There is an old Japanese proverb that goes,
The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.
This teaches us that true strength lies in flexibility,
Adaptability,
And resilience rather than sheer force or stubbornness.
But to do this,
You must practice cultivating presence.
So for today's meditation,
We will cultivate presence using the bamboo and all that it possesses as a reminder.
So let's begin.
Face into your seat,
Letting your eyes gently drift shut,
Allow your body to subtly sway from side to side,
Balancing itself into this moment.
Find your stillness here.
Feel your feet pressuring into the ground below you.
Here your roots are deep,
And with each passing breath,
They widen even more firmly into the earth.
Shift your focus to your spine.
From your lower spine to your upper spine,
Sit with intention and purpose.
Be upright,
But not uptight.
Retract your shoulders around and into your back,
And sense your collarbone widening,
Creating space.
Notice a sense of gravity rolling back down from your shoulders,
Your spine,
And into the ground below,
Taking root and planting yourself even more firmly.
Move your awareness into your abs,
And notice if there was a change in your posture.
Simply relax.
Similar to the branches of a bamboo,
Sense the flexibility in your arms and legs which help you bend and adapt to the world around you.
With each passing breath,
Feel a sense of lightness and ease entering into your arms and legs.
Breathe here without force.
Move your focus up into your neck,
And sense the flexibility that it provides your head.
Invite a sense of relaxation and allow it to wash over your face,
Just as the rain washes over the bamboo.
Start to recognize the subtle movements in your face with each breath that you take.
Upon your inhales,
The lower part of your face begins to elevate up to the sky,
And on your exhale it falls down towards the earth.
Feel the interconnection of your body to the bamboo.
You,
Just like it,
Has the ability to move fluidly to the world that surrounds you.
When your mind wanders from this moment,
Gently guide it back using the mantra.
Flow with ease,
Bend with grace.
Flow with ease,
Bend with grace.
Softly repeat this to yourself,
And know that the repetition of this mantra might change as you do.
It might become fast or slow,
Louder or softer,
It might even become distorted.
Take the attitude that it's more like listening to it than it is repeating it.
Should you find yourself lost in doing this,
Simply come back to anchoring yourself to your breath and your body,
And begin again.
Remain here to practice until you hear my voice again.
Flow with ease,
Bend with grace.
Flow with ease,
Bend with grace.
Slowly allow movement to enter into your body like the wind of a soft breeze,
And allow that movement to grow.
Keep in mind,
In the bamboo sway,
A lesson you will find.
In life's winds,
Practice being flexible,
And practice being kind.
Embrace change with effortless ease,
Just like the mighty bamboo that bends among the trees.
Until we meet again my friend,
Namaste.
