Hello friend.
Thank you for being here.
Let's get cozy.
Take a few moments to get situated,
Making your way into a comfortable seated or lying down position.
Use any pillows or blankets you need to feel supported.
And whenever you arrive,
Close your eyes if you like,
And begin to invite your awareness inward,
Allowing your breath to guide you here as you settle in,
And doing your best to let your body be soft.
Throughout our practice,
There's no need to wonder if you are doing this right,
If you are meditating correctly.
If you are here listening to this,
I promise you are doing everything you need to be doing.
So let any and all expectations for this practice,
For meditation in general,
Just let it all go and really lean into the fact that for the next few minutes together,
All you need to do is breathe.
Do your best to set your worries,
Your responsibilities,
And your to-do list aside,
Just for now.
All of those things will be waiting for you when you open your eyes again.
We're not here to escape our lives,
What we are here to do is to just take a breather,
To take a moment or two for ourselves,
To slow down,
To check in,
To breathe.
So with that being said,
Let's go ahead and begin to deepen our breath now.
Inhaling deep and smooth through the nose,
Exhaling sweet and slow through the nose or the mouth,
You choose.
Inhaling all the way into your belly,
Really filling all the way up,
Exhaling,
Emptying everything out,
Taking the deepest breaths you've taken all day.
Notice the sounds and sensations,
The sound of your breath,
The sensations of your breath,
But also the sounds around you in your space and any sensations you're experiencing in your body.
Notice how your breath moves you,
Imagine a calm washing over you as you continue to breathe,
Allowing your shoulders to relax away from your ears,
The muscles of your face soften,
Your limbs grow heavy,
Your belly and the muscles of your back release,
Really practicing surrender here.
What if you were completely supported in this moment?
What if in this moment you were completely held by the earth,
By the surface beneath you?
What if,
Even if just for this moment,
You could let go?
You could just be breathing in,
Breathing out.
Because you're human,
You are likely having thoughts.
If these thoughts become distracting,
No worries.
Give those thoughts a nod,
Hear them out,
And then bring your awareness back to your breath.
As best you can.
This is the practice.
Just imagine your inhales and your exhales anchoring you to the present moment,
Bringing you back,
Pulling you in,
And welcoming you exactly as you are.
Letting go of tension,
Letting go of worry,
Just for now,
Allowing our breath,
Allowing presence to hold us.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
With a path closed down and over,
Through the scumbled leaves,
Fallen branches,
Through the knotted cat briar,
I kept going.
Finally,
I could not save my arms from thorns.
Soon the mosquitoes smelled me,
Hot and wounded,
And came wheeling and whining.
And that's how I came to the edge of the pond,
Black and empty,
Except for a spindle of bleached reeds at the far shore,
Which as I looked wrinkled suddenly into three egrets,
A shower of white fire.
Even half asleep,
They had such faith in the world that had made them.
Tilting through the water,
Unruffled,
Sure,
By the laws of their faith,
Not logic,
They opened their wings softly and stepped over every dark thing.
Egrets by Mary Oliver Allow yourself a few more moments to rest softly in presence with your breath.
Whenever you're ready,
Softly begin to bring some small movements back into your fingers and toes,
Your neck and shoulders.
Waking up through the body,
Bring your hands together at your heart center,
Pressing palm to palm or hands to your heart.
Take a deep breath in,
A long breath out.
Notice how you feel.
Thank you so much for showing up today and for taking this time for yourself.
You are simply amazing.
It is such an honor to be your guide and to share stillness with you.
Until next time,
Take care.
