Embodied Breath To Hold Joy And Sadness

One of life's greatest paradoxes lies in our ability to "hold both." We know that grief co-exists with the sublime, suffering co-exists with peace, but it can be difficult to allow ourselves the fullness of feeling them at the same time. This brief somatic breath practice creates space for both, and draws on the movement of the hands to grow our capacity for emotional complexity.

Transcript

Meditation teacher Pema Chodron tells us, Quote, Things falling apart is a kind of testing. And also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test. Or to overcome the problem. But the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together. And they fall apart. And they come together again. And fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen. Room for grief, For relief, For misery. For joy. When things fall apart. We too often shy away from our joy. We may even feel a sense of guilt in laughing, Smiling, Or orienting our hearts to the good when the world is filled with so much suffering. Truly, Though. Joy and rest and pleasure. Are the way through. They are the work. And the way to the work itself. They sustain us to meet pain and unkindness and tragedy. With openness. And in fact, The more open we are to rest and pleasure. The more we may open ourselves to feel the depth and raw reality of what is heavy. But as Pema says. . . The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen. In this way we hold both. We increase our capacity. To be with both. As a way to practice embodying this. Come to find a neutral, Comfortable seat. With as much support as you like beneath or behind you. Align the spine to feel tall yet relaxed. And bring the fingertips of the left hand to touch the fingertips of the right hand. Spread space between each finger and the palms. So that only the fingertips are touching each other, As if you were holding a grapefruit between the hands. That the gaze we saw. As you look at this shape. That balances emptiness. And solidity. The next time you inhale. Open each pair of fingers one by one. The thumbs. The index fingers, The middle fingers. The ring fingers and the pinky fingers. See the full open space between the hands. As you exhale, Reunite the pairs of fingertips slowly from pinkies to thumbs. Inhale and separate pair by pair. Exhale and reunite pair by pair. And keep breathing in this way. The hands become a mirror for the way things fall apart. And come back together again. Try this motion with the eyes closed and see where the mind and emotions go between the falling apart and coming together. Perhaps a lot of trust is needed to reunite the fingertips without the assistance of your vision. No matter whether the hands are falling apart. Or coming together again. You are breathing. It is the work and the way through. Spend two minutes more. Following the rhythm of the breath. And the feelings of open air. Followed by sturdy touch. Hold now both palms out in front of you. In the right hand, Imagine placing something in the palm that represents a falling apart in your life right now. No matter how big or how small. An unraveling or sadness. Feel the weight of it. And open the heart to not shy away. In the left hand. Imagine placing something in the palm that represents a coming together in your life right now. No matter how big or how small, A touchstone of joy or rest or pleasure. Feel the lightness of it. And open the heart to not shy away. Touch the hands together in prayer position in front of the heart. Feel equal amounts of joy and sadness. Meeting one another. One does not diminish the strength or existence of the other. They are both true at the same time. What is it like to take a breath with that? With this gesture or any other. Offer reverence and gratitude to the complexity of this heart. That is capable of falling apart. And coming back together again. May we not shy away from the strength of our pain. Nor the strength of our joy.