Transcription
Let's do a meditation together on the breath. I'm wondering whether it would be helpful for me to guide it a little bit, or just to keep schtum?
Yogis: Guide it.
Rob: So let's do that.
[00:16, guided meditation begins]
If you want to establish yourself in a posture that feels comfortable. There can be some relaxation but also some uprightness. Maybe taking a moment to feel those qualities expressed in the posture, qualities of uprightness, wakefulness, alertness, expressed through the uprightness of the posture, without being rigid or tense. But at the same time, the posture expressing softness, openness, relaxation.
Again, if you want to scan down the body, taking a few moments to do so, and feeling any areas of tension. Just seeing if it's possible to relax. Just tuning in, noticing, feeling, and relaxing. Again, sensing the sensations of contact with the floor, on the feet, on the legs. How does that feel right now? Simple sensations. Or of the backside on the cushion, on the bench, on the chair. Very simple.
Taking a moment to connect with this perspective of practice as kindness. This is actually all that practice could ever be anyway. It's a gift of kindness to ourselves, of care. And through that, a gift also of kindness to the world. Dwelling in that orientation as much as you can.
When you're ready, is it possible to feel the whole body alive? The whole body and the experience of the whole body, the totality of the whole body, that space of sensation, of vibration, of feeling. So actually expanding the awareness so that it's even a little bit bigger than the physical body. The awareness like a balloon or a bubble, expanded over the whole space. Really stretching out the mindfulness, the presence. How does that space feel? What's the texture, the vibration, the energy of that whole space? Filling that space with awareness, bright presence. How does it feel?
So the awareness will naturally shrink, will keep shrinking. Just keep re-expanding it, blowing it out again, filling up this balloon, this bubble, filling it up with presence, with alive awareness, bright, luminous sensitivity.
Just within that space of awareness, within that field of vibration, of texture, noticing how it feels in the whole space for the breath to come and go, how that ripples, vibrates in the whole space. Just noticing that, feeling that. Keeping this more global awareness, this bubble or balloon of presence, of sensitivity, you may want to experiment with allowing, gently allowing the breath to become longer and slower. Smooth, long, comfortable breath, filling the body with the energy of the breath. You don't need to move a lot of air. How does the whole space feel with the breath coming in and out?
Is it possible to open the body with this long breath, to let the long breath open up the body, the sense of the body? Really letting the brightness, the aliveness of mindfulness fill that whole space, this whole bubble/balloon. How does the breath feel within that, in that? Some people notice the whole body expanding, the sense of the body expanding with the in-breath, and then kind of contracting with the out-breath. How does that feel? Keeping the awareness spread over the whole space and tuning into that feeling if you can, if it's helpful.
Or some people notice when the breath comes in there's a feeling of the whole body, the whole space, feeling energized a little bit with the in-breath, very naturally. And with the out-breath, a very natural feeling of relaxation, of letting go. Perhaps feeling that in the whole space.
Simply not a problem when the mind wanders. Just not a problem. Just noticing it, reconnecting with the body, and re-stretching out this area of attention, of sensitivity, of mindfulness, to encompass the whole body space. With this longer breath, opening the body to the breath, opening up the body with the breath and to the breath. And opening up the awareness to the body.
So whatever's helpful for you to tune into -- the expansion, the contraction; the energizing and relaxing of the whole space, the whole body. But getting the whole space involved, the legs, the whole space. Whatever's helpful for you to tune into, that you notice.
Sensitive to the texture, the vibration, the feeling, the energy of that whole bubble, that whole area that we call the body, and how the breath makes that feel right now.
Is it possible, for the last few minutes of the sitting, to let yourself play a little bit with the breath, with the way you feel or imagine or conceive of the breath and how you breathe? So what feels best right now? What feels the most nourishing to the body? How does the body want to breathe right now? What feels good? Feel good to open up the body, to energize it with the long breath? Or to calm the body with the breath? Find a way of breathing that's soothing to the body. So not just the default way of breathing, but what really feels right, nourishing to the body sense right now. Let yourself breathe that way. Let yourself play. Keeping this stretched awareness over the space, expanded.
Sensitive, alive to the whole field of energy, vibration, feeling and texture that is the body.
[30:20, guided meditation ends]
