Today as we settle into practice,
I invite you to connect with your body with a sense of lightness,
If that feels possible.
And if you don't sense that in your body now,
I'll just be inviting that notion to come up later in the practice.
And as you settle,
You may just let your mind wander for a moment to think of what does lightness feel like?
Or what image comes to mind when you think of lightness?
I like thinking of the little puff you blow off the dandelion and how light that seems.
But you can work with any image that might suit you.
And as you take the next few breaths,
I invite you to notice where it is in your body that you associate with the word lightness.
Just the idea of it.
Perhaps that lives for you somewhere in the chest,
Between the bottom of the sternum and the neck.
Perhaps lightness is something you feel in your limbs.
Or perhaps even in your belly.
As you take a moment to reflect on it,
Notice what happens when you draw your attention to these areas you may associate with lightness.
And if your mind notices that there isn't a sensation there,
Or perhaps even the present of an opposite sensation,
Let yourself again just come back to that idea of lightness without any expectation that you're going to feel it right now.
Let's go a little deeper.
I'd like you to add a little bit more dimension to the notion of lightness.
Perhaps if lightness had a sound or a tune,
What would that be?
What's the sound effect for lightness when you experience it?
And does lightness for you pair with any particular color or hue?
Does lightness have a particular energy to it?
Does lightness show its presence in some way within the muscles of your face?
Again,
We're just introducing a word and seeing what happens.
Let's go a little deeper.
I'd like you to hold all of these things you've began associating in this practice with lightness and take a moment to ask yourself,
When do I sense that in my life?
Even for brief moments.
Perhaps it comes with times in which you feel a sense of ease,
Comfort,
A bit of excitement or inspiration.
Maybe it also comes from when you've been able to let something go,
A companion to relief.
And in the last day or week,
Have I felt lightness?
Can I pause and notice that?
All of it up in my mind.
Let's go one step deeper still.
I invite you to consider how is lightness something that you can give yourself?
Or how is it something that is already within you calling for you to reconnect?
Even for just one moment or breath.
And it's okay if an answer does not immediately emerge.
That you know the way when you call a lightness in your mind and body as we did.
It's a compass pointing you in that direction.
And as you take the next few breaths,
Checking in to notice what is the imprint left from this practice?
Is there any shift in your thoughts,
Sensations in your body or on an energetic level?
Remembering that even when you imagine something like imagine feeling a certain way,
You're already traveling down those pathways in your neurocircuitry,
Bringing you one step closer to whatever that is.
So take a morsel of this practice with you into your day.
Finding time to notice lightness in a world where we're so conditioned to instead pay attention to what's heavy.
Let yourself also make room for what's light.
Taking two more complete breaths.
And beginning to transition your awareness back.
