath is this act of care.
It's this act of attention.
In each moment you rest in it,
You are increasing the quality of your being,
Increasing the quality of your awareness,
Your focus,
And also the energy that's able to course and move through you.
And so let your breath be your portal to this care,
To the parts of you that need care.
Maybe you notice where that is inside of your body.
And then continuing to let go,
Maybe even offering that as a mantra.
Inhale,
Let,
Exhale,
Go.
Inhale,
Let,
Exhale,
Go.
Letting go of tightness,
Stuckness,
Letting go of thoughts,
Letting go of needing this moment to be any different than it is.
Each breath,
Inhale,
Let,
And exhale,
Go.
Coming back to that when you get distracted.
Letting go of the to-dos,
The plans.
Getting back to that care,
The care that you have for yourself in each moment as you let go into the moment.
And as you let go,
Keep feeling an expansion of how your energy is opening,
Inviting it to expand.
And then we're going to switch this,
The words we use on our breath,
To affirm this care within you.
So instead of let go,
Switch to inhale,
I,
Exhale,
Care.
Inhale,
I,
Exhale,
Care.
And not necessarily forcibly changing the breath,
But just your natural rhythm of breath,
You're just noting,
You're just affirming those words to yourself as your body expands and contracts.
And notice what that's like to affirm the care,
The care that you have,
The care that in some ways you are.
Notice if that increases the quality or the energy,
And it's okay if it doesn't.
Just as a painter has to make some poor strokes or change the colors,
Like we have our practice to continue to put our awareness and it changes and it compounds.
I care.
And then we'll take together a cleansing breath in and out.
And so as we work to increase the care and to increase the quality of our life,
It's important to look at where we are not showing care,
Where we are neglecting ourselves or our life or our relationships.
And so if you ask yourself that question right now,
Notice what comes.
Where are you neglecting yourself or life?
Where are you not showing care?
Maybe it's your body,
Your practice,
Your dreams,
Your friendship,
Your significant other.
Just hold whatever it is you're neglecting in your awareness,
Not with,
Without the judgment or guilting yourself around it,
Just holding it.
I encourage you to not go too far into the guilt or the shame.
If it's there,
It's there.
Holding this neglect with a compassionate heart.
And as you keep your awareness on it,
Recognize that just you bringing your attention here is showing care.
That it's a step in the right direction.
So feel what that does just to simply care for it right now in this moment,
Just with holding it and being aware of it.
Continue to let the breath open space inside so that you can offer more awareness,
More care towards this part of your life.
There might be a lot of good reasons why you haven't been putting your energy or awareness here and that's okay.
Be kind to yourself.
And then before we move on from this,
Notice if there's any way to embody this when you leave this practice today.
Maybe just setting an intention to open space for a conversation or to look at that thing that you've been neglecting.
It might be as simple as I've been neglecting my financial life and I'm just going to go look at my bank account.
That's bringing awareness,
That's bringing attention to something.
So it could be very simple.
Maybe even see yourself doing that thing later on.
And if you're unsure that's okay too,
We can explore that at another time.
And then together we'll take one more cleansing breath in,
Letting it go.
And coming back and asking this question of why care?
We always want other people to care.
Why should we care?
What's the point in increasing the quality of our lives?
And a lot of this may come down to the things that you value,
The things that you stand for,
The things that are important to you.
And so what is one word that you would like to increase the quality of how it is in your life?
And I'm going to give us a few words that we're going to work with here.
But I'm also going to have space for you to affirm and care and bring care to one word,
One energy.
An example is to grow in the love that you have,
The love that you feel in life,
The peace that you have,
The joy,
The connection,
The expansion,
The adventure.
Maybe just finding something that you like to grow and increase the quality of how it shows up in your life.
And we're going to move through some words,
Some affirmations here to bring care to different elements.
And the last one that we do is going to be that one that you came up with yourself.
And so you're just going to do that internally.
And so bringing the awareness into your heart,
Staying with each breath and sharing either silently or out loud.
I care for joy.
I care for strength.
I care for love.
I care for peace.
And then whenever that is that word that you came up with,
I care for blank,
Let yourself bring that care into your own experience.
Feel what that does to your body.
And then we'll do this again.
I care for joy.
I care for strength.
I care for love.
I care for peace.
And then that last one is that thing that's personal to you.
It might be one of the ones we already said,
But maybe it's something different.
And just take a moment and just keep repeating and caring for that energy within you.
That energy is within you.
And then shifting here,
Just one last piece of this practice while we're here is to use our care and awareness to bring or grow a vision or a dream or a goal that you have for your life.
And so bringing that into your awareness,
Seeing maybe all those energies being aligned,
The energies of peace,
Love,
Strength,
Joy,
Anything that's unique to you,
See yourself,
See that vision that you have,
That dream that you have for your life.
Noticing what that feels like,
Letting yourself really take it in,
Root down in it,
Let your nervous system feel as if it's already here.
Remembering you are growing the quality of this vision with each time that you care for it.
And awareness is always the first step.
So bringing more care,
More awareness to this vision,
To this energy,
Letting it come more alive,
Feeling it deeper,
Let it grow.
See yourself living it.
And then before we close this practice,
Maybe connecting with another active care that you can give to this vision or this dream.
That each day,
Each action that is with the vision in mind is a way that we show care,
Is a way that you're going to increase the quality of it.
And so holding that in your awareness now,
What is something that you can enact or embody today that is in service of your vision?
And then together taking one last cleansing breath in,
Letting it go.
And in your own time,
Opening your eyes and coming back into our space here.
