Embodied Wakefulness

Attune to your body deeply and you will find freedom from the chattering mind. When we are embodied, we are vibrantly present.

Transcript

Begin by letting your seat be really heavy.

And don't close your eyes just yet.

Just let your seat be really heavy.

Let your knees be really heavy.

Let your feet fall into the floor.

Let your spine grow long from that base of support.

Let the crown of your head,

The back top of your head lift up towards the sky.

And the reason we're keeping our eyes open is we want a nice length in the back of the neck.

And the way we'll get that is by letting the gaze fall at about 40-45 degrees down towards the floor.

And then letting the chin tuck closer to the neck.

And notice that this allows the back of the neck to be long.

It alleviates some of the tension in the shoulders.

Now,

If you would like to gently close the eyes,

Open-eyed practice is also an option.

And if you would like to experiment with that,

Just simply see the space that's in front of your eyes more than you see the objects that are in front of you.

So see the space right in front of your eyes more than you see the floor.

Let the tongue rest.

Let the shoulders and the collarbones be balanced so that the heart is open.

And can you have a sense of dropping into your body?

Bless you.

Really establishing a sense of bodily awareness.

Maybe descending your awareness from the busy brain down through the torso into the body.

And checking in.

How does this body feel?

Without changing anything,

Just notice.

How does it feel to be inside my mind?

Are things tense and speedy?

Relaxed and serene?

Scattered?

Sleepy?

Scattered?

Sleepy?

Please invite your emotional self to be present for this practice.

Maybe there's feelings that you've been holding at bay.

They are welcome here.

This is a safe space to experience anything.

Please think of one thing from your life that you are grateful for.

Even if it's just that you made it to this class.

One simple thing to be grateful for.

Draw that into mind.

And can you feel some real gratitude here?

And you move from an idea to a feeling.

And then one gentle smile for no reason.

Just to flex the muscle.

Priming the pump,

As it were,

With regards to the brain chemicals associated with joy.

And then please set an intention for your practice.

Know what you are going to bring to the game today.

And then we'll take three deep breaths together to demarcate our formal entry into mindfulness practice.

So begin with a thorough exhale,

Squeezing the belly.

And then a nice activated inhale all the way down to the belly,

Filling the torso.

And release.

Beautiful.

Waking up on the inhale.

And letting go on the exhale.

One more please.

Please pay attention to the bottoms of your feet.

We'll begin with the body scan.

Notice the bottoms of your feet and all of their sensations.

The sensation of pressure of the floor.

Clothing,

Temperature.

Notice the sensations present.

In particular there is tension in the big toes and the entire band of toes on both feet.

Notice that there is tingling and pressure in the balls of the feet.

Also that the arches of the feet feel distinct from the rest of the feet.

So like that,

Just scan through your entire feet with your mind's eye.

And just feel what's present here.

And in particular feeling tension and stress and holding in the feet.

Pressure,

Clinging,

Gripping and so on.

And then let your feet relax.

Have a sense of tension draining out of them into the earth.

You can imagine this is happening if that seems a little abstract.

Just imagine it happening and the brain will follow suit.

And feeling your way through the calves and shins,

All the way up through the knees.

And all of the sensations present in the lower legs.

And can you let these relax?

Can you have a sense of tension dissipating?

And perhaps draining down into the earth.

Being received by the earth,

Creating a connection with the earth.

And then feeling your way up to the thighs.

The thigh muscles,

The femur bones,

Inner and outer thighs.

And can these relax?

Can you feel their tension,

Their gripping?

And can you let it soften?

And the pelvis,

The sits bones,

The pubic bones,

The hip points,

Hip flexors.

Feel all through the pelvis,

Your seat.

And then imagine all of this tension held here is released into the ground.

Please pay attention to your belly and the low back.

So much holding in this region of the body.

So much discomfort,

Gripping.

So can you take a loving breath into the belly and low back and then your exhale,

Let it soften.

Let it release,

Let the belly unfurl,

No one's watching.

And we'll start working with the breath now.

So inhale to really feel the body and then exhale to soften,

Relax.

So feel the solar plexus,

The mid back and all of its tension.

And the shoulder blades along the upper back.

Get all around these two broken angel wings.

So you feel your way up to the shoulder tops,

The trapezius muscles and all of their holding tightness.

And your exhale just lets that go.

Noticing the upper arms,

The elbows,

The forearms,

The wrists,

The hands,

The fingers.

Feeling all of the tension held in the arms and hands.

Feeling it on an inhale and exhale.

It softens,

You get a little heavier.

Your hands sink into your thighs a little more.

Maybe your fingers elongate,

Become a little more elegant.

And then the neck and throat.

And the back of the head scanning through the top of the head,

The temples.

Can you feel the tension held in the brain?

