Mindfulness with the Four Elements

This track explores the four elements of earth, air, water and fire as lenses through which to explore our awareness of our body. Taking each one at a time, we explore earth - hardness and firmness, air - movement and space, water - liquidity and flow, and fire - warmth and coolness. Each enables us to experience our here and now slightly differently and a culminating exploration of the body as composed of all the elements completes the exercise.

Transcript

Hello and thank you for choosing to share your mindfulness practice with me today.

My name is Scott Langston and this mindfulness meditation is going to be focused around the notion of the four elements.

Now this practice has roots in ancient Buddhist ritual but this is an entirely secular practice.

We're going to use the idea of the four elements as lenses through which to focus our present awareness on the body so that each element in turn will give us a slightly different perspective.

So I'd like us to begin in the normal fashion,

Preferably sitting up straight but you can lie down if that's more comfortable for you.

If you're sitting then your feet on the floor so that you're grounded in a relaxed but upright posture in what I like to call sitting in a position of dignity.

Maybe with your hands one on another or on your thighs or on your lap,

Wherever they're most comfortable for you.

And then we're going to take three deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.

And you may want to visualize on that out breath that you're blowing a flickering candle.

So you're making the flame flicker but you're not blowing it out.

So again deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

And one more time on your own.

And now if you're comfortable doing so you can allow your eyes to gently close.

If you'd rather do this with your eyes open that's also fine.

Try to maintain a soft unfocused gaze in the mid foreground.

So don't focus on any one particular object,

Just keep your focus in front of you a couple of feet or a meter in front of you and slightly unfocused.

And then if at a later time you feel comfortable enough to close your eyes you can do so.

So this four elements meditation will explore the idea of earth which represents firmness or hardness in the body.

The idea of air which represents movement and breath in the body.

The idea of water which represents flow and liquid in the body.

And then the idea of fire which for these purposes represents temperature in the body.

So feelings of coldness or feelings of heat,

Coolness,

Warmth.

And we'll visit each of these elements in turn and then once you have explored and once you have identified something within you,

You're going to have some significant quiet time to sit with that feeling,

To explore what that feels like for you in this present moment.

And so the first of the elements that we're going to explore is the element of earth.

Earth represents hardness or firmness.

Perhaps the most immediate way you can identify with this in your body is to run your tongue across your teeth and there immediately you're going to feel hardness against the softness of your tongue.

But hardness or firmness can manifest in other ways in the body.

It might be the solidity of the contact of your feet with the floor.

It might be the weight of your body on the seat or on the floor if you're lying down.

It might be the feeling of your spine,

Gravity acting upon your skeleton.

Firmness or hardness could be seen in muscle tension or even in the expression of some emotion.

You could perhaps identify hardness within your body.

So I'll invite you to bring your awareness to the parts of your body where you can identify this and then I'd like you to sit with that feeling.

Stay with that awareness of hardness where you feel it in your body and bring to it a sense of compassionate curiosity.

Perhaps asking yourself,

What does this feel like in my body here and now in this present moment?

If you become aware that your thoughts have drifted,

Your attention has seen something else to attract it and you followed thoughts,

Followed feelings about the future,

About the past,

Don't judge yourself.

This is what the mind does.

The purpose of mindfulness is not to not have thoughts,

Simply to recognize that one has had a thought.

So if you recognize that your thoughts have drifted to elsewhere,

Simply note that,

Hmm,

That was a thought and consciously but gently return your awareness to the parts of your body where you're feeling hardness or firmness as you explore the element of earth in your body.

And now with a deep breath in through the nose,

On our exhalation we're going to let go of that attention to firmness and hardness and we're going to bring to mind the element of air.

Air is perhaps most easily felt in the body through the breath.

So maybe you want to bring your awareness to where you are most aware of your breathing in your body.

That might be at your nostrils,

Perhaps in your throat,

Perhaps your chest as your lungs inhale,

Or your belly.

Wherever it is you most feel your breath.

That would be a point of focus for your awareness.

You might also be aware of air in terms of spaces within your body.

Be that in your mouth,

In your nostrils,

Maybe even in your inner ear.

