Meditation On The Smiling Lumbars

Meditation on the Smiling Lumbar Vertebrae
A 40-Minute Guided Meditation
Not only beginners put a lot of effort into meditative sitting. Tension in the lumbar region weakens or disrupts the connection to the floor. As a result, it is difficult for the back, diaphragm, and shoulders to relax. Beginners, in particular, may find their lower back rounding due to a lack of the necessary relaxed tone.
Feeling the smile of our lumbar vertebrae will reduce the tension and effort, especially if it can spread upwards along the entire spine, and perhaps even conjure up a smile in our faces.
Becoming familiar with our body’s vertical axis will help us to relax and our demeanour will be more natural and confident. Being thus present is further supported by our dwelling in the four spaces. It strengthens our self-assurance, our resting within ourselves. This is not only helpful for meditation; our everyday and professional lives will become more natural and easier.
Wilfried Rappenecker

Transcript

This is the meditation on the smiling lumbar vertebrae. To start this meditation, I first feel the weight of my body. I feel the weight of my ankles and feet, My legs, My pelvis, As they rest on the cushion below. I feel the weight of my hands and wrists, My arms, My shoulders. I feel the weight of my torso, The weight of my lower torso, The weight of my middle torso, The weight of my upper torso, And I feel the weight of my head and my jaw sinking down. Weight is a result of gravity, A force that is always active on this planet. There is nothing I have to do for it, Just feel it and allow it to work. Also, My lumbar vertebrae follow gravity. They sink down and relax on each other and I give myself the time to feel how my fifth lumbar vertebra sinks down and relaxes on the sacrum below. I feel how my fourth lumbar vertebra sinks down and relaxes on the fifth, The third relaxes on the fourth, The second on the third, And also the first lumbar vertebra follows gravity, Sinks down and relaxes on the second. I feel my lumbar vertebrae as they sink down and relax on each other. There is nothing I have to do for it, Just feel it and allow it to happen, And also feel how this natural downward movement reaches through sacrum and coccyx deep down into the floor. And because my lumbar vertebrae do not have to work hard, They smile. I feel the smile of my lumbar vertebrae and also the other vertebrae of my spine follow gravity, Sink down and relax on each other. So the twelfth thoracic vertebra relaxes on the first lumbar, The eleventh thoracic relaxes on the twelfth, Number ten relaxes on number eleven, Nine on ten. I feel thoracic eight relaxing on number nine, Seven on eight, Six relaxes on seven, Five on six, Four relaxes on five, Three on four, The second thoracic on the third, And the first on the second, The seventh cervical vertebra c7 relaxes on the first thoracic, C6 relaxes on c7, C5 on c6, C4 relaxes on c5, C3 on c4, The second cervical on the third, And also the first cervical vertebra, The atlas, Relaxes on the second, The axis. I feel the vertebrae of my spine as they sink down and relax on each other. And this natural downward movement reaches through lumbar area sacrum and coccyx, Deep down into the floor. And at the same time as this downward movement takes place, There is also the opposite movement. In this very light upward movement, The thoracic spine rises a little bit and extends upwards, Pushing up the neck a little bit. And also the cervical spine extends upwards, Pushing up the head a little bit. And this very light upward movement extends through the head, Way beyond. So there are two movements happening at the same time. One natural downward movement, No hard work, Just allow it to take place and feel it. And this very light upward movement, No effort, No hard work, Just watch it happening. And feel it. And with my attention, I'm sometimes more in the downward movement, And sometimes I'm more in the upward movement. And maybe sometimes I'm relaxed and wide enough to be in both movements at the same time. And still I feel my smiling lumbar vertebrae as they sink down and relax on each other. I now go into four spaces that lie in front of my spine or above. The first space I want to visit is the space of my lower belly. This space reaches from the lower lumbar spine to the front of the belly, Below the navel. And it reaches beyond those limits. One part of my attention I anchor within my lower lumbar spine. With the other part, I feel how I am in the space of my lower belly right now. And no matter how I feel myself here, Let it be awake or tired, Full or empty, Strong or weak, I resist the temptation to wanting to change anything. It is okay the way it is. And I give myself two or three minutes to feel myself in the space of my lower belly. Ah, This is how I am in the space of my lower belly right now. In 15 minutes it may be different, But this is how it is now. And still I feel my smiling lumbar vertebrae as they sink down and relax on each other. I now proceed into the second space, Which is the space of my upper belly. This space reaches from my lower thoracic spine to the front of the belly, Above the navel. And it reaches beyond those limits. One part of my attention I anchor within my lower thoracic spine. With the other part, I feel how I am in my upper belly now. And no matter how I meet myself here, Let it be closed or open, Full or empty, Wide or narrow, I do not have to change anything. It is okay the way it is. Instead, I give myself two or three minutes to feel how I am in the space of my upper belly now. Ah, This is how I am in the space of my upper belly. In 15 minutes it may be different, But this is how it is right now. And still I feel my smiling lumbar vertebrae as they sink down and relax on each other. Still I can feel this very light upward movement. I now go into the third space, Which is the space inside my chest, The space of my heart. This space reaches from my middle thoracic spine to the sternum in front, And it reaches beyond those limits. One part of my attention I anchor within my middle thoracic spine. With the other part, I feel how I am in the space of my heart now. And no matter how I meet myself here, Whether it be light or dark, Easy or difficult, Happy or sad, I do not have to change anything. It is okay the way it is. I am okay the way I am. And again, I give myself two or three minutes to feel how I am in the space of my heart. This is how I am in the space of my heart right now. In a few minutes, It may be different, But this is how it is now. And still I feel my lumbar vertebrae as they smile and sink down and relax on each other. And still I feel my lumbar vertebrae and I feel this very light upward movement. And I go into the fourth space, Which is the space inside my head. This space inside my head reaches beyond the anatomical limits of my head, Especially upwards and downwards, But also towards the sides, As to the front and to the back. And I feel myself in the space inside my head. And no matter how I find myself here, Awake or tired, Light or heavy, I do not have to change anything. And I give myself two or three minutes to feel myself in the space of my head. And still I feel my lumbar vertebrae as they smile. And sink down and relax on each other. Still I feel this very light upward movement. For the remaining time of this meditation, I now choose one of those four spaces to rest in there for another seven or eight minutes. In choosing this space, I am completely free. It may be an easy one or a difficult one, A pleasant one or an unpleasant one. And I just rest in there.