This is a meditation on stillness,
Peace,
And calm.
First start by finding a comfortable position,
Maybe sitting in a chair or sitting on the edge of a couch or bed.
Just make sure wherever you are that you can sit up straight.
In some practices,
Such as Zazen,
We actually sway from side to side or front to back until we find that point of stillness for our practice.
So maybe swaying from left to right as you get into a comfortable position for your practice and slowing down the body,
Noticing your legs,
Your ankles,
Your feet,
If you're sitting on the floor on a cushion,
Maybe you feel the floor against your shins,
Your knees,
And then working your way up through your thighs and getting to your hips.
As we get to our hips,
Noticing how they're positioned and what this does to the back.
If our hips are maybe tilted in one way or another,
Maybe play with it until you feel like your back is a little bit straighter,
Until it's upright just a little bit more.
Then on your next breath in,
Bringing your shoulders up close to your ears,
And as you breathe out,
Letting them fall down your backs.
Once again,
Breathing in and letting your shoulders just roll down,
Reminding them that there's nothing to hold on to.
If you'd like to ground today,
I invite you to put your hands face down in your lap next to you.
If you want to receive some energy,
Maybe have your hands face up either in your lap,
On your sides,
On your legs,
Whatever feels comfortable today.
Then letting your arms hang heavy,
Elbows,
Your shoulders,
Once again reminding them there's nothing to hold up in this moment,
Nothing you have to place on them.
Then letting our heads relax just a little bit.
If your eyes aren't shut yet,
You can shut them down very gently.
We don't want to create any tension in our bodies by just simply closing our eyes,
Letting your cheeks fall heavy,
Your mouth relax,
Maybe even wiggling your jaw from side to side,
And then letting one last sense of calm rush over from the top of your head,
Flowing all the way down your body,
And arriving in your seat,
Arriving in your space.
We're going to start this practice with some breath work to ground.
If you're pregnant or have any lung issues,
Please just continue breathing on your own naturally here.
If you'd like to partake in this exercise,
This practice,
We're going to breathe in for four,
We're going to hold for seven,
And we're going to breathe out for eight.
So,
Breathing in for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Holding,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And then letting it go,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Again,
Breathing in for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Holding,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And letting it go,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Breathing in for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Holding,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And letting it all go.
Do a couple more rounds of repetition here,
Breathing in,
Holding,
And letting go.
Breathing in,
Holding,
And letting go.
Now,
Returning to your natural breath,
Or whatever breath is calling you today,
Whether that be in through your nose and out through your nose,
Or in through your nose and out through your mouth,
Whatever feels most comfortable,
Whatever you're called to.
Settling into your own rhythm,
Your own rhythm of breath.
Now,
I invite you to imagine yourself in a boat.
This is a boat that's small enough just for you and the things that you need.
You notice that as the waves move beneath this boat,
You are kept still.
You still remain and feel calm.
Now,
As the waves get more choppy and chaotic,
This boat holds you still,
Watching where it brings you and how you hold peace through it all.
Whenever you're ready,
Gently reaching over the edge of the boat,
Reaching your hands into the water,
And as you pull them up,
You pull with you an item,
Something that represents peace or calm.
This feeling of stillness within you is represented in this image,
This item.
Noticing how it makes you feel,
Looking at every aspect of it,
And truly noticing it.
And whenever you're ready,
Gently placing it back into the water,
Knowing that at any time you can recall it back,
But also trusting that when you need it,
It will find its way back to you.
This time,
As you pull your hands out of the water,
You pull with you an item that represents non-peace,
Something that maybe has brought some chaos or swirling,
Something that has not given you stillness recently.
You notice it,
You feel it,
Notice how this impacts your body.
Recognizing that this item came from the same exact space that your item of peace and calm came from.
Recognizing that both things come from the same place,
And both have energy,
And the main difference is how we look at them,
How we react to them.
Whenever you're ready,
Before you just drop this item off the side of the boat,
Thank it.
Non-judgmentally,
Look at it one more time.
When you're ready,
You can just drop it,
Let it fall out of your hands,
Into the water and sink down.
It's not something that you need right now.
If you'd like,
You can pull back up the image that brought you peace,
Or you can just keep your hands in the water,
Almost as if each wave is cleansing them,
Creating this moment of peace.
I'm going to give you a couple moments here to notice this peace,
To really sit with it and observe.
If at any moment you notice yourself drifting off,
Taking a moment to just notice your breath,
How it comes into your body and how it leaves,
Filling up and emptying.
If your hands were left in the water,
I invite you to bring them out.
If you're holding an item,
Letting it go,
Bringing your hands up to your chest,
Physically in this world as well,
Holding them up over your chest,
Noticing the energy of this peace and calm moving from your hands into your body,
Giving you this moment of peace and stillness,
Letting you just sit here in it.
Very gently,
Slowly start moving your ankles around your wrists,
Gently making little small movements in your neck and head.
And whenever you're ready,
Stretching your hands up over your head,
Really stretching up here,
And then bringing them back down and once again sealing them on our body,
Our chest or stomach,
Feeling this sense of you being alive,
Giving yourself a moment of gratitude,
Being thankful that you've taken just this brief little amount of time out of your day to sit,
To reflect,
To observe,
Maybe even reset and recharge.
And whenever you're ready,
Very gently tilting your head down and flickering open your eyes and from my heart to yours,
Thank you so much for joining me in this practice.
Have a great rest of your day.
Thank you.
