Tara Brach - Meditation - Relaxing Open into Presence (2015-06-03)

Episode Date: June 6, 2015

Meditation - Relaxing Open into Presence (2015-06-03) - "...re-relaxing... sensing in your body what might let go a little bit more right now."

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist, and author. Whether you're new to this or have practiced a lot, just to begin by closing your eyes and feeling how you're sitting from the inside out, sense your sitting posture and make whatever subtle adjustments allow you to be feeling upright, you're sitting tall. Sometimes it helps to not really lean back against the chair, but sit forward on the chair a bit, so you're sitting upright, feet flat on the ground.

This helps to support a quality of being alert, and then relaxed. See if you can relax whatever might be habitually tense or tight, whatever wants to let go a little bit right now. You might let the attention gently come to the heart area and begin your meditation with a simple reflection on intention just to sense your intention for practice, your intention for being here right this moment.

Really asking yourself what most matters. See if you can ask yourself this, what your heart's longing is and really listen inwardly for what feels most sincere to you. Bringing the awareness to this whole field of bodily sensations, just scan down the body. You might feel the eyes and let them be very soft, let the brow be smooth so that region of the face can relax. the sensations of the scalp and the skull. You might feel the sensations of the breath as it flows in and out of the nostrils.

The sensations of the tongue, right down to the root of the tongue. See if you can relax the root of the tongue. Bring the awareness inside the shoulders. You might imagine a dissolving that's possible there. of ice to water sensation, a melting, and then water to vapor, loosening, softening, letting the hands rest in a very easy way, an effortless way, softening the hands, feeling the awareness inside the hands. So you can feel the sensations from the inside out, let there be an openness to the chest.

and see if you can feel the heart, the sensations in the heart area, again from the inside out, scanning down, relaxing the stomach, so that you can let this next breath be received in a softening belly. Try that, this breath, and now this breath, and again, letting the awareness fill the bellies, you can feel the life that's there from the inside out, continuing to just scan down, filling the whole pelvic area with awareness. Very receptive, soft attention. It's receiving the life that's there, the full aliveness.

Aware of the places of pressure and contact, or your hands contact, your legs or knees, or touch each other, places of warmth and pressure, where you're sitting, or the sit bones contact your cushion or the chair, or your feet, contact the floor, feel the feet from the inside out,

and see if you can notice the tingling and vibrating that's there, letting any go of any ideas of the body, and just sensing again a field of sensation, changing dance of vibrating and tingling, places of pressure, flow, tightness, openness, maybe heat or cool. You might notice pleasantness or unpleasantness. See if you can let this whole dance of sensation happen

without interference or opposition. If you notice a tightening or a tensing against anything, just simply re-relax. relax, soften, allowing this life to live through you. Sensing how the same receptive allowing presence includes sound. You're listening not just with your ears, but your whole awareness. There's nothing to do with listening. Sounds are known spontaneously, close in sounds like these words of the sounds and the sounds

the room and the spaces between sounds and the more distant sounds, sensing the space of awareness that includes even the most distant sounds, very relaxed, open, receptive presence, listening to and feeling the whole moment. Mindful awareness simply notices and allows the changing stream of experience. sounds, sensations, feelings, relaxing with what's happening, moment to moment. For some there can be an added stabilizing of presence by being aware of the breath and the foreground, a light, soft, clear presence with the inflow and outflow of the breath. You can rest in the breath, the sensations at the nostrils,

Or for some you might find it relaxing and easier to access the breath if it's the rising falling at the chest or the expanding, deflating at the belly. And some like to rest in feeling the breath as it's experienced through the whole body, inflating like a balloon, even in a cellular way, and settling, releasing. You might notice if the attention has drifted from the anchor of the breath, from presence right here. And if that's the case, it's an opportunity to practice coming back, arriving again, which is really a life practice during a meditation, and during our day, learning to come back home again to the moment. And the way back is a relaxing back.

Just reopening the attention to what's right here, noticing these sounds and these moments right now. You might gently re-relax the body a bit, softening the shoulders, softening the hands, letting the breath be received in a softening belly, landing gently again with this life, breath, senses awake, just knowing that you're here moment to moment. Notice where your attention

is. And if the mind's been distracted, rather than any judgment, sense this as an opportunity to deepen that sense of the pathway home. Again, just opening the attention to the sounds that are right here rather than the sounds of the thoughts in your mind. Be relaxing, sensing what in your body might let go a little bit right now. Relaxing your heart, this reconnecting with the life of the moment, this inflow and outflow of the breath, the sensations of your body just sitting here, breathing, relaxed and awake. Closing with a simple prayer of loving kindness, just a sense. to sense whatever wish or blessing of well-being you'd like to offer to yourself right now.

Just whisper that inwardly, a mental whisper to your own heart. And then sensing this heart as edgeless and open holding the whole world, offering your wish to all beings. Namaste and thank you.