My name is Larissa and we are going to practice for about 15 minutes this morning.
And as we always do,
Just take these first few moments to settle into your body.
And that simple,
Simple reminder that your body is always present.
That's why we choose our focal point as somewhere within our body.
You can go to your breath,
You can go to what parts of you are touching the ground.
Take a couple of moments just to settle in.
Small movements,
Small adjustments,
Just to make sure you have the right amount of support.
You're of course welcome at any time to close your eyes or set your gaze downward.
Noticing even the position of your eyes.
Very often when we slow down and we close our eyes,
Our eyes naturally start to point downward slightly.
When our mind is really active,
Sometimes our eyes are moving slightly,
Even behind closed eyelids.
So just noticing even that incredible subtlety of the position of your eyes.
And then whether your eyes are open or closed,
Take a moment to just consciously move your eyes to the right and then to the left.
You can make a couple of circles,
First moving to the right,
Then up,
Then to the left,
Then back down.
Just allowing your eyes to move in their sockets,
Just rotating to the right.
And then go the opposite direction,
So rotating your eyes to the left and then up and then down.
And then one more time to the right,
This time down to the left and then up.
Right,
Down,
To the left and then up.
And then reverse that,
Bringing your eyes to the left and then down to the right and then up.
Just making these circles.
And then go ahead and just let your eyes settle.
You might notice there's a surprising amount of effort just to move your eyes like that.
Be conscious of your eyes of the direction.
You might have noticed a smoothness in those circles or occasionally they kind of jump from spot to spot.
And to consider when our eyes are open or when our ears are open,
How much effort that actually is.
Perhaps offering a bit of gratitude to the immense amount of work that your body does.
All of this sensory awareness just running in the background.
And perhaps noticing how nice it is just to let your eyes rest.
A tiny moment of ease,
Just giving your eyes permission to rest.
Just bringing awareness again to your eyes.
Are you squeezing your eyelids at all?
Can you soften there?
Do you notice your forehead,
The soft skin around your eyes?
Very often our thinking mind will bring the smallest tensions into our face.
And when you bring awareness to tension you can soften it.
Just noticing again the heaviness of your eyes letting gravity allow them to fall downward.
Just letting your eyes rest.
And as your eyes rest it's an invitation for your mind to do the same.
Our eyes and our brain activity are deeply correlated.
Just noticing and then inviting rest all throughout your face,
Your jaw,
Down to your neck and shoulders.
Then just bring some curiosity.
Where is my thinking mind?
Is it moving?
Is it at rest?
Is it a little sleepy?
Was I thinking about the future or the past?
The moment you're aware of it you're just present again.
And anytime a thought has taken you off onto a little rabbit trail,
Whether your mind is wandering or pointed to a specific place,
It's coming back to your physical body.
You might make a couple of circular rotations with your eyes again.
Just noticing that subtle sensation that's sometimes a surprising amount of effort.
And that effort helps us concentrate.
It also tones those little muscles around your eyes.
That gentle concentration point,
It helps you unhook for just a moment from any thought that gets a little sticky or a little grippy.
To just notice,
Oh yeah,
I'm noticing my eyes right now.
I'm noticing my breath moving through me right now.
I have permission just to rest in this next exhale.
And there's all kinds of fascinating studies about the eyes.
There's all kinds of really interesting movements that can happen with our eyes.
If we move our eyes rapidly it can help us pull up memories.
Very often we look in different directions as we're trying to recall something.
There are certain physical modalities like physical therapy that can use eye movement to help you balance or to open up fascial lines,
Lines of tension in your body just by moving your eyes differently.
And it's just these habits.
The smallest little thing.
You can even practice this today if you're on a computer or on technology for a while.
There's some studies that show if you pause every 15 to 20 minutes and look into the room that you're in,
Look out a window,
Just allow your eyes to change their focal point rather than keeping it at that 12 to 18 inch distance that we tend to do with technology.
And that alone can change our mood.
It can help our immunity.
It helps the health of your eyes.
And in simplest form it gives your brain a rest for a moment.
When our eyes become fixed and vigilant,
And it happens a lot with technology,
It eventually starts to tell our brain that we're in a bit of stress.
So just letting your eyes move on occasion can be so helpful for a million ways,
But it's just a moment of rest.
So I'll invite you just one more time to make one more circle with your eyes.
One direction and then the other.
And then just notice the softness,
The releasing that happens when you just let them rest again.
I'll invite you to bring your hands into any of your closing habits or practices.
Just taking a moment to connect to your hands.
And we'll end with a few loving kindness phrases,
Just repeating them back as they make sense for you.
May I pause and give my eyes rest today.
May I seek and find beauty today.
With my eyes and my heart.
When action is needed,
May I choose to move with ease and peace.
And may the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
And then go slow.
Take your time.
Just whenever you feel complete,
No rush.
Find a little movement in your body.
Take a moment to thank yourself just for showing up.
And as always,
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for supporting yourself and each other through this practice.
