So I'll invite you to join in the setting of an intention.
You may choose to skip this.
Let's look at setting asankalpa.
This is simply a short supportive phrase like,
I am safe,
Or I choose rest.
That you can repeat to yourself inwardly,
Three times,
Like planting a seed in the ground.
A seed that will bear fruit.
I'll leave you a few more moments of silence to partake in that if you wish,
And we'll begin the rotation of consciousness after.
So to start the rotation of consciousness,
Begin by inviting awareness to the top of your head.
Imagine your attention as a gentle current of water that is soft,
Warm and steady.
It begins to move slowly through your body,
Tracing the natural pathways of ease and release.
You don't need to direct it,
You just allow it to flow.
Feel this current washing over the forehead.
The small muscles around your eyes may begin to soften.
Feeling the jaw unhooking,
The tongue resting quietly in the mouth.
Letting that current carry away any small holding.
The kind of holding you don't even notice until you notice that it starts to dissolve.
And the flow continues down through the neck and shoulders.
Notice the way the water moves.
Not rushing but steady.
You might imagine it trickling through the joints,
Loosening the muscles that work so hard to hold you upright.
With each breath,
The shoulders become heavier,
As if a river is gently drawing tension out and away.
Now you may let the current drift down your arms through the upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
And the hands.
It flows all the way to your fingertips,
Where it gathers everything that no longer serves you.
And it carries it off down the stream.
The arms might feel light,
Free and fluid.
And bringing your awareness to the chest and upper back.
The current swirls softly through the ribcage.
Moving with the natural rhythm of your breath.
In and out.
Like a tide that never needs to be forced.
And the heart area feels open,
Clear and rinsed by gentle motion.
And you may let the flow continue down the spine.
A slow stream cascading through each vertebra.
Washing away the grit of effort.
Leaving space and softness in its wake.
It gathers warmth in ease as it moves.
Just like sunlight glinting across the water.
Now you may feel the stream traveling through the abdomen and lower back.
Here it moves with care.
Clearing away small pockets of holding.
Cooling areas of heat.
Bringing balance and calm.
And you might notice the belly rising and falling naturally with each wave.
And the current flows through the hips,
The pelvis and the legs.
Crossroads of movement,
Grounding and emotion.
And then it moves on gently through the thighs and knees.
Down the calves and ankles.
All the way to the soles of the feet.
And here at the feet,
You might imagine the current gathering everything that's any residual tension.
Gently carrying out through the toes.
Back into the great river of the earth.
And to conclude this rotation,
Perhaps sensing the whole body as a single river.
From the crown to the feet,
The water moves freely.
Steady,
Effortless,
Cleansing.
There's nothing too old,
Nothing to resist.
Each cell knows how to flow,
How to release,
How to return to stillness.
And we'll soon move into the breath awareness portion of the practice.
So as we begin the practice of breath awareness,
I would just like to offer an optional anchor if you would rather,
If you prefer to focus on something else other than the breath,
You might picture the breath in as a wave in and look at the breath out as a wave out.
Just a gentle wave on the ocean lapping in and out.
So feel free to superpose that image whenever I say breath.
So bringing your awareness to the natural rhythm of the breath.
With no need to change it.
Simply noticing how it moves.
Like a tide quietly shifting against the shore.
And each breath in gathers gentle energy.
A sense of fullness of nourishment.
Each breath out releases softly,
Completely,
Without effort.
The rhythm is ancient and familiar.
The same rhythm that moves the ocean that carries rivers downstream.
That turns the leaves in the wind.
And perhaps you can allow yourself to let your breath be that a natural current.
Not something that you do,
But something that happens through you.
Feeling the breath in as a subtle rising,
Lifting the chest,
Expanding the ribs,
Creating space inside the body.
And then the breath out,
A falling away,
A soft descent,
As though the body itself is breathing out into the earth.
You might imagine the breath in as a cool wave,
Drawing in clarity,
Light,
And renewal.
And the breath out as warm water,
Carrying away what's heavy and no longer needed.
There's no rush.
Each breath finds its own rhythm,
Its own pace,
Its own flow.
You could even imagine that the entire body breathes.
The current moving in through every pore and flowing out again.
Washing the whole body in quiet movement.
And as you rest here,
Notice how this flow connects you to your inner landscape,
To the world around you,
To everything that breathes and moves.
And perhaps even picturing breath as ocean,
Body as river,
Both flowing towards stillness.
With every breath you're releasing.
And with every release,
You are returning.
Returning to yourself,
To peace,
To the quiet rhythm beneath all things.
And we'll carry that into the visualization of contrasts.
Letting the rhythm of your breath gently into imagery.
Imagining yourself beside a slow sunlit river.
Or perhaps just floating at its edge where the water is shallow and calm.
The air around you is warm.
The light is soft.
Glimmering through the trees.
Casting little ripples of gold across the surface.
You can hear the quiet murmur of the water.
The sound that feels both steady and ancient.
The sound that seems to understand you.
Notice how the earth supports you beneath solid and cool.
While the water moves effortlessly nearby.
You don't have to do anything to be part of this rhythm.
You're already in it,
Already flowing.
And as you breathe,
You might imagine the breath in as drawing in the freshness of the river air.
Something clear,
Pure and light.
And the breath out as a soft release.
The body offering its weight to the water.
Letting the current carry away what no longer needs to stay.
Perhaps you see tiny streams of light traveling downstream.
Your worries,
Your tensions,
Your thoughts.
Each one gently dissolving.
Becoming part of the larger flow.
The water doesn't force or rush.
It simply moves around obstacles.
Finding its way with patience and ease.
And you too can move like that.
Softly,
Steadily,
With trust in your own current.
And perhaps allow yourself to feel the edges of your body blur just a little.
As if the warmth of the air,
The steadiness of the earth,
The movement of the river,
All come mingling together.
You're not separate from them.
You're part of this flowing world.
Part of the same pulse that moves all things.
And allow yourself to rest in this sensation.
Light,
Fluid and connected.
There's nowhere to go.
Nothing to do.
Only this release,
This flow,
This returning.
You may stay here for as long as you wish.
Letting the rivers calm guide,
Guide you back to your own natural ease.
Your own clear open breath.
So staying here as long as you wish.
But in a few moments,
We will begin to return and integrate.
And if you choose to stay here,
Let that be.
But if you choose to return and start integrating,
You may begin to sense your body again.
The gentle weight of where you've been resting.
The soft rhythm of your breath.
Notice how the body feels now.
As though move,
As though water has moved through you.
You might sense a quiet spaciousness inside.
Like the calm that follows a long steady rain.
You may find that there's more room to breathe.
Or ease in the way that you meet this moment.
And let the warmth of your surroundings return.
The air on your skin.
The texture of your clothing.
The support beneath you.
Everything holding you just as you are.
And may you carry this feeling of flow into the rest of your day.
A reminder that you can meet each moment like water.
Patient,
Adaptable and always finding a way through.
And when you're ready,
Begin to invite small movements.
Perhaps a stretch.
A roll of the shoulders.
A slow full breath.
Sensing yourself grounded and supported.
And this will note the end of our practice.
And as always,
I'd like to remind you that if anything felt unsettling,
Please take time to ground or do something like journaling or reaching out to someone you trust.
And I'd like to thank you today for taking time to take care of yourself.
Namaste