Wherever you feel a connection with air in your body.

I'd invite you to bring curious awareness.

I'd invite you to sit with that feeling and maybe ask yourself,

How does this feel in my body at this moment?

And sit with that feeling.

Once again thoughts will arise.

This is what the mind does.

And they will distract you,

They will seem appealing and you might disappear down the rabbit hole of thought and distraction.

This is not a problem.

We simply have to acknowledge that.

Ah,

Thoughts and gently,

Perhaps firmly,

Bringing our attention back to our exploration of air within the body and sitting with that feeling.

Another deep breath in through the nose and on the exhalation,

Letting go of that focus and now bringing to mind the element of water,

Representing liquidity and moisture and flow within the body.

Perhaps most immediately we can be aware of saliva in the mouth,

But the element of water can also be expressed through softness of skin,

Softness of muscle.

You may even be aware of a rumbling or gurgling in your stomach.

You may be aware of the flow of blood,

Maybe a pulse in your neck or the beating of your heart.

Wherever you feel a connection with this element of water and flow in your body,

Bring curious awareness and maybe ask yourself,

How does this feel in my body at this present time?

Thoughts will arise like clouds in the sky and you can watch them pass by without choosing to follow them.

Note that you've had a thought,

Quietly say to yourself,

Huh,

There's a thought and release it.

Perhaps watching it drift away if that works for you and bringing your attention back to wherever you feel the element of water and flow within your body.

The final element we're going to explore today is that of fire.

And when we speak of fire,

We're not speaking of identifying an intense burning in the body,

But an awareness of temperature.

This might be felt on your in-breath as warmth in your mouth or your nose.

This might be simply an awareness of the temperature,

Maybe on the backs of your hands or on your face.

And perhaps you're aware of warmth inside your body,

In your head or your heart,

Wherever you identify with this element of fire,

With this feeling of temperature,

Of coolness or of warmth in your body.

Bring curious awareness to that and ask yourself,

How does this feel in my body here and now?

And as your thoughts drift and you become aware of them,

Simply acknowledge non-judgmentally that you've had a thought and let go of it and gently redirect your attention to the parts in your body where you feel coolness or warmth,

Where you identify with the element of fire and sit gently with those feelings.

And finally,

With a deep breath in through the nose,

On the exhalation,

Release that attention on fire and invite your attention to envelop your entire body.

Focus your attention on the completeness of your body and how the elements of earth and air and water and fire combine to create your experience of your body in the here and now.

How firmness and movement,

How liquidity and flow,

How warmth and coolness all combine to give you a complete and thorough perception of your body in the present moment.

And then sit with that feeling,

With that awareness of your body,

That awareness of earth and hardness and firmness,

That awareness of air and movement,

That awareness of water and flow,

And that awareness of fire and warmth and coolness.

Stay with these feelings as you invite your awareness and your curiosity in observing your body and asking yourself,

How does my body feel here and now in this present moment?

And stay with that for some breaths.

You may once again find yourself distracted by thoughts or feelings,

Which is perfectly fine.

This is your mind doing what minds do.

And you can simply acknowledge that and gently bring your attention back to the body,

Back to your awareness of the four elements,

And stay with that for the next few breaths.

And now with another deep breath in through the nose,

On your exhalation,

Release all focus of attention and awareness.

Allow your breathing to return to its normal rate.

Become aware of the room in which you're sitting or lying.

Become aware of the feeling of your breath,

Feeling of the weight of your body,

Perhaps the sounds around you.

And when you're ready,

You can gently open your eyes.

Thank you for joining me in this mindfulness meditation around the idea of the four elements.

This is something you can return to throughout the day at any time by simply focusing your attention on one element and where you feel it in your body,

Even if only for the duration of three or four breaths before returning to your day.

Reviews

Love this, thank you! 🙏
As you were guiding through each element, I cycled through the koshas. How would you describe the air element in the emotional body? Noticing the flow of emotions seems more of a water connection. Hot emotions and earthy emotions were easier to identify. Air was a bit more challenging. Could it be the space between emotions?