Hello everybody!
Let's begin today's practice with a short internalization.
Chanting Om three times followed by three kinds of Shanti.
If you are not very comfortable with chanting Om,
Just observe your breath for a while.
Please come into a comfortable sitting position of your choice.
Hands are resting on the knees or thighs with the palms facing up.
Tip of the index finger and thumb touching each other.
Gently close your eyes.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Notice your body from within.
Notice your breath.
Now bring your attention at the space between two eyebrows.
Keeping the focus there,
Let us chant mantra Om three times followed by three kinds of Shanti together.
Then heal deeply for Om chanting.
Om Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Open your eyes.
Namaste.
Today is our 15th day of this practice and we are building up towards the at least 20 minutes of sitting meditation by the end of this month.
We are somewhere in the middle now and about this technique of meditation,
The stillness practice.
In the beginning we bring stillness to the body which eventually brings stillness or some control,
Some regulation over our senses.
Then observing the senses,
Creating some distance between the sensory system,
Sensory inputs and our attention.
In yogic terminology this is called pratyahara or turning the senses inwards.
So till now we are here.
In today's practice also we are going to include these two elements,
Still making the body still with having the comfort in the body and not having any discomfort in the body and then moving towards observing the sensory inputs,
Observing the different senses.
So with this let us begin.
Find a comfortable sitting position for yourself where you will be without much of the movement for next 12 minutes or so,
Preparing for the practice.
If you need to you can grab a cushion or take support of the wall.
You can also be seated on the chair or couch.
Wherever you are,
In whichever position you choose to be,
Make sure your body is comfortable there,
Your spine is upright,
Head and neck in line to the spine.
Once you have found the still comfortable sitting position for yourself,
Take a deep breath here.
Upon exhalation gently close your eyes.
Keeping the eyes closed,
Notice your body from within.
See that body is comfortable,
Your legs,
Torso,
Arms,
Head and neck,
Each body part is comfortable,
No discomfort whatsoever.
See whole body is relaxed,
Hands are resting on the knees or thighs,
With the palms facing up,
Shoulders are relaxed,
Pushed away from the neck,
Face muscles are relaxed,
As if you are about to smile.
Now,
We are going to practice kaya's thiriyam,
Stillness practice.
If you need to make any adjustments to your body,
Make them now,
Releasing any discomfort you are experiencing.
During the practice it is highly important that your body remains still and stable as well as comfortable.
Now,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Create a mental image of your surroundings.
See the place,
Visualize the place where you are seated right now.
Picture your body from outside,
As if you are looking at your body.
Body is seated,
Body is in sitting position,
It looks like a statue.
Your body is completely still and steady,
Like a statue.
This statue looks exactly like you,
Looking at this statue of your body from outside.
See this statue from the front,
From the right side,
From the left,
From the back.
Make a full 360 degree spin around your body,
Seeing it from all the sides,
A completely still and steady posture.
Now,
Let go of this visualization,
Let go of this image.
Come back to your body from within,
Observe your body,
Observe the posture of your body from within.
Now become aware of touch sensation,
Be aware of the skin.
Notice the contact between your legs and your hips to the surface beneath it.
Be aware of the contact points between your body and the surface beneath it.
Notice the contact between your hands and your legs.
Notice back of your hands touching your legs.
Notice your arms,
Shift your focus on the contact between the upper and the lower lip.
Now,
Shift your focus on the sounds,
Be aware of all the different sounds present here.
Not getting struck with any one particular sound,
Notice all the different sounds which are reaching to your ears.
Observe one sound,
Stay with it,
Then move your focus to the next sound.
Stay with the next sound and then move to the next sound.
Like this,
Keep on observing all the different sounds which are reaching to your ears.
Hold focus,
Hold attention on the sounds.
Now,
Let go the sound awareness.
Notice the screen in front of the closed eyes.
Just be aware of this limitless darkness in front of the closed eyes.
Now,
Shift your focus on the smell.
Notice if there is any particular smell present in your surroundings.
Now,
Lend to the awareness of smell,
Stay with your breath.
Notice the flow of breath in this still,
Steady body.
Breath is coming in through the nostrils,
Going to the lungs and then from the lungs back to the nostrils and through the nostrils it flows out.
Follow the path of breath in this still,
Steady body.
We are not controlling or regulating the breath,
Just witnessing the flow of breath.
The body is still steady.
The only movement which is happening in this still and steady body is that of breath,
Of the heart-wheat,
Flow of blood.
Notice all these subtle movements which are happening in this still steady body.
Now,
Be aware of the fact that you are the pure awareness.
You are the witness to the stillness of the body.
You are the witness the subtle movements which are taking place in this body.
Experience yourself as the pure life,
Pure awareness,
Beingness,
Presence in this still steady body.
Not only you are the witness to the body,
You are also the witness to the mind,
To the thoughts and emotions.
For the time being,
Let go of all the efforts.
Not trying anything.
Surrender all the efforts to now,
To presence.
No past,
No future,
The eternal presence,
A moment to moment surrender.
Come back to your breath.
Start to regulate your breath.
Making the breath a little longer and deeper.
Come back to your body.
Letting go of deep breaths.
Come back to your surroundings.
Externalize your awareness.
Remember the place where you are seated.
Connect with your surroundings again.
Notice the sounds,
Temperature,
Smell here.
Now bring your focus at the heart center,
Middle of the chest,
Lower part of the sternum.
Visualize vast limitless sky there.
Keeping the awareness,
Keeping this visualization.
Let us chant a mantra.
I will chant first and then we will chant it together.
Followed by chanting Om one time and three kinds of shanti.
If you are not comfortable with chanting,
Continue to observe the limitless sky of your heart.
Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu together loka samastha sukhino bhavantu shanti shanti shanti gently move your fingers bring your palms together rub them to each other generating the warmth between the palms place this warmth over your closed eyes observing the warmth through eyelids not touching the eyelids slowly bring your hands down opening your eyes between the palms namaste sit back for a while let the effects let the experience of the practice sink in if you have any question regarding the practice any discomfort you have felt please put that in the comment section if you feel comfortable do share your experience with us so this has been our 16th day 16th practice and today i think we practiced almost for 15 to 18 minutes take care have a wonderful time ahead namaste
