My name is Larissa,
And we're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
As always,
Just an opportunity to slow down a little bit.
There's not some state we're trying to get to,
We're just showing up for ourselves.
I think that's a good reminder to remove any pressure that it has to be a certain way.
You just get to be.
Spend a little time in stillness,
A little bit of time in slowness,
And observing yourself.
So we might observe different thoughts coming and going,
We might observe different emotional states coming and going,
Sometimes they stick around for a while,
But it's just this reminder that you're showing up for yourself and being as gentle with yourself as possible.
So I'll invite you to close your eyes or set your gaze downward.
Softening of our external attention so we can turn our attention a bit more inward.
And just noticing your body posture,
Making sure you have the right amount of support,
Making any adjustments that are needed.
Something as simple as making a couple of neck rolls,
Or taking a deep breath and sighing it out.
It's a really lovely way to invite in that gentleness for yourself.
And then our process here,
For the next little while,
Is just to return to our chosen focal point again and again and again.
And practicing being as kind to ourselves as possible in the process.
That chosen focal point is somewhere in your body,
And that's simply because your body is always present.
Very often we go to our breath,
Not only because our breath is present and always with us,
But it's also moving slightly.
We can witness the change as we inhale and exhale,
Reminding us of the impermanence of living.
Now sometimes our mind,
When we're in a state or an emotional sensation that feels like it's going to last forever,
Sometimes our mind will try to cling to that feeling.
Sometimes our mind will try to avoid that feeling,
Thinking somehow that it will last forever.
But the simplicity of our breath reminds us that everything is transient.
Things are always changing.
We might also take a moment just to notice the steadiness of your body.
What parts of your body are touching the ground,
Being held by the earth,
Through whatever you're sitting on,
Resting on,
Leaning on?
And the most still parts of our body give us access to noticing our breath.
It's that contrast of stillness and movement.
Just spend a little time here,
A few moments in silence,
Just noticing the stillness of your body,
But also the movement of it.
Can you notice that big,
Expansive inhale,
The movement of your ribs,
Perhaps your chest,
Perhaps even the subtlety of noticing your clothing shift as you inhale?
It's allowing the echo to soften something within you.
And in that tiny space between breaths,
Can you notice stillness,
The steadiness of your feet or your legs or your spine?
Just witnessing that balance of stillness and movement,
Of effort,
Of the inhale and the ease of the exhale.
And it's natural that your mind moves.
Sometimes it's moving a lot.
Sometimes we go the opposite direction and our mind becomes a little dull,
A little sleepy.
But no matter what our mind is doing,
It's our body stays consistent in that rhythmic movement of breath.
At any breath,
An opportunity to just begin again.
You might purposefully deepen your breath,
Refreshing your attention with the depth of the inhale,
And inviting in a new softening as you exhale.
It's every breath an opportunity to begin again.
And our breath is this fresh reminder that we have that opportunity always.
Sometimes our mind will take us into black and white thinking,
If I don't do something all the way,
It doesn't count.
Sometimes our mind gets into comparison,
I always,
I never,
They always,
They never.
Sometimes there's just a barrage of thoughts,
But just the noticing of it,
The observation of it.
And to witness yourself with gentleness and tenderness,
Rather than judgment,
That's the practice.
It's not about stopping thoughts or trying to get to calm.
It's just being with yourself here now,
Exactly as you are.
And taking a deep breath,
Perhaps even sighing it out,
Allowing the natural,
Relaxive quality of the exhale to wash over you.
It's just one breath at a time,
It's present with this breath.
Anytime your mind gets a little busy,
In the moment,
Throughout the day,
Just remembering that your breath is this constant reminder of just coming back to the present.
You can witness that fullness of your inhale,
And allow yourself the softness of your exhale.
Just grounding back to the present moment by noticing this breath.
And we get to notice too,
Again,
That balance of effort and ease.
Your body is not trying to constantly be producing.
Your body recognizes the importance of rest.
It happens every time.
You have a cycle of breath,
The action of the inhale,
The rest of the exhale.
And then even that space between breaths,
However small.
It's almost like listening to a piece of music.
The space between the notes make a dramatic difference.
All the notes played at once,
Suddenly it's no longer a song,
It's just noise.
And that can happen in our mind,
It can get rather noisy at times.
Just give yourself permission to soften,
Drop back down into your body,
Never making your mind wrong or trying to stop it.
Just inviting your mind to rest in the softness of your exhale.
Letting your mind witness the wisdom of action and rest,
Inhale and exhale.
Just breath by breath,
Moment by moment,
Present awareness.
Notice again a breath here.
I'll invite you to take a big,
Full,
Deep breath again.
Let your ribs and belly expand with it.
You might even let a sigh soften your body as you exhale.
And I'll invite you to place your hands into any of your closing habits or practices.
Just allowing your hands to contact your body.
It's another form of support,
A reminder of all your body does for you.
We'll end as we often do with the loving kindness phrases.
Just repeating these phrases back,
Offering these well wishes to yourself.
May I pause and remember my breath today.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
When action is needed today,
May I choose to move with ease and peace.
And may the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
And then taking a moment to thank yourself just for showing up.
So whenever you feel complete,
You can open your eyes,
Find a little movement in your body,
Going slow if you can.
And as always,
Thank you for being here.
Thanks for supporting each other in sangha and community.
