So as we're settling into our meditative posture that's both awake and alert,
Relaxed and at ease,
I wanna share these words from Pema Chodron.
She says,
We don't sit in meditation to become good meditators.
We sit in meditation so that we'll become more awake in our lives.
Closing the eyes if that feels comfortable,
Otherwise just softening the gaze,
Looking a few feet in front of you.
Invite and invite elongation in through the spine,
Starting at the base of the spine,
Moving up through the back,
Through the neck,
Up through the crown of the head.
Inviting spaciousness throughout the body.
And allowing the body to settle into a posture that feels comfortable.
Don't have to force ourselves to be in any state that doesn't feel natural in this moment.
Inviting in a few slow cleansing breaths.
Breathing in through the nose,
Breathing out through the mouth.
Nice,
Long exhale.
We're slowing down the breath,
Allowing us to arrive more fully here in this new moment.
Letting go of anything that's happened thus far in the day or the week.
Letting go of anything on the to-do list.
Seeing if we can open with mindfulness,
Which is intentionally present,
Open-minded.
Letting go of judgment of how we think things should be,
And instead opening our hearts and our minds to how it actually is.
Allowing the breath to come into a natural rhythm.
One breath at a time.
Mahajan Chah says,
If you let go a little,
You will find a little peace.
If you let go a lot,
You will find a lot of peace.
If you let go absolutely,
You will find absolute peace and tranquility.
We might set our intention today of letting go a little bit.
Letting go of tension.
Letting go of stories in the mind.
Really inviting in relaxation and softening.
Bringing our intentional attention to this next breath.
Noticing what it really feels like to be in this body breathing.
What does it feel like to breathe in?
What does it feel like to breathe out?
Without having to fix or change anything.
Seeing if we can follow the breath from the beginning of the inhale all the way to the end of the exhale.
When our attention wanders away,
Which it naturally does,
We just begin again.
Come back.
Can I feel just this one breath?
You might also begin to notice,
Is there any tension anywhere around the breath?
Are we holding the breath in the chest or the belly?
And with each breath,
Seeing if we can invite in some softening.
Softening through the chest.
Softening into the upper belly and the lower belly so we can fully receive this next breath.
You might even imagine that the breath is breathing us.
We don't have to do anything.
Can we stay open,
Receiving the inhale?
And then when the exhale is ready to let go,
We just allow it.
One breath at a time.
Relaxing.
We might invite this intention of relaxation to move down to the feet.
As we breathe our next breath,
It can take us more fully into the body.
Relaxing and softening around the feet.
Inviting in a warmth,
A calm.
Allowing this soft wave of relaxation up through the lower legs,
Into the knee joints,
Into the upper legs.
If we notice any tension or contraction,
Can we soften just a little bit around this area?
Allowing relaxation into the hips and the pelvic floor.
Relaxation into the lower belly and the low back.
Might soften through the muscles along the lower part of the spine,
Sacrum.
Inviting relaxation up into the belly through all the organs of the abdomen,
The connective tissue,
Into the heart and the lungs and the heart.
We can let our bellies fall out just like we were little babies,
Just softening,
Relaxing.
Allowing this wave of relaxation up into the region of the chest,
Inviting this softening to the middle back and the upper back,
All through the spinal column.
Allowing the warmth,
The softening,
The spaciousness.
It's okay to let go a little bit as we invite this wave of relaxation down into each and every finger.
The hands up through the arms and the shoulders.
Inviting this wave of relaxation up through the throat and the neck,
The face and the head.
If there's any other area in the body that's still holding tension,
Might invite this softness more fully to allow relaxation and softening.
Letting go just a little bit more.
You might begin to invite this wave of relaxation into the mind.
If we notice any stories that we're contracting around,
Events of the world,
Anything that we're holding in the mind right now,
Might invite this wave of warmth and softening to hold space in the mind.
Can we let go a little bit of the attachments to the stories?
Imagining that softness can come into the mind space.
A little bit of relaxation.
A little bit of letting go.
Allowing the thoughts to just come and go like waves of the ocean,
Rising and falling.
Connecting now to any emotions or feelings that we might be experiencing.
Inviting this same softness to hold space for our emotions,
The pleasant,
The unpleasant.
Is it possible to soften around these feelings a little bit?
We can reassure ourselves it's okay to relax in this moment.
And if we notice any resistance,
Seeing if we can hold that within this spaciousness.
Inviting in relaxation and softness even around resistance.
Sometimes an affirmation can be helpful.
I give myself permission to relax.
I give myself permission to let go.
As we rest here,
We might open to these words by Pema Chodron.
It helps to remember that our practice is not about accomplishing anything,
Not about winning or losing,
But about ceasing to struggle and relaxing as it is.
That is what we are doing when we sit down to meditate.
That attitude spreads into the rest of our lives.
Just for this moment,
Can we cease to struggle?
And taking a few moments just to relax as we are.
As we close the practice,
Just returning to our breath for a few breaths.
Allowing the breath to breathe us.
Nurturing this softness and relaxation one breath at a time.
May this practice support us all on our healing path.
Whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
If your eyes were closed,
Just take your time.
You're welcome to stay in the space of meditation for as long as you need.
Thank you.
