Please find a comfortable and stable posture.
You can be lying down or sitting.
However you are,
Check to make sure that you have stability beneath you,
Supporting your body and holding you up so that you can let go of any unnecessary tension holding or guarding.
If you are sitting,
Make sure that your knees are below your hips so that the fronts of the hips stay open and energy can circulate freely.
Allow your torso and spine to rise with the natural curves up towards heaven.
Make sure that your shoulders are relaxed back and down,
That your head is situated over your shoulders and torso and spine.
Once you have found your posture,
Gently scan your body and try to release any unnecessary tension.
Become aware of your breath,
Observing the natural flow of the breath as it moves in and out.
Use the breath and the awareness of your body as a grounding point for the mind.
If the mind starts to wander,
Gently guide it back to focus on the breath and the awareness of the body.
Combining awareness of the breath and the body,
Begin abdominal breathing.
With every inhalation,
Allowing the abdomen to gently expand and with every exhalation,
Allowing the abdomen to gently contract.
Allowing the chest and shoulders to remain relaxed and still.
Doesn't have to be a very deep breath.
Just whatever is comfortable and accessible in this moment.
With every exhalation,
Allow your consciousness to sink more deeply into your physical body.
Allow your mind to become more and more relaxed.
Become even more interested in the movement of the breath,
Following it ever more closely.
Continue with abdominal breathing.
Begin to focus your awareness in the energetic center in the lower abdomen,
Two to three inches below the umbilicus and centered between the front of the lower abdomen and the spine.
In Taoism,
This is the lower dantian and in yogic practice,
The second chakra.
Focus your awareness in this physical space within the lower abdomen.
Consider of any sensations,
Whether it's a fullness,
Tension,
A warmth,
Sense of emptiness.
And allow your consciousness to become more interested,
To look more closely,
To experience what is occurring in this physical space within the body.
If you catch the mind wandering,
Gently guide it back to focus in the lower abdomen.
With every breath,
Continue to release any unnecessary tension throughout the body.
Allow your awareness to soften into the lower abdomen.
Become aware of the stillness that is present beneath all sensation in the lower abdomen.
S soften into the stillness.
As you soften into the stillness,
You may become aware of a sense of light.
Within the stillness.
If so,
Soften and allow the light to open.
Feeling the lower abdomen.
From there,
Beginning to expand throughout your body.
Down through the hips,
Legs.
Down to the bottoms of the feet.
And expanding up through the torso and the chest.
Out the shoulders,
Through the arms.
Down to the hands.
And up through the neck to the head.
And your whole body has light and stillness.
Relaxing and softening into the stillness,
Into the light.
Being fully present with this awareness of your inner body.
Your inner world.
Feel the stillness deep within.
It is always there,
Like the depths of the ocean.
Allow your breath to become deeper.
Become aware of the felt sense of your physical body.
Notice the stability beneath you,
Supporting you,
Holding you up.
And the air around you,
In which you are immersed,
Like a fish in water.
And when you are ready,
Maintain an awareness of the stillness within.
As you gently and slowly begin to open your eyes and take in the world around you.
Letting it wash over you and through you.
As you simply observe from this place of stillness within.
With meditative practice,
We can gain a grounding and stability in this inner stillness.
To live within the depths of our being.
Let peace,
Even while experiencing everything that is happening around us.
Throughout the day today,
If you notice your mind getting caught by thoughts in the outer world,
Have the intention to notice and to gently guide your awareness back to the breath.
Guide your awareness to the space of your lower abdomen,
Into the bottoms of your feet,
And come back to this place of stillness within.
Thank you all for joining me today.
