Let's take these first couple of moments here.
Settling into your body,
A little tiny wiggle,
A little neck roll,
Whatever it is that you need to just check in.
Oftentimes movement tells us where tension lies in our body.
Those little tiny adjustments can help us settle even if it's just 2%.
Those little tiny shifts and changes set us up for being kind to ourselves.
You're welcome of course to close your eyes or set your gaze downward.
It's taking a little bit of time here just to settle in and remembering there's no rush.
We're not trying to get anywhere.
We're not trying to get to a particular experience or a particular feeling.
And just removing any pressure with that idea in mind.
Whether your gaze is just set downward so that your eyes are still or your eyes are closed,
It's an opportunity for your mind to start to settle as well.
Although sometimes what happens when we slow down,
Our mind is like,
Oh good,
Since you're still,
Let me tell you all kinds of things.
That's normal.
It's normal that our mind will sometimes uptick when we slow down.
It's also normal that sometimes our mind gets a little dull,
As it's sometimes called,
A little sleepy.
Everything that shows up is normal.
Everything that shows up is just part of the experience you're having.
And very often we start with just noticing our body.
Our body is our focal point because it's always present.
And then we have that anchor point to come back to.
I've used this analogy before,
Like a balloon floating.
It's tethered to a weight or it's tied to our wrist.
And no matter how hard the wind is blowing and that balloon is fluttering around,
Our body is the stability.
Our mind,
This balloon that's doing all kinds of things,
But yet tethered to the stability of this body.
Because we anchor into our body,
It's important that we seek and find safety within our body.
And on days that feels difficult,
Whether it's because our body is in pain or we're judging our body and that judgment starts to cause us its own kind of pain,
It's important that we recognize what tools are helpful or unhelpful in the moment.
If you don't feel comfortable or safe in your body,
You might just open your eyes and set your gaze on something external.
Whatever it is that you're deciding,
It's remembering it.
You get to choose what feels safe for you in this moment.
And I'll invite in here just a little bit of silence and stillness,
But before we do that,
I'll invite you just to notice your hands.
Notice the weight of them,
The temperature of them,
And that invitation to notice your hands.
Suddenly your attention goes there.
It's not something you have to try super hard to do.
You're just,
Oh yeah,
Hands.
And that's exactly how we work with our gentle concentration and meditation.
When we notice our awareness has shifted,
We invite it back.
Just noticing your hands,
Just coming back to them again and again.
Take a moment here just to move your hands a bit,
Maybe rubbing them across your legs,
Maybe rubbing them together.
And just notice the texture change,
That tiny bit of friction you create as you move your hands.
And then whenever you feel ready,
Just letting your hands and your arms settle again.
And that little tiny tool can be so helpful when we get a little bit caught in our mind.
We get stuck in the future or the past in our mind.
And just using your hands as that reminder,
Oh yeah,
That's right,
Hands.
And then suddenly you're right back here again.
Spending a little time here in silence,
Maybe a little stillness,
But at any point you can just rub your hands together or rub them across your legs and just notice that sensation.
It just brings you right back to presence.
And just notice your mind again.
Perhaps that imagery is helpful,
Just imagining your mind floating like a balloon.
And it's just tethered to your wrist.
Just noticing your hands in this present moment.
Notice the weight of them.
Perhaps even bringing to mind something that your hands have done for you today.
And that moment of appreciation,
We turn awareness into appreciation.
That's its own practice,
Its own neuropathway,
Starting to build that awareness into appreciation.
Already we have the neuropathway of awareness to judgment.
I'm just softening any judgments.
Unhooking gently from a thought by just noticing,
Oh yeah,
There's a thinking happening.
Here's my hands.
It's just this process again and again and again,
Just gently unhooking from a thought,
Contacting your body.
So yeah,
That's right,
Here's my hands.
When the thoughts get a little sticky,
You just rub your hands a bit,
Notice that sensation you create.
It's just breath by breath.
Moment by moment,
Present awareness.
Just awareness of hands.
Maybe just curious,
Where were my thoughts just headed?
A little label we can put on our thoughts can be so helpful just to start to understand different patterns,
Different habits of our mind.
Yeah,
I was future oriented today.
I'm remembering this particular story.
Sometimes labeling a thought,
Oh,
That's a worry thought.
Oh,
That's a excited thought.
It's just noticing thinking mind and then coming back again to the present moment.
So here's my hands.
And I'll share here,
And this is from a meditation that Sister Chang Kong taught.
And she shared these words many times before she lived and worked with Thich Nhat Hanh.
And she's talking about these two hands,
And you might place one of your hands or both over your heart.
You might even put your hands around your face.
She says,
I hold my face in my two hands.
I imagine my hands are love,
To catch what might fall from within me.
Deeper than crying.
I hold my face in my two hands to keep my loneliness warm,
To cradle my anger,
To shelter the pain from the rain and thunder in my mind.
My two hands preventing my soul from flying away in anger.
I hold my face in my two hands.
And I imagine my hands are love.
And just receiving that intention.
In the yogic tradition,
Our hands are an extension of our heart.
They follow the energy line of our heart.
So anything you touch is to touch it with your heart.
Anytime you need a moment of resourcing,
Of support,
Of present moment awareness,
You just tap your body with your hands.
And suddenly you're right back here again.
And we'll end with a few loving kindness phrases.
Just repeating these phrases back as they make sense for you.
May I seek and find support in my body today.
May I remember the innate goodness of my two hands.
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 go slow if you can.
Find a little movement when you feel ready.
And then take a moment just to thank yourself just for showing up today.
Thank your hands for all that they do for you.
And thank you each for being here,
Supporting each other as always.
