So good morning and welcome.
Let's take time to find our posture for our practice.
Finding ground.
Filling your seat.
And inviting the body to.
.
.
Drop 30.
Into this space.
Maybe tuning into the sounds.
You may have your windows open hot to start the day today.
Maybe there's more sounds of outside.
Maybe there's sounds within the space.
Maybe you can hear it.
You're breathing.
They turn your awareness inwards.
The intimate sound of your breath.
Your heart.
And fluid body.
Opening your mouth.
Do a different kind of breath practice.
Unusual but I've been working with it recently and really loving.
What it does so maybe before we go into that we just use your tips of your fingers to meet your jaw.
Just kind of hug your jaw.
Support your Dorothy's feel how that is.
The jaw kind of takes,
When I touch my jaw,
It takes me up towards my ears.
Feeding the tissue.
Of you,
Body.
Maybe there's a touch that feels kind.
And as you bring this kindness up towards your jaw,
I wonder if it impacts your breath.
Not thinking about it too much,
We don't have to get too cognitive,
But just a witness.
If you've got full permission to move.
As your body wishes.
What happens to this meeting hands to jaw?
Where does the movement naturally quietly take you to sleep.
And then feel into opening your mouth a little wider.
Still bringing this kindness up through your fingertips,
Through your palms.
Mmmmmmm.
As the jaw opens.
That you become aware of.
I often A lot of tension in my jaw.
So I kind of have to be with that for a while.
And then with the mouth opening,
There's these really big yawns release.
If you can tolerate it,
Keep the mouth open and just watch what happens to the breath If it feels uncomfortable,
Just let your mouth close.
It's interesting.
It's interesting how it is to be with your mouth wide open.
You might move backwards and forwards,
Mouth closed,
Mouth open.
For me,
I notice that the breath really settles into almost a no breath.
But it's not a,
It's not a lack of breath.
There's plenty of breath there,
But there's an absence of effort.
What I'm noticing as I come to this practice.
Is something instinctual.
With breath.
That's not about thinking about breath.
It's starting to be more.
That being breath.
Did I just give a few more minutes for us to play?
Your own way,
Opening your mouth and witnessing what happens.
And then moving towards the comfort.
The breath that feels most comforting for you.
It's interesting because it's the opposite of.
Pranayama.
Mouth breathing.
Has sort of collectively become something that's frowned upon.
And for good reason,
Breathing through the nose is.
Is really helpful.
For many,
Many reasons but.
.
.
As a practice,
What did you notice?
How about letting your mouth open wide?
And meeting your breath there.
How does your body feel now?
An invitation to bring your awareness now to your heart.
My hope is that there's a softness.
That's here from that breath.
It may not be,
But.
.
.
Maybe there is.
And if there is,
Can you bring that softness now into your heart space?
Your heart surrounded by lungs.
The softness of the lungs.
I almost like it.
The foam,
The bubbles on a bubble bath.
Our lungs.
So delicate.
Held in shape by the ribs,
The diaphragm.
And they connect to tissue.
A bit like a boat at sea,
A sail.
It's only full because of the rigging.
And the wind.
The softness of our lungs.
Is the strength of our survival.
The function of our lungs?
Perhaps.
That offers that primary need to breathe.
And yet they're so soft,
So delicate.
So fragile and passive.
They don't expand and contract on their own,
They respond.
To their environment.
It is our vulnerability.
That makes us strong.
This pillowy,
Soft lung.
Strength.
That surrounds the heart.
Do you feel your heart?
When you bring your awareness to your heart.
What is it that you notice?
You feel the ebb and flow.
There is a pulse.
There is a pulse to the body and there is a pulse to our awareness.
Practice comes into focus.
And falls back out of focus.
Its own pulse.
Our intention for this week is sympathetic joy.
We can start to cultivate that.
By bringing to mind The memories,
The images of people we love.
Pets and animals.
Nature.
When they are.
Filled with their own delight.
I can think of my dog at the beach.
My daughter with her friends.
My son.
Doing what he loves.
My mouth are with the giggles.
Finding your memories,
Your images.
Sharing in the mutual delight.
Each memory.
Each image.
Like throwing kindling onto the fire of your heart.
The joy that we experience by witnessing the joy in another.
Coming back to awareness of your breath.
The ground.
The sensation in your body.
Perhaps noticing the sounds.
In your surroundings.
We offer the fruits of our practice to ourselves.
To each other.
And to all beings.
Namaste.
Thank you for practicing.
