Hey,
This is Oren.
Equanimity is balance,
A wise perspective that steadies us through the ups and downs of life.
It's an inner poise that lets us feel both joy and heartbreak fully.
In this meditation,
We'll explore equanimity somatically,
First as groundedness,
Then as spaciousness,
And finally as a sense of both.
So do whatever helps you shift gears.
Roll your shoulders,
Stretch,
Or take a few deep breaths as you settle in.
Breathe in through your nose,
And breathe out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
Settle into an upright posture that feels comfortable,
Yet alert.
Feel how your torso aligns with gravity.
Rock gently forward and back until you find the balance point in the center.
Then rock slowly from side to side.
Let the swaying come to stillness in the middle.
Feel your spine upright,
Balanced,
Front to back,
And side to side.
Let's take some time to settle with an anchor.
The breath,
Your body,
Or sounds.
Choose one and give yourself a little time to just rest with it.
Taking things one moment at a time.
Gently setting aside thoughts of the past or the future.
Giving yourself permission to be here fully.
Equanimity is balance,
An inner equilibrium.
Sometimes we experience that balance as stability,
Like the keel of a ship or the roots of a tree.
There's a proverb,
When the root is deep,
A tree need not fear the wind.
Deep presence brings stability.
Let's explore this sense of rootedness and depth in the body.
First,
Notice the places where your body touches the ground.
You might feel your feet on the floor,
The seat beneath you.
If you're reclining,
Feel the places your body's resting on the floor or mat.
You can lightly notice your breathing or the rest of your body as you let your attention sink into these sensations of contact with the earth.
Notice any hardness,
Heaviness,
Or firmness.
See if you can begin to take in the sense that there's something stable,
Massive,
Right here beneath you.
Go ahead and give the weight of your body to the earth.
Let your muscles relax,
Even the tiniest bit,
As you receive its support.
Keep sensing the ground beneath you,
Its stability.
Imagine that your awareness could descend down into the earth.
Sinking through your core like a taproot,
Inching its way into the ground.
Relaxing and resting into that deep stability.
You can also imagine your awareness beginning to spread out beneath you,
Like roots branching across the earth,
Connecting widely and broadly.
Sinking down and branching out.
Let's take some time to explore this sense of feeling rooted and connected.
Breathe gently,
Naturally,
As you feel the support and stability of your connection to the earth.
Notice any effect as you allow awareness to root in the earth.
The winds of change may blow,
But we can stay rooted and steady.
We don't lose our center,
And we don't break.
If you like,
Bring to mind a circumstance or situation from your life that you'd like to have more equanimity with.
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Joyful or difficult.
If it feels supportive,
Choose something manageable so you don't get flooded.
Let this event or situation come to mind,
And let it touch you.
Staying rooted,
Connected to the ground as you begin to let it in.
Try shifting your attention back and forth between the sense of rootedness and then any ripples this event creates in your heart.
Feel the ground,
And allow those gusts to move through you.
If you like,
You can even picture yourself as a great old tree swaying in the wind,
Your broad,
Deep roots holding you firmly in the earth.
We're just experimenting,
Exploring.
What's useful?
Does this sense of going down and in provide some balance,
Some stability?
Notice how it is for you,
If it's useful or not,
And whether you'd like to come back and explore this more.
Now,
From this place of connection with the ground,
Let's explore the experience of spaciousness.
Begin to sense the height of your body,
From feet to crown,
And the space above your head.
Notice how your body takes up space vertically.
Next,
Feel the width of your body,
From side to side,
Shoulders,
Ribs,
Hips.
Notice how your body takes up space laterally.
The body also has depth.
It's three-dimensional.
Become aware of the front of your body,
Your face,
Chest,
Torso,
And lower body.
Sense all the way through your body to the back of the head,
Upper back,
Lower and mid-back,
Your sacrum,
Backside,
And the backs of the legs,
Knees,
And calves.
Notice how your body takes up space in all three dimensions,
Height,
Width,
And depth.
Sense its vitality,
Warmth,
Pulsing,
Tingling.
Feel your skin as a porous boundary.
Then,
Begin to widen awareness to the space immediately around you,
Just beyond the surface of your skin.
You might feel the touch of your clothing,
The air,
Its temperature,
Humidity,
A slight breeze or stillness.
Feel the space around your body.
Then,
Slowly begin to widen awareness in all directions,
In front,
Behind,
To either side,
Above and below.
Sense how the space around you is open,
Without pressure.
Keep allowing your awareness to widen and expand even further,
Opening into a sense of vast,
Unbounded space.
The Buddha compared the heart to open space.
If someone throws paint into the sky,
There's nowhere for it to land.
They can't paint pictures on space.
In the same way,
When the heart is empty and open like space,
Words and events can pass through without sticking.
Explore this sense of boundless space.
Events and circumstances are like sound waves,
Rippling through quiet,
Open space.
We can also integrate these two dimensions of our being,
Grounded like the earth and open like the sky.
Feel your body,
Rooted.
Sense the space around you,
Open,
Unbounded.
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations and events can pass through us without gripping or snagging.
Instead of being consumed or overwhelmed,
We stay rooted and open,
Grounded in awareness,
Free like space.
This is the unshakable stability of equanimity.
Experiences come and go,
Known from the still point in the center,
Moving through the space of awareness.
Take a few more moments to savor equanimity in the body,
Rooted and open,
Grounded and spacious.
And then,
Whenever you're ready,
Begin to deepen your breath.
Allow the meditation to come to a close.
Bring a little bit of movement into your body and gently let your eyes open.
As you move into your day,
See if you can return to this felt sense of being rooted and open,
Balanced and free.
Thanks for your practice.
