Welcome to this meditation for comfort and healing using the wind as our guide.
I invite you to settle into a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down,
Whatever is your practice.
Allow your shoulders to drop.
Find to lengthen.
Your hands may be resting wherever is comfortable.
Perhaps upon your heart or lap,
Down by your side.
Again,
This is your time,
Your time of reflection and self-care.
Do what feels best.
Naturally observing,
Noticing how your body feels.
And I invite you to take a slow breath in,
In through your nose.
And a long soft breath out through your mouth.
And continuing,
Beginning to notice the rhythm of your own breathing.
It's quiet,
Rise and fall.
Breathing in through the nose.
Slow breath.
And then a soft breath out through the mouth.
And sending out at your own pace.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Noticing how your breath feels with each inhale and exhale.
How does it feel entering your nose?
How does it feel leaving out through your mouth?
When ready,
Returning back to your own natural rhythm of breathing.
I invite you to imagine the wind around you.
Soft,
Invisible currents brushing your skin.
Maybe you recall the feeling of gentle air crossing your face on a cool morning.
Just enough to remind you that you are here,
That life moves through you.
Allow the breath to become that wind,
Flowing through your body.
Soothing places that have been tense or swollen.
Gently calming what may feel inflamed or overwhelmed.
And with each exhale,
Release just a little more,
Like leaves fluttering free on an autumn breeze.
Breathing in with the wind.
Breathing out as the wind flows through you.
Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us,
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky.
Conscious breathing is my anchor.
Allow yourself to rest in this truth.
You can be the wide open sky,
Spacious,
While the winds of life pass gently through.
Allow yourself to notice where the breath meets your body.
Perhaps at the chest,
The belly,
Or the tips of your nostrils.
Inhale through your nose,
Letting air swirl in softly.
Exhale through the lips like a whisper of wind across a field.
Breathing in and exhaling.
Observing the breath.
Nothing to fix or control.
As Ram Dass reminds us,
Don't try to control your breath.
Simply watch it.
The nature of the breath does not matter.
Your full attention to it is what counts.
The breathing in and out.
In this awareness,
Allow the body and breath to synchronize.
A quiet dance of nature moving through you.
Even when life's currents feel strong,
Gusts of challenge,
Waves of emotion,
The wind reminds you all movement is temporary.
It shifts,
It softens,
It passes.
Let this be a time of deep rest.
As you breathe,
Sense your body being held by the air itself,
Supported,
Not separated.
If the mind wanders,
As all minds do,
It's OK.
No judgment.
Just observe it.
This practice is not about stillness with motion,
But about gentleness within the moving winds.
Tara Brach writes that we don't have to transcend the real world to realize our true nature.
You can find peace here in this moment,
With the wind as your teacher.
Its softness shows you how to flow.
Its rhythm reminds you that everything breathes together.
Natural rhythm.
It's like the wind moving.
Allow this quiet wind to move through your heart.
If it helps,
Silently say to yourself,
Breathing in,
I soften.
Breathing out,
I release.
Breathing in,
I am here.
Breathing out,
I am at ease.
Repeating again.
Breathing in,
I soften.
Breathing out,
I release.
Breathing in,
I am here.
Breathing out,
I am at ease.
I invite you to do that for one more cycle.
Breathing in,
I soften.
Breathing out,
I release.
Breathing in,
I am here.
Breathing out,
I am at ease.
Continue to rest here for a few moments,
Simply observing,
Being held and quieted.
Observing your own natural rhythm of breath.
The rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.
And when you're ready,
I invite you to sense the air around you.
The whisper on your skin.
Gentle stirring of life.
And remember Thich Nhat Hanh's words,
The mind can go in a thousand directions.
But on this beautiful path,
I walk in peace.
With each step,
The wind blows.
With each step,
A flower blooms.
When ready,
I invite you to add movement back into your body.
Noticing how your body feels as you gently awaken back into the space.
The gentle stirring of the air on your skin.
Wiggling your toes,
Your fingers.
If your eyes are closed,
Gently fluttering them open.
I invite you to carry this quiet awareness.
The knowing that like the wind,
You can move softly through each moment.
Guided by breath,
Grounded in kindness.
