As you settle into your meditation shape,
Let your eyes soften or close and take a big full body inhale in,
And let the exhale fall slowly out of your mouth.
Let the body settle through little adjustments into whatever shape you're in,
Bringing yourself into a physical state where you can trust in stillness.
And when you find that sweet spot of stillness,
Really settle in.
If any urges come to fidget or move around,
See if you can breathe more deeply instead of moving,
Making peace with where you are as you are.
Taking a few more big full body breaths,
Letting your exhales be as slow as possible.
And as you do this,
Begin to attune more deeply to the landscape that you are in now.
Softening the space behind your eyes between your ears,
Connecting with sound both near and in the distance.
What do you notice about the sound around you,
If there is any?
Can you set an intention now to allow for sound that may arise in this practice to simply keep you grounded in the present moment rather than becoming a distraction or something that brings you out of a state of relaxation.
Allowing all elements of now to be that way.
Little pieces of the present moment that keep you here,
That deepen your practice.
Letting your awareness expand into the way that the body feels,
Internally and externally.
What feels alive inside of you right now?
Is there any internal movement happening?
Can you feel the edges of your body and the way they connect with the air around you?
Perhaps even deepening your awareness of where you are connected to the earth.
Feeling the way that gravity keeps you connected.
If you perceive any sensation in the physical body that feels uncomfortable or hard to be with,
Again welcome in the breath as an ally.
Letting your inhales bring spaciousness and your exhales bring ease.
And perhaps you can utilize your awareness to traverse any sensations that feel particularly alive within you right now.
Finding their center point,
Following where they travel throughout the body and invoking an essence of curiosity.
Perhaps you find that by utilizing the breath,
The sensation can dim,
Become less.
And if that's not the case,
Just notice.
Begin to observe any places in the body that you may be holding or gripping.
You might soften the brow and the jaw.
You might imagine taking a little weight off of your shoulders,
Easing any tension that may be in the neck,
Letting the arms melt and the hands and the fingers to be open and light.
Notice if you're holding in the belly,
The hips,
Anywhere in the legs or the feet,
And allow for a gradual softening,
Grounding.
As you're scanning the body,
Letting your awareness expand through it,
You are inviting the mind to be in the same time-space as the body,
Because the body can't be anywhere other than where it is,
So it's a good grounding place if you find that the mind is taking you elsewhere,
Somewhere to the past or the future.
Can always return to the breath,
Sensation,
Sound.
Notice any urges of the mind,
The ways in which the mind might resist this stillness,
This softening,
This surrender.
Rather than punishing it or labeling it as bad,
Gently remind it,
As a friend,
To come back to return to your truest essence,
Which is expansive,
Ever-present,
Awake and alive.
Notice any doingness that comes up in the body,
In the brain,
And allow yourself to settle into beingness.
There is nothing to do in this moment.
You have chosen this time to be,
To connect with stillness,
To practice patience.
So if the mind tries to convince you that there's something better for you to be doing with your time,
Remind it that you chose this.
This is the only place you need to be right now.
And see it as a gift.
By choosing to show up in this practice of stillness and surrender,
You're giving yourself the opportunity to do more of that in your day-to-day life.
In the moments when you are doing,
There will be more of an essence of beingness behind all of it,
A deeper state of presence,
A more expansive awareness.
You may be less likely to get caught up in any dramas of the day-to-day life,
Any projections of the past or future,
Because you will know more deeply how to return to the truest essence of yourself.
That is your only job now.
To be in the practice of these things,
Of coming home,
Of surrendering,
Of trusting stillness.
Remember the tools of breath and awareness of the body,
And trust in whatever unfolds in this process for you.
Take a big inhale in through your nose,
And gently release it out through your mouth.
Awakening the body in small,
Gentle waves,
Maybe blinking the eyes open.
You might bring the hands to heart center,
Take a little bow,
Chin to the chest,
A little reverence for your practice.
Thank you for choosing to be here.
I'll see you in the next practice.
Namaste.
