Breath Of The Ocean

Hello everyone,

My name is Cain Embracey and this is my first guided meditation here on Insight Timer.

Today's practice will be using the calming nature of the ocean to guide the mind into a deeper state of tranquility and peace.

Or at least that's what I hope you feel.

In any case,

Get yourself nice and comfy,

Pack yourself up with some blankets,

Or sit on a pillow or cushion if you have it,

Or you can sit on a chair,

Or you may lie down.

In any case,

You're going to want to put yourself in a position where you are able to be alert and calm at the same time.

Not too stiff,

But not to the point where you're going to get drowsy.

Once you get there,

You may find your hands in a comfortable pose on the knees or to your side on your lap.

Take a gentle deep breath in.

Invite the eyes to close as you exhale slowly out through the mouth.

And do a brief check in with the body.

Is this body as repaired as it can be for this meditation?

Is it as relaxed as it can be?

Or are you able to let go of certain areas like the space between your eyebrows or your upper arms or your chest?

Is there some tightness in your inner thighs that you can release a bit?

Discover your body and see how you can help.

Now notice the quality of the mind.

Is it ready?

Or does the mind feel resistant or restless in terms of this meditation?

Whatever is there,

Acknowledge it,

Allow it to be as it is,

Not needing to change or judge anything at this moment in time.

And here comes the fun part.

With the eyes closed,

Imagine that you are sitting in front of a vast open beach.

The shore is uncrowded.

The wind is gentle.

The time of day depends completely upon you,

But it is an ocean that makes your heart feel open and free just by gazing and feeling a nice warm breath of its air brushing against your skin.

And as you look down at the white sand that is beneath you,

You notice that in front of you the waves come into the ocean,

Rise all the way up,

Almost coming to your feet or to your legs,

Maybe even touching you as it rises,

Full tide,

Pauses for a moment,

Recedes slowly back into the ocean and pauses for a moment down there,

And then the cycle begins again.

And just so we can sync our breathing to these ocean waves,

I'd like you to take a very slow,

Gentle deep breath in through the nose,

And as you do so,

See that the waves come up as close to you as you can,

And at the top of said inhale,

It pauses for a moment,

Just as your inhale pauses,

And as you exhale,

You watch the water slowly sink back into the ocean,

And then pauses with your paused exhale as well as the tide itself.

Try one more time,

Another deep breath in.

Watch the nature of the water.

And try a couple more breaths like this,

And notice that it is neither the ocean controlling your breath or your breath controlling this ocean,

But that you are both reflective of each other.

Now you can allow the breath to come back to its natural rhythm,

Natural state,

Without you needing to alter it or make it deeper or bigger or shallower than it is.

As you watch the body breathe itself in and out,

You also gently and effortlessly watch this tide rise and fall back into submission,

And if you have trouble visualizing this,

Remember to invite the sound of the ocean as well,

That nice seafoam white noise.

Maybe you hear pelicans in the distance.

It's your imagination.

Burn wild with it.

You may notice that your breath is starting to take on a nice flow state.

Maybe it's a little more easeful,

Maybe it's not as hard to breathe in and out as it once was before.

And if your breath still feels shallow or still having trouble breathing or letting go of control of the breath,

Just notice that,

Treat that compassionately,

And guide the attention back to this next inhale,

This next exhale.

Another tip that may help you is if you invite the ujjayi breath or ocean breath,

It's known in yoga,

In which you breathe still slowly and still gently,

But make it audible like an ocean wave crashing on the shore.

Just play around and see what feels good to you.

And again,

Keep in mind that there's nothing to get right or wrong in this meditation.

Just see if you can switch or allow yourself to move from a place of doing and worrying or getting things done to a state of being with the practice,

Being with this visualization.

The world,

Rome,

And all the rest can wait once you come out.

But again,

Taking this breath and the next for a few more moments.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let your breath flow.

Now,

Still in this visualization,

I'd like you to lift your gaze and gaze out at this vast ocean once more.

And in an indescribable way,

You sense that you are being called from the ocean.

