Please begin by taking an excellent posture.
A sense of energy and fluidity moving up the spine.
Torso arranged so that it's perpendicular to the earth.
The weight of the upper body is sinking down into the pelvis.
Helping your seat to feel grounded.
Hands placed on either side of the lap or anywhere where you won't fidget with them.
And then we lengthen the back of the neck by lifting from the crown.
And we'll straighten the neck by letting the ears slide back just a little bit so that they're closer to being over the shoulders.
The shoulders are over the hips.
Eyes gently closed.
Pung removed from the roof of your mouth and resting in its power.
Welcoming yourself to your practice today.
And noticing how you're doing.
Body,
Heart,
Mind.
And we begin by taking deep breaths and pretending that the lungs extend all the way down into the lower belly beneath the navel.
You can breathe in through the nose or the mouth and breathe out through the mouth.
Begin taking nice full belly breaths and really letting the belly expand like a balloon in all directions out in front of you as you breathe in.
As you breathe out,
The belly is simply relaxing,
The balloon empties.
And it might be easier to breathe through the mouth.
Really allows the belly to get full.
Slow,
Long,
Gentle,
Deep breaths.
And then adding to this.
Once the belly is full,
Please allow the breath to come up to your chest,
To the ribs.
And here you'll find that the upper torso expands out to the left and the right as you breathe in.
So you breathe in and the belly expands out in front of you.
Once the belly is full,
The upper torso expands out to the left and the right.
You can feel the ribs spreading out like an accordion.
And then it all simply relaxes with the exhale.
The brow is softening,
The cheeks,
Your lips,
The jawline softening.
All the tension in the shoulders,
In the arms,
In the hands.
Simply release downwards into the earth as you exhale.
The tension in the chest,
In the belly,
In the pelvis,
In the hips.
Softening,
Softening,
Releasing down into the earth below.
And even in the legs and the feet and the toes.
Relaxing,
Releasing,
Surrendering.
And letting go of the deep breathing.
Just breathing through the nose now.
We'll set the breath in its natural rhythm by letting the exhales go out and dissolve,
Dissolve,
Dissolve.
And let there be space.
Don't inhale right away.
Just let there be a gentle,
Quiet space where you can rest your mind.
Let the inhale come almost as a surprise.
A very gentle effort,
No pushing or pulling or holding.
And now we come into focus,
Keeping the breath in its natural rhythm.
We home in on the space of the heart in the center of the chest,
The back closer to the spine,
So deep in the body.
Where you can feel that there's more space,
More of a subtle sense of openness towards the back of the body.
Breathing just in the same relaxed,
Open,
Spacious way.
We also move to a sense of gathering everything into the back of the heart.
Gathering your energy,
Gathering the breath,
Gathering any thoughts,
Any emotions,
Any sounds in the room,
Any distractions.
Any sensation.
It's like you're pulling it all in to the space behind the heart.
As you inhale,
Gathering,
Gathering.
And as you exhale,
You're simply releasing,
Letting the heart and the breath resonate through the body.
So that every breath you're gently gathering in behind the heart.
As you inhale and as you exhale,
It's simply the resonance of the heart and the breath together.
Please enjoy this for some time.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
As you breathe in,
Gathering behind the heart,
The chest swells just like a wave in the ocean.
Breathing out,
It's like that wave reaching the shore and then just receding back out into the totality from which it came.
And then that gentle space and pause,
Moment of peace,
Really showing up for that moment,
Really being present for it.
So that you're there when there's the precious spark of the inhale of your life force entering the body all over you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The being,
The beauty of being,
The warmth of being.
Keep breathing,
Feeling into this space you're gathering into.
If you relax enough,
Let go enough,
You can glimpse why they call this ziji,
The space of the heart,
The source of all inspiration.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And in these final minutes,
Adding into this breath,
The wish for all sentient beings to share in this.
Any goodness,
Any insight,
Any positive momentum,
Any space or relief at all that we have found here.
May it shine out from our hearts and may it touch the lives of all beings everywhere.
When you breathe in,
May all beings be happy.
And when you breathe out,
Just let that shine.
When you breathe in again,
You can think and wish that all beings might be happy and free.
And as you breathe out,
You're radiating it to the world.
And if you wish to transition gently with the bow,
Please do.
Whatever you do,
Make sure you share this good energy with those around you today.
Thank you for joining.