And can your next exhale,

The energy of the exhale being one of release,

Relaxation,

Or can it influence the head to let go of some of that tension?

And then noticing the face,

The brow,

The eyes,

Muscles around the eyes,

Muscles behind the eyes.

The cheeks,

The nose.

Noticing the lips and the entire mouth and the jaw.

Can you feel all of the tension held in the face and then let it go?

As we sink down now into the heart.

Feeling the collar bones,

The breastbone,

Lungs,

Ribs.

Feeling all of the tension,

All of the holding.

And your exhale releases it,

Slowing down.

Feeling the whole body now,

From the inside out.

And every inhale you feel any tension,

Any layers of tightness,

Of stress that are left.

And every natural exhale inching towards peace.

Relaxation.

Gentle reminder,

Let your exhales go.

Don't push,

But allow exhales to leave the body.

There'll be a downshift at the tail end if you're really relaxing,

Letting them relax their way out.

And then be there for the space,

Be there for the inhale,

And be there for the space at the top.

And then be there for the exhale again.

Feeling the whole body rising and falling.

And every inhale you feel any tension,

Any layers of tightness,

Of stress that are left.

And every natural exhale inching towards peace.

Relaxation.

Just look past your thoughts.

Don't worry about the busy mind.

Don't give it an iota of your energy.

Look past the thoughts towards the shape change of the body.

The more you are invested in your body's experience of breathing,

The less room there is for blah blah blah.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

If you are sleepy you can adjust your posture,

Refresh your posture.

If you are anxious just keep working with the exhales,

Letting them complete themselves.

Whatever you do,

Please remember this is about kindness,

This is about self-nourishing.

If this has become a grim duty,

I invite you to break up the energy by giving yourself a little smile.

It's cheesy I know,

But it works.

Whatever is going on for you,

Try not to take it so personally.

Just notice and move on.

Notice and move on.

Notice and move on.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Just staying with enjoying.

Savoring even if that's available.

The shape change of the body,

The presence of breath,

The source of your life.

And whatever else is going on,

Emotions,

Thoughts,

Attitudes.

Whatever story you're in,

That is your meditation.

It's not a distraction,

That's the way it is.

So can you be kind and can you breathe with it?

Can you stay steady,

Even though your experience is constantly changing?

Because you are not these thoughts,

You are not this experience.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

Relaxation.

And then to conclude.

One,

I invite you to bring back that on purpose smile,

Even if it feels fake.

And then open your mind to consider all the practitioners around you.

These folks who share the same intention as you,

The same breath as you,

The same air as you in this room,

Right?

So beautiful that our culture is waking up.

Engaging in these practices more and more.

So can you send out a wish from your heart that may each of us be well?

May the stress in our lives decrease and may good things arise for everyone around you.

How does it feel to think of others,

To wish others well?

Notice,

Is there a change in your awareness happening as you do this?

May everybody in this room awaken.

Send out that wish and watch what happens.

And then join me please in sending out the wish that may the merits and benefits of our practices today,

May it spread out from this room in every conceivable direction like a shockwave upon the earth.

And may all beings everywhere be happy,

Be free.

May there be an end to ignorance and confusion.

May all beings awaken.

One last smile and one last big deep breath to just seal all that in.

And then taking care to transition smoothly out of the mode of practice.

Reviews

Just what I needed💯

I loved the instructions at the end to imagine the connections between everyone in the room and I imagined everyone in the house and all the meditators in the world. I feel the happiness when I smile.

Fantastic track for beginners wanting to level up and all levels. Will be saving this and recommending it often.

Great preparation, solid quiet , and excellent closing: I feel the intentional smile throughout my body.

Namaste Ralph! I feel that you speak from your heart and you give the space to let whatever is there unfold. Thank you so much 🕊

I have been coming back to this one for a while now. The first minute or so is a bit too energetic (I guess because of the live setting), but then I get good guidance into peace.
I appreciate the ingredients of the smile, the gratitude, the intention setting, the body scan, the silence and then finally a version of loving kindness.
So a sincere thank you for this meditation ❤️

Thanks again Ralph. It’s been a while. I so love your guided meditations. You have a beautiful way with words. It’s easy for me to find stillness when listening to your meditations and it is inspiring. Thank you for being kind, gentle, loving and available to do this work.

What an uplifting and totally honest experience! 🙏🙏🙏

I can’t wait to sit with Ralph in two weeks. He is truly a gifted teacher embodying kindness and wisdom

Six stars and thank you! I loved this practice.

My breath, my intention, now my smile. Thanks, I enjoy following you.

A favourite. Thank you 🙏💜

Powerful guidance. Loved this meditation. Thank you. Namaste 🙏❤️

This practice has it all. Beautifully delivered. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A very good session and a fine end to the day. Thank you.

Great start to my busy day. Namaste

Very nice. Thank you.

Perfect . Thank you.