Welcome,
Dear friends.
I am glad you're here.
A few years back,
My dear friend Claudia gifted me the Book of Awakening by Mark Nipple.
There is a passage in that book that hit home so much that I have shared it with clients in my yoga classes ever since.
And today,
I want to bring it to you in my own words,
Inspired by Mark Nepo.
There is an ancient story from China about the way monkeys were trapped.
A coconut was hollowed out with an opening just large enough for a monkey's open hand.
Rice was placed inside and left in the monkey's pouch.
The monkey will smell the rice,
Reach in and grab it.
But the moment it closed its fist around the rise,
Its hand could no longer fit back through the opening.
The trap was never the coconut.
Trap was the grip.
And the monkeys that were caught were the ones who simply would not let go.
And as long as they held on.
They were prisoners of their own making.
Mark Nepo invites us to ask ourselves.
What is the rise we're holding on to?
But are we gripping so tightly that our hand can no longer move freely?
What are we refusing to release?
Not because we have to hold it,
But because in our hunger,
We believe there is nothing else.
So today,
This meditation is an invitation to open your hands.
Just a little bit.
Not to lose everything,
But to discover that when you loosen your grip,
Life has room to reach back.
So before we begin,
I invite you to find a position that feels comfortable and supported.
You can lie on your back.
Or sit with your spine gently upright.
Just find whatever allows your body to settle.
When you're ready.
Let your hands rest in your lap.
Palms facing up.
Fingers soft and open.
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
Find a long breath out through the mouth.
Again,
Inhale.
And exhale.
Let go even more.
One last time,
Inhale.
And exhale.
Wonderful.
You're here.
Continue to breathe in and out the nose.
Without changing the breath,
Without manipulating it.
If it feels good for you,
You may close the eyes.
Or soften the gaze.
And now gently,
Without judgment.
Ask yourself.
What is my rise right now?
Be a relationship.
A role you've outgrown.
A version of yourself you're still trying to be.
Maybe a fear that you've been carrying for so long,
It feels like a part of you.
They need to control something.
Know that you don't have to solve this right now.
You don't even need to release it yet.
Just name it.
To yourself.
What have I been gripping?
And sit with that for a moment.
Breathing now with both hands into your lap.
Palms facing up and fingers open.
Take a slow breathing,
And as you inhale,
Curl your fingers inward,
Making a fist.
Tighten,
Tighten.
Feel the grip.
Feel the effort of holding.
And as you exhale,
Slowly open your hands.
Fingers long.
Palms open.
Feel what it's like to release.
And again,
Inhale,
Close the fist.
Feel what you've been holding.
Hold it a little longer now.
Tighten,
Tighten.
And exhale.
Open your hands.
Let them go.
And now one last time.
Inhale and grip.
Hold longer now.
Tight,
Tight,
Tight.
And now exhale.
Release.
Notice the difference between those two states.
The effort of one.
And the spaciousness of the other.
You just did something with your body that your mind has been afraid to do.
Now keep your hands rest open now with your palms facing up.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
Moving naturally.
Without effort.
Breath flowing in.
And now.
Your body breathing on its own.
Something now bring your awareness to your face.
And with your next exhalation,
Release all tension held in your face.
Releasing the tiny muscles around the eyes.
Allowing the eyeballs to rest back in their sockets.
Releasing the tiny muscles around the mouth.
Hong Kong.
Resting in the mouth.
Lower jaw gently opening.
Softening.
Move your attention to your shoulders.
Chest.
Belly.
Anywhere you feel tightness.
Imagine.
Is another fist.
And with your next exhale.
Soften a little bit more.
You don't have to release everything today.
Just a little.
Enough to remember.
That you are not what you are carrying.
You are what remains when you set it down.
Breathing.
And breathe out.
And let this moment.
Just as it is.
Now I invite you to begin with a silent repetition of a mantra.
A vibration that carries meaning beyond words.
Allow the mantra to be repeated with effortless ease.
Without controlling it.
When you're ready.
Begin with a repetition of sets.
Numb.
Sat.
Nam.
Sat means truth.
Nam means identity or name.
And together,
Sat nam means truth is my identity.
This is who I am.
Not who I am when I'm holding everything together.
Or when I'm gripping the rise.
But who I am.
Underneath all of that.
My truest,
Most essential self.
I now will use the breath as our guide.
Set.
On the inhale.
Num.
On the exhale.
Continue.
Inhale,
Set.
Exhale,
Numb.
Gently,
Without effort.
Just allow the mantra ride the breath.
Set.
If thoughts come,
That's okay.
Just notice them and return softly to the mantra.
Sat.
Set.
No.
Set.
So.
Stay here for a few more breath cycles.
Let the mantra do its work.
I'll leave you on your own for a few moments.
Our mind at times.
Keeping your eyes closed.
You may stop the repetition of the mantra.
And give yourself a few moments here,
Resting in existence.
Resting in awareness.
Resting in peace.
Now I invite you to place one hand on your heart.
And silently repeat after me.
I don't have to hold everything.
I am supportive.
I am enough.
Exactly as I am right now.
Before you open your eyes,
Remember that this moment happen.
That you gave it to yourself.
And whenever the grip tightens again,
And it will.
Because we're human.
You can return here.
To your breath.
To Sat Naam.
And to the truth of who you are underneath everything you've been carrying.
And slowly begin to deepen your breath.
Invite movement back to your body.
And when you're ready.
Gently.
Open your eyes.
Thank you for being here.
