Take a seat,
A comfortable seat,
One where your spine can be tall,
Effortless.
Stack the shoulders over the hips,
The ears over the shoulders.
Place your eyes closed,
And let the eyes be still in the eye sockets.
Heavy the jaw,
Let it be slack,
Tongue heavy,
And start to notice this moment.
Notice the sounds in your environment,
Without needing to identify what you hear,
Just listen.
Feel the sensations on your skin,
The architecture of your body,
The bones and muscles in space.
And then notice your breath,
The natural breath occurring in and out of the nostrils.
Notice how the breath moves in the body,
How it swells the body.
Let this natural breath be your anchor for a moment as you survey the landscape of the mind.
So feel the breath,
And when the mind moves elsewhere,
To thoughts,
Ideas,
Distractions,
Notice it moving.
And then bring it back to the breath,
To feeling and sensing the breath.
And when the mind moves,
Draw it back with kindness,
Without judging.
And now we will direct the breath a little more deliberately.
Take your right peace fingers to the center of your forehead.
Rest your thumb on the outside of your right nostril and the ring finger on the outside of the left.
Take a breath in through both nostrils.
And on your exhale block the right nostril and exhale the left.
In left.
And then block the left and exhale the right.
And then in right.
And exhale left.
In left.
And out right.
In right.
And out left.
And continue at your pace.
A very fine breath,
Don't force the breath in or out.
Even when one nostril is perhaps congested,
A little more closed,
Be patient.
This is called Nadi Shodhana,
Alternate nostril breathing.
Balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
Each correlating to one nostril.
Balancing the nervous system and also the subtle energy.
The prana.
Creating a harmonious experience.
Do less and less.
Accept where your breath is.
And once again as the mind moves elsewhere,
Simply draw it back without judging.
Do less in the eyes,
Tongue,
Jaw.
Expressionless in the face will help the inward gaze.
When you exhale next through the left nostril,
Release the right hand down.
And feel a natural breath,
Effortless breath once again.
And as you breathe naturally,
Sense into the soles of your feet and just notice them in space.
Notice your ankles.
Your lower legs.
Your knees.
Your upper legs.
Your hips.
Your tailbone.
Your spine.
Your abdomen.
Your chest.
Fingertips.
Palms.
Wrists.
Forearms.
Elbows.
Upper arms.
Shoulders.
Throat.
Jaw.
Cheekbones.
Inner eyes.
Eyebrow center.
Forehead center.
Draw awareness back to the midbrain.
Do less.
Rest in the midbrain.
And feel this matter and the subtle energy of presence throughout your entire body.
Allow a steadiness.
A clarity.
Stay here as long as you'd like,
Or if you're ready to come out,
Feel a deliberate breath.
Bring your hands in prayer and bow your chin in service.
Namaste.