And so,

You get up in this beach setting and you begin to walk towards the ocean with confidence and gratitude,

Knowing that the ocean has only loving energy out there for you.

And as you walk into the water,

First feet,

And then knee deep,

And then thigh deep,

Hip deep,

And so on.

Right before your head goes completely under,

You begin to notice that you can breathe under this water.

And so,

Again with confidence and gratitude,

You begin to swim where this nature is calling you.

And as you swim out,

You feel that there is a current forcing you forward,

Guiding you to this place.

So,

You're able to travel about twice as fast as you normally go underwater.

And as you do so,

The water feels cool,

Rejuvenating,

And refreshing against your skin,

Taking away all ailments,

Problems,

Emotional,

Physical,

Or spiritual.

And as you look down,

You notice that there is a bald spot of sand and kelp that you can rest down on.

And so,

You sit there,

Making yourself nice and nestled on the ocean floor.

And as you look up,

You notice that there is not really that much depth to where you are.

It's not so shallow that you can see the shore,

But you're in a nice happy medium spot.

And so,

As you sit here,

You decide to look straight ahead and again,

Focus on the breath as it moves in and out of you with ease and non-effort.

And as you breathe in,

It might help if you note in,

And as you breathe out,

Note out.

And if at any point you notice that there is a thought that is distracting you or some sensation or longing,

Desire,

Whatever it may be,

Allow in front of you for some sea creature to pass by your vision,

Coming into focus in the middle of your vision and then passing right beside you and carrying on.

It can be many creatures for many different thoughts,

Or it could be a single creature for a single thought.

I mean,

For all different thoughts.

I quite like octopi because I think that they're fun.

But as long as there are no thoughts,

There is simply clear,

Blue,

Beautiful water.

And you can continue to breathe in and out this loving and nurturing water that flows in and out of you as naturally and effortlessly as air does.

Here,

There is nothing to fear.

There is nothing to get done.

And there's no one to be or pretend to be.

There is simply you,

This ocean floor,

And this breath.

As your mind wandered,

If so,

What does it look like?

As it passes in front of your vision and carries on.

Then with your calmness and clarity,

Return back to this breath.

As you breathe in and out,

Breathe out.

As you breathe out,

Breathe in.

As you breathe out,

Breathe out.

As your mind wandered,

If so,

What does it look like?

As it comes into focus and carries on.

When you have seen it pass,

Return back to the breath.

As you breathe in and out,

Breathe out.

As you breathe out,

Breathe out.

In an indescribable way,

You notice that something is calling to you once again.

And so you tap within yourself,

And in your heart,

You realize that is the ocean guiding you once again,

But this time up back to the shore.

So you get up in this lovely spot and begin to swim and wade through the water.

And just as before,

You feel the ocean guiding you through its current at greater speed in a loving and kind way back to your destination.

And before no time,

You feel your feet touch the shore and just the tip of your head poke out of the water,

Exposed back to the air.

And so you walk again out of the shore.

First,

Your head coming up,

Then your shoulders,

Chest.

And as it gets down to your hips,

You begin to feel no longer weightless.

You feel the heaviness of your body once again in a kind and familiar way.

And eventually you are completely out of the ocean and back on land.

And so you stop,

Turn to face the ocean again that has been so kind and benevolent to you.

And with great respect,

You bring your hands together either in real life or in this visualization and bow towards this great teacher and friend.

Know that this ocean lies within you at any given point of the day,

Week,

Month,

Year,

That you can return here at any given time.

When you are ready to come out of the meditation,

You may gently open your eyes.

Though I ask that before you do,

Once opening them,

You try to discover what has changed within you,

What has changed in your vision,

In this body,

In the mind itself,

And without judging or trying to change whatever comes up,

Simply notice and carry on with your day.

So on your own time,

You may open your eyes.

Thank you all so very much.

Thank you all so very much for joining me in this meditation practice.

It means the world that you took the time,

Not only for me,

But for yourself to sit and guide yourself into a deeper state of calm,

Tranquility,

And ease.

Namaste.

Hope to see you soon.

Bye bye.