Hello and welcome to your practice for today.
Thanks so much for joining me.
I'm grateful to be here with you.
And my goal for practice is to create space and hold space for you to experience and explore whatever comes up during your meditation sit.
Today we'll be sitting for a shamatha practice,
Which means calm abiding.
And we'll practice being with ourselves,
Drawing awareness to our body,
Breath and thoughts.
Our efforts will be focused not on clearing out our mind or pushing away our thoughts,
But rather on coexisting with them,
Acknowledging our thoughts with love and compassion.
Practice will aim to create space for you to rest in the present moment,
To rest in your basic goodness and recognize that right now,
In this very moment,
You are okay,
Fundamentally good and whole.
Let's begin to settle into our meditation posture,
Taking a seat either on a chair or a cushion.
If sitting on a cushion loosely crossing the legs,
Allowing for the hips to be above the knees to keep the blood flowing.
You're sitting on a chair sitting upright with both feet planted flat on the floor approximately hips width distance apart.
Try to sit with your back away from the backrest to maintain a sense of being alert and upright.
Once you've settled into your seat,
Bring your attention to the space above the crown of your head.
Imagine I've tied a string to the crown of your head and I'm gently tugging upward on that string,
Reminding you to create space between the vertebrae and inviting a long and upright spinal column that follows the natural curvature of your spine.
Anytime you feel yourself hunching forward or leaning back,
Remember this string and this feeling of being pulled upright.
Moving your attention down your face,
Allow the eyebrows to relax,
The eye sockets,
The eyes.
Consciously choose your gaze for practice today,
Either eyes open,
Taking a soft and unfocused gaze on the floor a few feet in front of you,
Or eyes gently shut.
You choose to close the eyes,
Continuing to keep an energy of wakefulness and awareness of your surroundings,
Even if you can't see them.
Opening the cheekbones,
The ears,
The nose,
The jaw,
Allowing the tip of your tongue to rest on the roof of your mouth,
Just behind the front teeth,
Letting your jaw be relaxed,
So much so that it may even fall open slightly.
Relax the chin muscles and tuck in the chin slightly so that you can feel the back of your neck elongate.
Then release the shoulders down the back away from your ears,
Feeling them hang downward to the ground while your strong spine continues to hold you upright.
May even be helpful to roll the shoulders down and back a few times.
Relax the upper arms,
The forearms,
And the hands,
Resting your hands gently in your lap with the option for the palms to face up,
Right stacked on top of left with the thumbs just barely touching,
Or taking the option for the hands to rest on the thighs,
Palms down a few inches behind the kneecaps,
Providing the sensation of grounding,
And also providing support for the back and spine.
Once your body is attended to,
Allow your attention to subtly shift to your breath.
Note the qualities of your breath today,
Resisting any urge to judge it or change it.
Allow it to simply be.
Ask yourself,
Is my breath slow and deep or shallow and quick?
Where do I feel it,
In my chest,
Or my back,
Maybe in my stomach,
Or my nose?
Whatever is there,
Just let it be and notice it.
Now consciously deepen the breaths for a few rounds.
Deep as in deep down into the belly using your diaphragm muscle.
Inhale through the nose,
Feel the belly expand,
Pause at the top,
Then slowly without force allow the exhale to fall out through the nose.
Inhale belly rise,
Exhale belly fall.
Take a few more rounds like this on your own time and when you're ready to let that go,
Allow your breath to return to its normal state.
Finding the natural rhythm of your breath,
Follow it and count silently to yourself.
Inhale,
Exhale,
One.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
In each slight gap at the bottom of the exhale,
Before the next breath comes in,
Count.
When you reach ten,
Start over again at one.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Thank you.
When your mind begins to wander away from your breath,
Note that this is normal.
Acknowledge the thoughts that come and allow them to flow through.
Rather than pushing them aside or trying to resist or force them out of your mind,
Simply notice them and come back to the breath.
Inhale,
Exhale,
One.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
If your attention has left your breath or maybe wandered off of your cushion or even out of the room,
Simply acknowledge the thoughts that have arisen and come back to the breath.
Inhale,
Exhale,
One.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Two.
As we bring our practice to a close,
Let go of the attention on the breath.
Begin to bring awareness back to the body,
Wiggling the fingers and toes,
Maybe shaking the head.
When you're ready,
Opening your eyes or lifting your gaze,
Bring yourself back to your surroundings.
Thank you so much for taking the time to sit with me today.
I'm filled with gratitude for you and this practice.
May you carry it off of your cushion and into the world,
And may it be of benefit.
