Sit up tall,
Close your eyes,
Breathe normally,
And let your breath soften any areas of obvious tension as though with each inhale you get a little bit taller and with each exhale you can rest in the moment,
Your muscles,
Your bones,
Any tense areas can rest.
Before we move further into the meditation,
You might ask yourself a few questions inquiring what does it mean for you to be instead of do,
What are the differences between the two for you,
Then what are your limiting beliefs around the need to do in order to survive and succeed,
For example do you feel like you need to be constantly in motion or constantly working in order for you to make a living,
To survive,
To thrive,
What are those beliefs that you tell yourself,
Where can you practice being and release the grip of the need to do in your life even in the moments when you are doing something,
For example can you find space in your day to be still or can you remind yourself to take a conscious breath even if you are doing a task so that you can practice being present with yourself with whatever it is you're doing,
And finally how does it make you feel to consider being still and not doing something,
For example nervous,
Excited,
Calm,
Relieved,
Anxious,
Impossible,
Ready,
How does it make you feel to consider being still and not doing something even if just for a moment,
Bring the attention back to the body or the breath or the sounds around you,
Let the movement of the breath flow like waves and soften continually any areas of obvious tension or gripping,
Almost like with each breath you can soften and relax into the moment more and more,
Continue to let your attention be guided and invited back to the present moment through breath or the body or the sounds over and over again,
Inhaling and exhaling calmly,
With your attention gently anchored into the present moment,
You can begin to envision a lake clear and easily visible straight to the bottom,
You might take notes of what it feels like to be there or the weather,
What it looks like,
The surroundings,
Allowing yourself to be with this clear lake,
This clarity represents a state of being or stillness,
Spaciousness,
And actual clarity,
Physically,
Mentally,
Being clear,
Calm,
At ease,
You might notice what it feels like to be with those qualities,
With the image of this clear,
Calm lake,
The energy of this body of water still,
Spacious,
For example,
Does it make you feel clear,
Calm,
How do you feel when you are in the presence of this clear,
Calm lake,
The thoughts or this act of doing something,
These are like raindrops or the sounds around the lake that might create ripples until it settles again and you can see clearly again,
You might envision that for yourself as your own thoughts or sounds around you start to create little ripples in this clear,
Calm lake,
Just letting them settle as they move in and out of the experience,
And the lake becomes clear again,
Calm,
At ease,
And this happens over and over again,
And the attention wanders,
Let the breath and body return to a state of ease,
A state of being still,
Calm,
Present,
Let the ripples settle into a clear,
Steady lake,
And similarly,
You might also allow the ripples and the sounds or the thoughts to come and go without force,
It's not wrong for them to be there,
Let them shift like the weather and the seasons,
Perhaps changing in intensity and length,
Perhaps noticing if your mood or emotions might shift with them as well,
Inhaling and exhaling calmly and just being with your experience of allowing the ebb and flow of these ripples to come and go,
Returning to the state of clarity,
Steadiness,
As the lake settles again,
You can see clearly to the bottom,
Over and over,
You might even notice the sky and clouds,
How there are different types of clouds,
How they come and go,
Space and frequency and speed of the clouds,
Letting your attention rest in the clear space between,
Just like the lake,
Any thoughts or emotions arrive in the form of raindrops or ripples or clouds or sounds,
You can also name them,
Name them specifically or you can name the thoughts as thinking,
The sounds as hearing,
The emotions as feeling,
Any physical sensations as sensing,
If that's helpful for you in your experience or just let them come and go,
Ebb and flow,
Doing your best to allow yourself to arrive and rest in this state of being or clarity,
Space between the clouds or the clearness of the lake,
You can gently also guide your awareness to your capacity to be still in your body amongst the fluid movements around and within you,
Sitting and being with yourself amidst the ebb and flow of these thoughts,
Sounds,
Sensations,
Emotions and so on,
That shift from moment to moment,
You might also be aware of your capacity to do whatever supports your efforts in being present with these shifts,
Whether it is inviting your attention to your breath or body,
Listening to the sounds around you with a calm,
Steady awareness,
Continuing to notice your thoughts and emotions from moment to moment,
Keep allowing the experience to unfold for a few more moments here,
Knowing that you have this opportunity to return to the still clear lake and spacious sky and that both of these qualities and this essence already exists within you,
However your experience unfolded or continues to unfold,
You might take a moment to appreciate yourself for your efforts to do something about your intention to be more present,
Still,
To be calmly aware,
The teacher of Iyengar yoga,
Nikki Costello once said that integration happens in rest,
It is truly in these restful and spacious moments of being still,
Even simply just being present while doing something,
That true integration of mind and body takes place,
Breathe easily here and invite your attention back to the present moment,
Noticing perhaps any anticipation of doing something after you finish this meditation and allowing yourself to be here,
To be present or as present as possible for a few more moments,
As best you can maintaining the essence of this clear lake or spacious sky,
It feels comfortable for you to do so,
To complete your practice,
I invite you to take the hands together at the center of the chest,
Sitting up a little bit taller,
Breathing calmly in and out of the nose,
Take a moment here to thank yourself for showing up for yourself in this way today,
For allowing yourself to be still with yourself,
Namaste.
