Moving into stillness.
For the next 30 seconds,
As I share with you the beginning of this practice,
I invite you to move into stillness.
Whatever that means for you,
Whatever that feels like for your body,
Maybe it's a big body stretch,
A little dance,
A fluid and dynamic movement like swaying or even moving through a few yoga poses.
But the goal is to move your body as you get settled,
As you find stillness,
Merging the two that are often juxtaposed.
What if in movement we found stillness of the soul and in stillness we find that we're actually called to move our bodies as prayer or meditation itself.
There are often barriers to mindfulness and meditation practice that are unnecessary like sitting still,
Being in a quiet place,
Being alone and free of distraction.
And so my hope here is that you can enter into and access this meditative peaceful state in whatever situation or place you find yourself.
And that begins with giving yourself permission to break the rules of what it means to do so.
And so as you find stillness after having been moving for a little bit,
I invite you to notice your feet on the ground making contact with the floor,
The surface beneath your feet.
Maybe you sit in your chair or stand up with your feet flat on the floor,
Connecting with the earth and through your root,
The bottom,
The base of your spine,
Feeling that sense of security and stability and groundedness.
If it's feeling like it's calling for you to lay down flat on your back and anchoring into the ground with all the corners of your body,
Making contact with the earth,
Go ahead and do that.
Whatever you feel comfortable with,
I invite you to make contact with the ground.
If it feels okay,
Go ahead and close your eyes or if you'd rather you can keep them open,
Just find a spot to gently focus your attention.
Once you're here,
I invite you to find your breath without changing it.
Notice the coolness of the air as it enters your nostrils with each inhale and the warmth of your exhales.
Notice if your breath is in your belly or your chest or somewhere in between.
Observe the natural cadence of your breath as you arrive in this posture.
Now I invite you to take a big,
Deep inhale,
Filling your belly like a balloon with air.
Maybe placing your hand on your belly,
That can help guide this sensation of feeling your belly expand on the inhale,
Filling up with air.
And on the exhale,
Notice slowly how your belly contracts,
Falls,
Deflates,
Emptying out completely of air.
Inhaling again,
Filling the belly.
Exhale,
Noticing how it deflates and the air exits the body.
This long breath helps to promote calmness and it lowers the heart rate,
Anxiety,
And stress.
So take a few breaths like this,
In and out through the nose,
Exhaling a little bit longer than your inhale.
After a few breaths in this way,
Allow your breathing to return to its normal cadence and observe how it's changed since you started.
Rest in your natural breathing for a few rounds of breath,
Letting your mind do whatever it wants to do.
I now invite you to find a movement or a posture that cultivates a sense of security,
Safety,
And stability.
It can be subtle or it can be exaggerated.
Maybe it's a rocking back and forth or it could be placing your hands on your chest over the heart.
If you're familiar with yoga asana,
Maybe there is a posture like cat-cow or mountain pose that allows for that sense of stability,
Security,
And safety.
The goal here is to listen to what your body wants,
The shape that your body wants to take.
And so once you've found that posture or that movement,
Engage with it for a moment,
Letting your breath be present without changing it.
Maybe there's an invitation here to sync your breath with the movement.
And as you do,
Imagine yourself surrounded by that anchored sense of security and stability.
After a few rounds of breath,
Engaging with this movement,
I invite you to find stillness.
Resting in the sensation,
Noticing how your body is responding to the cultivated sense of groundedness.
Let your mind go,
Let your breath go.
We are just observing the body here.
What is happening?
What sensations arise?
What is the quality of your breath,
Your thoughts?
And whenever you're ready,
Gently open your eyes and come back to wherever it is you are,
Knowing that you can return to this cultivated sense of inner stability and groundedness at any moment,
Simply by engaging with your breath and the movement of your body and that mindful focus on the connection between the two.
