Tara Brach - Meditation: Relaxing into the Flow (2015-07-01)

Episode Date: July 3, 2015

Meditation: Relaxing into the Flow (2015-07-01)

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist, and author. As you become still, let the attention go to the area of the heart. And we'll begin our meditation with a simple reflection on our intention. What is your intention for this particular meditation and for this talk and for just being here. What is it that brings you? As you listen inwardly, sense what feels motive deep and sincere.

What is it that really matters to you in your life? What is your heart longing for? And as you begin to sense that quality of sincerity, just let it fill you, whether it's the longing for being more present, maybe that's what brings you, for opening your heart, for finding more peace,

being more connected with others, whatever it is, just let yourself feel that in your heart. And then we'll sense our, as we chant together, that collective longing, really to wake up, to be all that we are and to live from that love, and that awareness.

We'll chant the mantra, Om, if you'd like to bring your palms together as a way of really gathering the attention at the heart, please do so. We'll chant three times and begin by inhaling deeply. Self be aware of the sitting posture, making whatever slight adjustments

so that your posture allows you to be as alert as possible. That means sitting upright, sitting tall, but not tense. There's the other quality of presence. It's alert and relaxed. See if you can relax, relaxing. Whatever part of your body you notice is particularly tense or tight,

just softening a little. Let the awareness scan down the body to see how fully we can feel a quality of presence, feeling from the inside out, from inside the body, the sensations of aliveness. You might soften the eyes and let the brow be smooth and just feel the flickering and sensations and aliveness in the region of the eyes. Maybe have a slight smile at the mouth, and then relaxing down to the root of the tongue. The tongue just rests in an easy way, perhaps the top of the tongue, touching the roof of the mouth, feeling the sensations of the inside of the mouth, tongues, teeth, tongue, and also the lips. You might sense the throat

filling the neck and be aware of the sensations in the neck area. that the shoulders relax, perhaps a little back and down. And see if you can bring your awareness inside the shoulders, so you're feeling them again from the inside out, letting whatever sensations are there kind of float in awareness. Let the hands rest comfortably, easily, so that if you soften the hands and feel them from the inside out,

you can notice the aliveness there. Softening and feeling from the inside out, the fingers, the palms, the back of the palms, inside the palms, sense an openness at the chest. And again, from the inside out, feeling the heart area, what are the sensations of aliveness in the heart area right now? Maybe there's a squeezing or a pressure, tightness, or maybe there's a flow, tingling, vibrating. What's there?

See, if you can loosen down the abdominal area so that this next breath is received in a softening belly. And then this one, and again, placing the awareness fully inside the belly. and see how much aliveness and sensation you can experience. Very receptive, very present. Continuing to scan down, letting the awareness fill the whole pelvic region

and with a very receptive presence. Again, noticing the play of aliveness and sensation, aware of the contact points where your hands, perhaps, touch each other or your legs, sensations of warmth or pressure, your bottom contacts the chair or cushion, where your feet, contact the floor,

feeling you can place the awareness inside the feet, receiving the dance of sensation that's there. And expanding the field of attention now so that you can experience this whole play of sensation, this whole body simultaneously. Letting everything happen now. Let everything happen to you. This whole vivid, mysterious dance of aliveness,

living through you. You notice tension or resistance. Just bring the awareness there and sense how it's possible that it dissolves with attention. This whole river of sensation, ever-changing. heat or cool tingling vibrating perhaps pleasant or unpleasant tight or fluid not opposing anything or resisting anything letting everything happen including the dance of sound the symphony that appears and disappears

letting the sounds just wash through you sensing sound sensation is part of this changing river of experience. You might discover in the midst of this changing experience the movement of the breath. The in-flow and outflow, very receptive, light resting with the breath. At some point you'll notice your attention's been distracted. And instead of this living river of experience,

you're in a more static world of thought, a kind of virtual world. When that happens, the practice is simply to notice that and re-relax back. Let go again into this changing universe of sound and sensation, the gentle rhythmic movement of the breath. You can begin fresh in any moment by waking up from thoughts and relaxing back right here, relaxing with this changing flow of sound, sensation, surrendering into the flow. Be ground, be crumbled so wildflowers will come up where you are.

You've been stony for too many years. Try something different. Surrender. for these last few moments, letting go into the flow moment to moment.