Remember Your Anchors

Hello and welcome.

My name is Lou Redman.

Thank you so much for joining me for today's practice.

This practice was inspired actually by a podcast that I was listening to.

It's called The Tim Ferriss Show and he was interviewing a former Surgeon General of the United States,

A man named Vivek Murthy.

And this is during the time of the coronavirus epidemic.

And so of course Vivek was commenting on his thoughts on the crisis.

But beyond that,

There was actually something that really stuck out to me that was very meditative,

I found.

And Vivek was talking about his time in medical school and he was explaining how it was still a time in his life where he felt a bit lost and not really sure on where he was going to take the direction of his life.

And he talked about how he got through those times as he would say these three words to himself.

He would say,

Remember your anchors.

And those three words were a reminder for him to remember what gives his life meaning,

To remember what grounds him and brings him back to himself.

And when I heard that,

I was like,

Wow,

That's such a meditative thing to say.

How many teachers you probably have heard to use the anchor of your breath,

Right?

Find an anchor and come back to it.

And so today we're going to be using our breath as an anchor,

But we're also going to be exploring what are those anchors in our life that bring us back to ourself and give our lives meaning.

And so go ahead and allow yourself to take any last movements that you need.

Allow yourself to start getting comfortable.

And go ahead and really feel the weight sink down,

Feeling the support of your chair or your cushion,

And feeling the heaviness in your legs.

Starting to physically anchor down.

And always in the beginning of our practice,

We set that foundation,

We set our physical anchor.

The physical sense that we're grounded and rooted helps us to get our emotional bodies grounded and rooted.

And so from this grounding,

From this support,

I'd like you to go ahead and just find a lengthening through the sides of the body.

A lengthening through the sides of the neck.

Staying grounded,

But also staying open.

And just noticing if there's any part of your body that could use a little extra relaxation right now.

Maybe you invite a softness around the face or an unclenching of the jaw or un-tensing of your navel.

Grounding and opening to the energy in your body.

And really using this as a sense of both groundedness but wakefulness.

Feeling the energy of your body.

We're going to start to invite in the breath and finding the three different points that we can anchor our breathing.

And that is in our navel,

In our chest,

And in our nose.

So we'll just take a few moments and work with each one to see which one feels good for you today.

So bring your awareness into your navel.

Feeling the breath move in,

Feeling the navel,

Feeling that expansion.

And then as the breath moves out,

Feeling that little contraction.

And go ahead and follow a few rounds of your own rhythm.

Just feeling your breath in your navel,

Bringing that awareness.

Just noticing how this feels for you today.

And then letting that go and you're going to move the breath up towards our chest.

So the same thing using our chest as our breath anchor.

And when you breathe in,

Feeling that light expansion in your chest.

And then as you breathe out,

That little contraction.

And go ahead and follow a few rounds of your breath.

And then letting that go and bringing your awareness towards your nose.

And feeling the sensation,

The quality of air as it moves in through your nose.

And the quality of air as it moves out.

And if you were a strict Buddhist,

This would be your practice in and out through the nose as the Buddha taught.

So just taking a few moments to notice and find your anchor here and feel how this connects with you today.

And then letting that go and then scanning which one of those felt right for you,

Which one of those felt most supportive,

The navel,

The chest or the nose.

And go ahead and pick which one you'd like to use as your breath anchor as we move through today's practice.

And come back to it right here.

And then together we're going to take a full breath in and a full breath out.

And we're really going to take this anchor metaphor to its length today.

And so I'd like you to imagine that you are on a little rowboat at the center of a peaceful lake.

The boat's not going anywhere,

Just kind of waiting in the water.

And so bringing whatever lake comes to your mind.

Maybe it's in the mountains,

Maybe it's in the desert,

It might be a lake that you've been to or just one that is coming into your imagination.

And first begin to notice all that you see.

And seeing the trees,

The sky,

The color of the water,

Whether there's a reflection coming out of the water.

All that you see.

And then begin to tune in with all that you hear.

Birds chirping,

Rustling leaves or the quiet sound of the water moving back and forth.

And then starting to take in what you feel.

Can you feel and sense the board or whatever you're sitting on that's in your boat?

Maybe it's a little plank,

Maybe it's metal,

Maybe it's wooden.

And then feeling if the wind is moving in your face or feeling the warm rays of the sun.

And then taking in if there's any smells or tastes.

And I know this is probably more difficult,

But maybe just sensing that fresh quality of air.

If there's anything that's kind of coming in to your awareness,

Just allowing yourself to take in this scene.

And bringing all the senses together and just for a few moments enjoying the stillness,

Enjoying the peace of this lake.

And although we'd like to keep our lake peaceful and calm,

That's not always what happens in our life.

Normally we are met with some storms and some choppy water.

So I'd like you to think about what is some of that choppy water in your life right now?

What is causing you stress or fear or anxiety,

Uncertainty?

Just bringing into your awareness whatever that is,

Maybe just feeling that little rocking of your boat.

And noticing maybe how it feels in your body.

And come back to that anchoring breath while you do this.

Come back to your anchor.

And just allow yourself to be with it.

You are so powerful that you can just sit and watch it for now.

We don't have to engage with it.

It's taking a moment to bring the light of awareness on it.

Healing your anchor,

Healing your breath.

And then we're going to go ahead and breathe in some intentions to work to allow this boat to settle a little bit.

