Being comfortable, ground. Give yourself a slow, deep, breath. Relaxing, the exhale naturally releases. Follow another breath into the lungs and through the lungs into the rest of the body. Feel the belly expand and gently contract. Feel the pelvis open to receive each breath. Notice expansion down your legs and out along your arms as well.
Breathing, easily and effortlessly, just follow it with your attention. On this breath keep your attention in your body as the exhale moves outward. Notice that the energy of the breath, the life force, chi, ki, prana, continues to expand, outwards from the lungs. Drop into a sense of receptivity, of the body opening to receive each breath.
Notice where there is spaciousness, and where any place is heavy, contracted, resistant. As the lungs expand is there tension anywhere in them, or around them. Gently allow the breath to expand into the tension. Gently bring the breath into all of your being. Never force, but offer persitantly.
Focus your awareness with gentle curiosity on a specific place that is resisting the breath, and allow yourself to feel the edge of any emotions that arise there. Is there fear, sadness, anger? Notice if it pushes you away, if there is a hesitancy to even being aware of this place in yourself? Whatever is there, whatever arises, keep breathing easily and deeply, bathing your whole body, including this place, in life force.
Let each breath be a soothing caress, allowing whatever is present to have space to be. Intend that any tension relaxes, is carried away on the next out-breath, or surfaces to the skin and expands outwards from the body. Let it dissipate easily and effortlessly. There is nothing to do, just awareness and gentle compassion.
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Being comfortable, ground. Breathing, easily and effortlessly, Notice where there is spaciousness, Feeling spaciousness, Notice any judgments that are making this place, Let each breath be a soothing caress, Releasing and opening, When you feel complete for now, |
Notice any judgements that are making this place, the emotional feelings, or yourself wrong in any way. Let these go into an out breath, or ground them into the earth.
Noticing the urges from the mind to get busy in various ways. Serving or not-serving these urges are all a response to the discomfort and fear, a subtle part of the resistance.
Breathing seems an easy thing. We all do it continually, waking or sleeping. We also limit our breath, limit our awareness of our breath. This protects places that we are holding anxiety, anger, sadness or judgement. Bringing our breath to them, we bring our attention, creating space for whatever is held to surface, expand and finally release. We resist breathing fully because we resist waking things up.
Some things will only show up under specific circumstances. Topical fears may be potential until a situation triggers them. Breathing into them and allowing your body to feel the fear, release it like a static charge. If you like, watching the pictures as they surface you can find out what was behind/underlying a limitation. Notice what activities are used to avoid it. This is not necessary, but it can be surprising and empowering to realize the usually unseen dynamics.
Breathing with awareness; learning that fear is just a sensation in the body allows the body to relax and release it. Gently bringing breath into places that it has been kept out of by tension, is a great way to clear what we are holding. You will never loose something that you really need, that truly serves you. Releasing and opening is relaxing into your Self where you will the find spaciousness and life force, comfort and joy of your Being.
(© 11/2015)
