The following practice is led by Sonia Lockyer,
Host of the Wellbeing Ritual Club.
We're going to do a meditation practice this morning.
And on the schedule I call this one the breath awareness meditation but really it's I see it as a space to explore different kinds of meditation that that I might have practiced or have come across myself and be curious about playing with.
So today we're going to do a breath awareness meditation that really brings a sensation of openness into different parts of our body.
So we're going to kind of use our breath to consciously move a feeling state around our body.
So just a reminder with meditation there's three clear stages the bit where you begin,
Where you're all in and and and like impeccably present,
The bit where you notice oh I completely drifted off and I've gone down a rabbit hole and the bit where you come back and go but I can come back and all three are equally important not one is more important than the other.
So there's no failure there really isn't any failure in any of this and also to bear in mind that this whole life is just a bit of a dance and a bit of a game so there's no need to frown there's no need to take it super seriously we're just curious explorers taking this half an hour to drop into our bodies before we get thrown into our day and who knows what will pull our awareness in all directions.
So let's start by getting comfortable you can sit in any way you like that allows your spine to be tall there really are no rules other than you want your spine to be tall and I do find lying down is a little bit of a dangerous territory for me because in a meditation practice I'll often drift off so sitting up is good to keep you awake.
And let's start by coming into our foundation so think about what's going on in the pelvis right now.
Can you get a sense of a lift as you anchor into your pelvic awareness?
A bit of mulabanda a bit of strength this is reservoir of strength that's in the pelvis.
So connect in with that and feeling your sitting bones and the weight of your pelvis allow it to become even heavier.
If you become uncomfortable of course you can move pins and needles or a dead leg aren't particularly helpful to a meditation practice so feel free to move at any time.
And then rising up from the pelvis this magnificent fluid tower of strength the spine just connect in with that and give it some space.
Allow each of those little pads those cushions between each of the vertebrae to expand.
So the vertebrae is stacked naturally one on top of the other but between each one there is space and there's fluid.
That goes right the way up into the neck the atlas incredible architectural sort of structure that holds the skull and allows huge amounts of movement.
To hold that spine strong and central to the midline of your body you can almost imagine a a beam of light a continuation of the spine going down into the ground beneath you.
And the same coming up through the atlas up through the skull up into the sky above you.
And let yourself be anchored by that.
So we're breathing in and out through the nose.
The tongue gently resting on the roof of the mouth.
Teeth slightly apart Lips soft.
Jaws unhinged.
So let's soften the lips.
It's almost a smile.
And maybe the eyelids are down or maybe you're just gazing down towards the floor.
And slowly dropping right ear to right shoulder.
Chin down to chest.
Left ear to left shoulder.
And coming up and over.
So and then changing direction.
And coming back to center.
Circling shoulders.
So we do this movement to help us come into our bodies so that we don't practice just from our head space.
We include and invite and honor the intelligence of the body as well.
Maybe the elbows start to circle.
Maybe full arm extensions.
You can feel what feels good for you.
And then with hands on knees starting to circle the heart.
Allowing us the time and space to feel into the lower back.
And then changing direction.
So and then coming back to center.
And then laying one hand on top of the other in your lap.
So I know many of us have young families around and other distractions so just allow yourself to smile and try not to get entangled in the idea that it needs to be a certain way.
Allow the distractions to come and go but continue the practice even in the midst of the distractions.
So instead of rejecting the distractions actually you encompass them in the practice.
They are part of the practice and resistance turns to embracing.
So breathing through the nose let's tune into our sense of hearing.
What sounds can we hear?
Maybe we can hear the sound of our breath.
Maybe there are sounds further afield that we can track.
And we're not attaching any positive or negative lens to whatever sounds we can hear we're just observing them letting them all be.
Then bringing your hearing in closer so you're focused more on the sound of your in-breath and your out-breath.
And then bringing your awareness with your breath to your lips and allowing the softness of a smile and that might not express in a in a visible smile but it's a feeling state of a smile.
Imagine that smile expanding so that it is as big as the sky.
It radiates out across the whole of your face.
The sensation of a smile as big as the sky.
And then let your breath take your awareness down to your throat and allow this quality of smile the openness the softness that that brings come to your throat space.
It's not uncommon to find that the throat is actually quite restricted quite contracted and locked it can be that way and and I've often been surprised to find that within myself.
So with your breath and with your awareness taking whatever it is that you find allowing that but just nudging it cooling it into a space of expansion a smile as big as the sky.
So we're not dictating it feel a certain way we're we're just holding hands with it and allowing breathing and softening and then taking your breath down into your heart space you might naturally find that you bring your hands up to your heart and bringing with your breath this quality of the smile as big as the sky coming into your heart.
So in our language we talk a lot about open-hearted or closed heart but let's use our breath and our awareness to actually experience the sensation of that and our ability to choose to choose to open to soften to expand.
So so and then dropping down to just beneath the heart slightly over to the right hand side this beautiful magnificent organ of the liver.
Bring your awareness to the liver space inviting a sensation of a smile as big as the sky into your liver.
So so and then dropping down into the pelvic bowl down into the space of the womb and the ovaries bringing your breath your awareness and an intention to expand to soften to find a smile as big as the sky here within the pelvis so so so and then allowing this sensation of openness to expand out in all directions through this pillar of the pelvis the liver the heart throat even right up into the space of the third eye and right up into the crown of the head out to your fingertips and out to your toes so so and noticing for yourself how that practice felt throughout the body and where was easy where was less easy and how you feel now bringing your hands to your heart dropping your chin to your chest our intention to come back to that space of openness more often home of compassion kindness laughter and offering the fruits of our practice to all beings so that our personal well-being can be collective well-being and that all beings can remember how it feels to choose to stay open to feel compassion kindness and laughter namaste