And so I'd like you to imagine and feel that you are breathing in calm and breathing out chaos.

Breathing in love and breathing out fear.

And breathing in trust.

And breathing out doubt.

Breathing in strength.

Breathing in strength.

And breathing out weakness.

Breathing in joy.

And breathing out sadness.

Breathing in peace.

And breathing in worry.

And see if you can maybe find one of those intentions that called to you or that felt right.

Or maybe creating your own here for a few moments.

Bringing in what you could use more of and then letting go of what you can let go of.

And then together let's take a full breath in and a full breath out.

And we're now going to work on finding more anchors that can help us when our waters get choppy.

And so we're going to move through a few here and we're going to use again this boat as our metaphor and as our symbol and our guide.

So I'd like you to imagine in your boat was a box.

And in this box is your first anchor.

I'd like you to open this box almost like it's a little bit of a box.

And one of the anchors that many of us share if we're fortunate is our relationships in some way whether that be our family or our friends.

People that help us to remember who we are and what gives our life meaning.

As you open this box I'd like you to grab a picture that's inside.

And what this picture is is a picture of your friends or your family or a moment,

A moment that you shared with them.

A moment that is meaningful to you.

Maybe it's a birthday party or a holiday or maybe just a quiet dinner.

Something that sparks you with joy or with love.

And allow yourself to look at this picture and feel the energy of it.

Maybe you even go in your mind,

Maybe you can go into that experience.

And feeling the beauty and whatever it was that made this situation,

This experience meaningful.

And then as you feel it start to send that energy into the box.

Filling it with the gratitude,

Really feeling the appreciation for having this moment.

Maybe sensing if it does ground you or anchor you in any way.

And if you'd like you can put that picture back,

Put that moment back and go ahead and grab another picture,

Another moment that you shared with friends or with family that will hold a special place in your heart.

And again finding the gratitude and appreciation and sending that energy into that.

And then putting that one back in and then just thinking if there's any person in your life who could use some steadiness,

Maybe their water is really choppy,

Really stormy.

I'd like you to just hold them in your heart and share some encouraging and positive feelings towards them.

You're welcome to say this to yourself or out loud.

May you be strong.

May you be steady.

May you be calm.

May you be peaceful.

And feeling that good energy go into your box.

And when you're done go ahead and close it up and then pick it up and place it outside of the boat into the water.

And watch as that energy goes down into the lake's floor,

Giving you your first anchor.

Maybe feeling the boat start to calm just a little bit.

And then moving on to our second box,

Our second anchor.

And what's in this box is something that is bigger than ourselves.

And one thing that I find as larger than just our individual selves is our value as a human.

The value that we are as a person and that there was a one in seven trillion chance that we even exist.

And that is a reminder of our worth and our love.

And we didn't have to do anything for that.

So in this box as you open it is a picture of you.

And it's a picture of you at any time of your life.

But maybe it's a time of your life where you didn't really know or feel your worth as a human.

Maybe it was a time that you could give some words of encouragement right now.

And so sharing,

Looking at this picture,

And then sharing with this person,

With you a few of these words.

You matter.

You are worthy.

You are loved.

You are enough.

And just sending this acknowledgement to yourself.

And noting if there's any resistance towards believing these words,

Which could be the case as well.

Allowing that to be there if it is.

And then bringing this picture into your heart,

Holding it close as we work to embody this within us.

The fact that we are born on that,

Just that,

Means that we matter.

And so feeling this energy from your center,

Repeating to yourself,

I matter.

I am worthy.

I am loved.

I am enough.

And maybe repeating one of those that you need.

Maybe it's just,

I am loved.

I am loved.

And then when you're ready,

Go ahead and place this back into the box.

Feeling all the energy move into the box.

Close it up,

Pick it up,

And place it outside,

Down into the water.

Feeling the rootedness of your second anchor.

The fact that you matter and you are worthy.

And then moving to our final anchor,

One last box in your boat.

And what's in here is something that only you can know.

This is an anchor that is unique to you.

And a good question to ask yourself is,

What is something that brings you back to you?

What is something that helps you through challenges?

This could be your dog,

Your spirituality,

A song,

A creative outlet.

What steadies you?

What grounds you?

And then bringing that into your awareness.

And feeling the support of whatever that is.

Feeling that energy cultivate from within.

And then sending that energy into this box.

Remembering your unique anchor.

And then closing it up and placing it outside.

And allowing and watching that go towards the bottom.

Until all three anchors are rooted.

And you see and notice that the water starts to still.

And there you are,

In perfect calm.

And so maybe you connect again with your breath anchor and just enjoy for another few moments the stillness and the peace of your lake.

Feeling the rootedness and the grounding of your anchors beneath.

And then before we end,

Just remember what your anchors were.

Remember your anchors.

Remember those things that you can come back to.

And give your life meaning.

And bring you back to yourself.

And whenever you feel complete,

You can go ahead and start to come back into your body.

And when you're ready,

Go ahead and open your eyes.

And I so appreciate you showing up to practice with me.

I hope that phrase might offer some support for you when you face some challenges.

Whether it's regarding the pandemic that is sure to have lasting effects.

Or just any other of life's ups and downs and challenges.

How can you in those times remember your anchors?

And hopefully that can offer some grounding and some support.

As always,

I'm wishing you so much love and guidance for your journey.

And I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Namaste.