Finding Space & Ease With Kindness - A Poem By Naomi Shihab Nye

Coming into your rest,

Coming into your stillness,

We can take a few extra deep inhales and exhales to help with that sense of settling.

Feeling,

Sensing,

Imagining that the lungs are in the belly and we breathe in and the belly rises and the belly lungs fill with air.

You can sigh it out.

Breathing in,

The belly full and exhale,

Sigh it out.

One more big belly breath in and then exhale,

Sigh it out.

Can the belly breath stay in the belly?

Perhaps now just letting the breath find its own way.

That said,

If you find it helpful to take those extra deep breaths and sigh it out for some more time,

Feel really free to do that.

Really helps with the letting go.

Feeling very free.

Settling with our awareness into the body.

It's best we can stepping out of the mind and into the body.

We can play with the breath in this imaginative way.

Breathing in,

Bringing our awareness to our feet,

Breathing out,

Letting the feet relax.

As we breathe in,

Could we feel,

Sense,

Imagine,

Visualize that we could breathe into the feet and exhale,

Let the feet relax.

Feeling sensing,

Imagining that we could breathe into the cells of the feet and feel the cells of the feet expand with the in-breath and feel the cells relax with the out-breath.

Breathing into the legs,

Breathing out,

Let the legs relax.

This sense that we can breathe into the legs,

Breathe into the cells of the legs and feel the cells expand,

Feel the cells breathe in.

And then breathe out,

Let the cells relax.

This sense of feeling the cells soften and relax with the out-breath.

Breathing into the belly,

Feel the belly expand with the in-breath.

Breathe out,

Let the belly relax,

Let the belly take up a little more space.

The belly could spread out a little.

Imagine that you cut the waistband of your trousers and let the belly take up as much space as it would like.

As you breathe in,

Can you feel,

Sense,

Imagine that the cells of the belly could breathe in and expand.

And with the out-breath,

The cells of the belly can soften and relax.

Breathing into the lower back,

Feel the lower back expand.

Exhale,

Feel the lower back relax and soften like water finding its way to rest into the ground.

As if you could breathe into the cells of the lower back and exhale,

Let the cells relax.

Breathing into the upper back,

The shoulder blades and exhale,

Feel the upper back soften and relax.

As if you could breathe into the cells of the upper back and feel the cells expand.

And feel the cells of the upper back relax as you breathe out.

Breathing into the chest,

Perhaps that you could feel into the possibility of breathing in through the chest as if the skin were porous for breath.

And you could breathe in and feel the cells of the chest breathe in,

Take in oxygen and expand.

And then with the out-breath,

The chest relaxes.

Breathing in,

Feeling into the skin of the chest and feeling that the skin can breathe in,

The cells of the skin at the chest can breathe in.

And with the out-breath,

The skin at the chest can soften and relax.

Breathing in,

Feeling into the flesh that covers the bones of the chest and feeling that you can breathe into the cells of the flesh of the chest.

Feel that expansion and then exhale,

Feel that softening.

Feel that you could breathe in to the breast bone and feel into the cells that make up the breast bone and breathe in and expand.

Breathe out,

Let the breast bone soften.

Feel into the heart.

As you breathe in,

Feel that you can breathe into the heart and breathe out,

Relax.

Feel that you could breathe into the cells of the heart and breathe out,

Feel the cells of the heart relax.

Feeling into the center of the chest and the seat of emotions.

Feel that you can breathe into that area at the center of the chest,

Breathe in space and breathe out,

Let go.

Breathing in to that space at the center of the chest and breathe out,

Let go.

Breathing in,

Bringing our awareness now to the shoulders and breathing out,

Let the shoulders relax,

Let the shoulders melt.

Breathing in as if we could breathe into the cells of the shoulders and breathe out,

Can the shoulders like water find their way to rest towards the ground a little more.

Breathing into the arms and breathe out,

Let the arms relax.

Breathing in as if we could breathe into the cells of the arms and feel the cells expand with the in-breath and with the out-breath let the arms relax.

Breathing in,

Bringing our awareness to the hands and the fingers and thumbs and with the out-breath let the hands,

Fingers and thumbs soften and relax as if you could breathe into the cells that make up the hands,

Fingers and thumbs and exhale,

Relax.

Breathing into the neck and breathing out,

Let the weight of the head go so the neck can relax and release.

As if you could breathe into the cells of the neck,

The bone,

The muscles,

The skin and then exhale,

Let the neck soften,

The throat soften.

Breathing into the jaw,

Breathe out,

Let the bottom jaw fall away from the top jaw,

Let there be space inside the mouth,

Inside the very back of the mouth where the mouth starts to become the throat,

Softening.

Let the tongue relax,

Allow the lips to fall away from each other.

Breathing into,

Feeling into the skin of the lower half of the face,

Breathing out,

Let the skin of the lower half of the face soften like water towards the ground.

Breathing into the eyes,

Breathe out,

Let the eyes rest,

Breathing into the forehead,

Breathe out,

Let the forehead relax,

Breathing into the temples and breathe out,

Let the temples relax.

Feeling into the face,

Feeling into the cells of the skin of the face,

Feeling that as you breathe in you can breathe into the skin,

Into the cells of the face and breathe out,

The skin maybe can droop a little more,

The muscles could start to soften.

Breathing into the inside of the head and breathing out,

Give the weight of the head to gravity,

Feeling that you could breathe into the brain,

Breathe out,

Let the brain relax.

Feeling sensing,

Imagining that you could feel into the cells of the brain expand with the in-breath and the cells of the brain soften with the exhale.

Feeling that you could breathe into the mind,

Breathe some more space around the thoughts,

Breathe out,

Let the mind relax.

Feeling into the whole body lying here on the ground,

Feeling into the sense that we can feel the cells of the body breathe in and expand and feel the cells of the body soften and relax.

Feeling sensing,

Imagining,

Visualising the cells breathe in,

The cells breathe out.

This is a poem called Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Before you know what kindness really is,

You must lose things,

Feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

What you counted and carefully saved,

All this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride,

Thinking the bus will never stop,

The passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out of the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,

You must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road.

You must see how this could be you,

How he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

You must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow,

You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth.

It is only kindness that makes sense anymore then.

Only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out in the day to gaze at bread.

Only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say,

It is you I have been looking for and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

You must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow,

You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth.

Again it is only kindness that makes sense anymore.