Finding Courage in our Center It's about finding the courage to change what you can,
Using compassion and love for yourself.
Courage brings ingenuity,
Ushers in transition and change,
And keeps us motivated to adjust and move forward.
But it requires attunement to what lies deep within your heart.
Searching for where in our meditation or yoga practice can we find more courage?
Where can we meet ourselves with more love and compassion?
Are we able to sit with pain,
Sadness,
Or fear and allow them to just be?
Fear and desire are often at the root of what keeps us stuck in our behaviors and patterns.
Fear of change,
Fear of the past,
Desiring one outcome or another,
And being disappointed when things don't come out the way we anticipated.
So with that,
We sit in our practice,
In our meditation,
And simply breathe.
So wherever you are,
Take a comfortable seat.
Take a few moments to notice your body.
Notice any tension in your body.
Spine tall,
Chin and head just over the shoulders.
Allow the seat to really connect to the ground,
To the earth beneath you,
To become heavy.
Begin to notice the air flowing through your nostrils at the very end of your nose.
Use this as a point of awareness,
Following the breath as the two streams of air flow in through the nostrils and out through the nostrils,
Just at the very tip of the nose.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Begin to do a scan of your body,
Starting from the head,
And the top of the head,
Down through the face,
Noticing any tension in the jaw or behind the eyes,
In the throat,
Down through the chest and the shoulders,
In your stomach,
To the pelvis,
And down through your legs,
All the way to the soles of your feet.
Just notice how your body feels in this moment.
Continue breathing evenly on the inhalation and exhalation,
Beginning to draw your breath out on the inhalation and a count of five on the exhalation,
Smoothing the breath out ever so slightly.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And continue for several more breaths on your own at the count of five.
Keep your awareness on how your body and your mind feel in the moment as you do this equal breath,
Inhaling and exhaling.
If you're able,
You can lengthen the breath to a count of six on the inhale and to a count of six on the exhale.
And let go of the counting,
Just return to your natural breath.
And continue to breathe and allow yourself to go deeper into your meditation,
Into your practice,
Letting go of the senses and the noises,
Breathing on your own.
When I practice,
It can help me shift my state from a feeling of helplessness to perseverance and strength.
These are the things needed to bring forth courage,
To being a person of action and understanding what your role is in any scenario,
Beginning to understand the next step and the next step and the next step that you need to take.
With courage comes clarity,
But in order to develop that,
We must return to our center to stay grounded and to live our practice,
Even off the mat,
Over and over again.
Consistency makes it easier to do so.
So keep breathing,
Allow thoughts to come and go,
Let them pass.
Where can we find more courage,
Even in uncertain times?
Simply coming to sit in your meditation is a courageous step,
Getting quiet,
Being receptive.
We can see that we are courageous in many moments.
We just don't give ourselves credit for it because we think we're just doing what is necessary when in fact we are really stepping into our full expression of ourselves,
Our highest selves.
Keep simply breathing in and breathing out.
And as you see,
Follow your breath inward.
Notice what you feel.
Maybe you didn't feel in the beginning when you first sat down to meditate.
Notice any sensation,
Anything that might have changed for you,
Even in these few moments together.
Maybe you are seeing yourself differently,
The possibilities,
What you are capable of.
Most people would rather avoid examining too deeply what makes them tick.
And here you are,
Vulnerable and curious and curious and curious.
Vulnerable and curious and aware.
Allowing yourself to feel whatever arises.
In the Bhagavad Gita,
The self cannot be pierced or burned,
Made wet or dry.
It is everlasting and infinite,
Standing on the motionless foundations of eternity.
The self is beyond all thought,
Beyond all change.
Knowing this,
You should not grieve.
You should not grieve.
That's something that gives me more courage when I consider that there is an inner self that is permanent and untouchable.
The flame is always there.
You can dip in and out of that in meditation and gather your courage and strength from that centered place every time.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Open your eyes.
And maybe take a few moments to journal and write about anything that may have come up for your meditation.
And maybe even consider how you might take this courage off your mat and into your life,
Your day to day.
I hope to see you again.
