Welcome.
This practice is a guided journey into the art of making space and finding spaciousness.
We'll start by settling into the body,
Following the breath and breathing a little more slowly and deeply than normally.
Really experiencing the breath as it flows into the body,
Through the nose,
The throat,
The belly and back out again.
Let the breath guide you into a settled place.
Today we'll be taking a journey and on that journey we're going to seek out and find a teacher,
A teacher in the art of letting go and opening ourselves up to a new sense of spaciousness.
So we'll begin that journey on our feet.
Imagine yourself walking,
Walking by the side of a stream.
And as you continue to walk,
Also breathe consciously and get a sense of rhythm here so that you can sense your breathing synchronizing to your walking pace.
We're taking a nice easy walk along a path by a stream.
So just fall into a natural place,
Harmonizing your breath with each step and with the sound of the stream,
Breathing together.
The stream is our teacher today for it reminds us and teaches us how to flow,
No matter what obstacles it finds,
Rocks,
Branches,
Anything in its path.
The stream flows and our goal is to learn from the stream.
So pause wherever you are in your walk for a moment and create a comfortable spot by the stream to settle in.
And for the next minute of silence,
We'll just observe the stream while following our breathing,
Settling in and welcoming the stream as our teacher.
And we're going to invite the stream to teach us the art of making space,
Teaches how to take out the old,
Make room for the new.
So let's practice creating a sense of spaciousness with our master teacher,
Water.
And here too,
We can gain practice in the art of flow.
And you'll notice here on the bank of the stream there are many fallen leaves and twigs.
So go ahead and pick up just one.
And as you do that,
Will you consider and call to mind one area of your life where you know you need to create spaciousness by letting go of an old thought or hope or object?
Just one.
And when you know what's taking up space inside,
Name the leaf after this.
I name you worry about the pandemic or I name you over full hall closet or I name you regret.
Whatever's taking up space in your inner world,
Hold up your leaf or twig,
Acknowledge what you want to release.
And when you're ready,
Set it adrift in the stream.
Watch it travel downstream,
Whirling in the current,
Sometimes fast,
Sometimes slow until it's completely out of sight.
And just notice,
What does it feel like to release this?
Is there any sense of whiteness?
Is there any more openness?
And go ahead and pick up another leaf or twig and just as we did with the first,
Name it for something that's taking up energy or space inside that you're willing to release.
Name it and just as you did with that first twig,
Release it into the stream.
And as you do this,
Do it with reverence and care.
Don't make yourself wrong for holding on to these things.
They've served a purpose in your life,
But you can release them now if you're willing.
So continue this naming and releasing for the next minute.
Choosing a twig,
Naming it,
Sending it into the stream.
So continue this naming and releasing for the next minute.
And now pause.
Once again scan your body and mind.
Notice how you feel.
Notice if even the small decisions to release some of this energy produce a sense of spaciousness.
And we'll take this one step further.
You go ahead and wade into the stream right up to your knees.
It's cold,
But that cold awakens you so you feel very alive and alert and full of energy.
In midstream,
There's a large rock and branches that are bottling up the water,
Blocking it,
Slowing it.
So will you carefully begin to move away the branches and leaves that are damming up the stream here?
So take a little time,
Do it thoughtfully.
And as you remove those branches and blockages,
As you continue,
Begin to know what one of the biggest blocks to the flow of energy is in your life.
Feel yourself slowly unraveling it.
Feel your own willingness to make space.
And finally,
With the branches cleared,
Push that big rock aside and watch the stream run clear again.
Once again,
Breathe it in and out,
Breathing in and out in time with the rhythm of the stream.
So go ahead and climb back out and up the bank again.
And let's spend a few more moments here at the edge of the stream offering gratitude to this teacher of flow and the art of spaciousness.
And we'll return our attention to the breath where we began breathing a little more slowly and deeply than normally.
Taking a moment more here to enjoy a sense of spaciousness.
Nothing to do but breathe.
