Welcome to the Summer Meditation Challenge.
In this first week,
As you prepare,
It's checking out the space you're going to be meditating in,
Seeing if you can find a quiet corner,
A space that's inviting,
Seeing if there's anything you can do to set it up in a way that it draws you in,
And also that it feels kind of calming and uncluttered,
If possible.
Maybe a nice view out the window,
Or a candle,
Or a vase of flowers to look at.
And then beginning with a couple of minutes of conscious movement and stretching,
Checking into the body and seeing if there's anything you can do to bring a little more ease or comfort to the body.
So you might begin by stretching your arms up long as you breathe in,
Floating them down,
Stretching out through the fingertips as you bring your arms back down.
And if you'd like to,
As they come down,
Gently rolling forward,
Folding forward,
Until you can touch the ground or close to the ground with your fingertips,
And then sweeping all the way back up again on the next in-breath,
Slowly getting these full-body movements.
Breathing in as you float the arms up,
Reaching up through the fingertips and the crown of the head,
Breathing out a nice,
Long,
Smooth out-breath.
And as you float the arms all the way down,
Perhaps even,
Down to the ground.
And one more time.
Inhaling up,
And this time as you reach up,
Perhaps reaching up through the right fingertips,
Pressing down through the right foot into the ground at the same time,
Feeling a stretch through the right side body.
And then on the next in-breath,
Reaching up through the left fingertips,
Pressing down through the left foot into the ground,
Feeling the stretch through the left side body,
Perhaps down through the armpit,
Into the ribcage and the waist.
One more deep breath in,
And as you breathe out,
Floating the arms back down alongside the body,
Coming into the standing mountain pose,
Our resting standing pose,
Stacking your joints,
Letting everything sit in alignment,
And then checking in with your body,
Seeing what else is needed.
Perhaps a stretch for the legs,
The arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Any of those places that tend to tighten up or carry tension in you.
So for example,
You might like to do some shoulder circles,
Rotating the shoulders in one direction,
In time with the breath,
And then back in the other.
You might like to do some hip circles,
Just opening and warming up the hips,
Anything else that's needed.
And feel free as we go through the week to extend this time of movement at the start of your practice.
And then when you're ready,
Settling into a comfortable seated posture.
If sitting is not okay for your body right now,
Of course any posture is fine.
And then as you sit,
Making any final movements or stretches,
Little adjustments,
Twists.
Chiming into the feet,
Lower legs,
Knees,
Upper legs,
Pelvis,
Making adjustments,
Looking for a sense of balance,
Groundedness,
Alignment in the lower body.
So you might notice how your weight is distributed between the right and left sides of the body.
And even it up.
And with the upper body,
Beginning with the tailbone,
Letting your attention travel up through the spine and the torso,
Up through the back of the neck,
Up and out through the crown of the head,
Getting a sense of lift.
As if the crown of the head is gently being drawn upwards towards the sky,
Tailbone sinking down towards the ground,
Sense of length through the spine.
And drawing your shoulder blades together behind you gently,
Opening the chest,
Letting the arms and hands fall down alongside the body,
Hands resting in a comfortable position.
Tucking the chin slightly so the back of the neck is long.
Now tuning into this dignified upright posture,
Noticing what it feels like to be in this posture that embodies our intention of being with ourselves,
For ourselves,
On our own side,
In relation to this practice,
And to life.
Because we're worth it,
Because life is worth it.
Noticing any even mildly subtle pleasant experience,
Simply in being present in this dignified upright posture.
And see if you can really take that in,
Let it register in your system,
Get to know it.
This pleasant feeling is very resourcing,
Here,
Now,
Present,
Alive,
Open,
Feeling free at any point in the practice to come back to the posture and refresh the posture.
And this week we're really tuning into the practice as a gift,
Meditation as an act of deep warm friendship to ourselves.
This is not a chore,
It's not a task,
It's not something to tick off,
It's a gift,
It's a way of deeply replenishing,
Supporting and encouraging ourselves.
So see if you can let go of any expectations,
No matter how good or bad you might be at this,
Or how it might go,
And simply be here,
Moment to moment,
This body sitting here,
This breath,
Opening to life,
Again and again.
If it's okay for you,
Letting your attention settle on the breath,
Noticing the natural breath,
Its rhythm,
Depth.
Seeing if you can bring this kind,
Non-judgmental curiosity to it,
There's no particular way you're supposed to be breathing,
The way you're breathing is simply the way you're breathing,
Right now.
And as you watch it,
Especially if you do this with a kind of friendly intention,
You might notice it changing,
Settling,
Smoothing out,
Softening,
Lengthening.
Noticing what that's like,
The subtle changes in the breath,
As your whole system begins to settle.
And if that's not happening for you,
If your experience is something else,
That's okay too,
Simply opening to what's here as best you can.
As you tune into the breath,
Seeing if you can find an anchor in the body,
A place where you feel the breath most strongly,
And not so much thinking about the breath as feeling it,
Sensing into it.
This in-breath coming in as it's happening,
This out-breath going out as it's happening.
You might find yourself drawn to a narrowish focus on the breath,
Or a broad focus,
Noticing the whole body breathing.
So if the focus you're drawn to is narrow,
Perhaps finding a particular place in the body where you feel the sensations of breathing most strongly,
Letting that be your anchor,
And simply resting your attention here,
Whenever the mind wanders,
Bringing it back to this place,
And starting over.
If you prefer to tune into the broader focus on the breath,
Noticing the whole body rising on the in-breath,
Expanding,
Taking up more space,
And the whole body releasing,
Sinking,
Contracting a little on the out-breath.
It's ebb and flow,
Rise and fall,
Each breath completely unique,
Each breath bringing new life,
Nourishment,
Resources,
Renewal into the body.
Just knowing that breath enters through the lungs,
Into the bloodstream,
And touches every single cell in the body,
Replenishing,
Renewing,
Bringing nourishment,
And each out-breath is a letting go,
Letting go of anything you no longer need,
Anything that doesn't serve you,
Bit by bit letting go.
As you settle,
If you're feeling agitated,
Or kind of high energy,
Anxious,
You might prefer to focus a little more on the out-breath,
Gently lengthening,
Slowing down the out-breath.
If you're feeling kind of dull,
Or sleepy,
Or passive,
Focus a little more on the in-breath,
It's a bit more energising,
And once things settle,
Nice smooth,
Even in-breaths and out-breaths,
And there's no need to make the breath be a particular way,
There's no need to become something else,
We're not trying to get anywhere,
We're simply settling into the natural rhythm of the breath,
Letting the breath be our anchor.
And if the mind wanders,
Which it will do,
Every single time that happens,
Practice just forgiving yourself,
You might even say those words inside,
Forgive,
And simply bring your attention back to the breath and start over,
Just noticing the wandering mind and bringing it back,
It's just like training a beloved puppy to heal,
We want to do it with kindness,
With forgiveness,
With encouragement,
Not with punishment or criticism.
We're not here to be perfect,
Or to prove ourselves,
Or to prove our worth,
This is a gift,
It's the act of showing up for ourselves as if we matter.
