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Guided Meditation: Feeling Relaxation

Warm greetings from Redwood City. We'll continue with the practice of Anapanasati^[1], the practice of mindfulness of breathing in and breathing out, inhaling and exhaling. It is usually good to think of this as a very basic practice, and to always have the idea that you're starting at the beginning.

Begin to assume a posture that is conducive for you to be alert, attentive, and embodied, and that can lead to a sense of ease. Have some level of comfort with your body, either now, or have a sense that that's coming.

The classic language of the Buddha is, once you have assumed your meditation posture, to establish mindfulness, establish awareness, establish the presence of attention. Or, to say it a different way, establish yourself here—consciously here, embodying being here. And then, without much more, the instruction is to become familiar with your breathing.

In a sense, maybe don't think that you're meditating with all the associations of what should happen and how you're supposed to be. Rather, bring an interest to noticing the particular ways that your body is breathing now. Are your breathing movements more in the chest or more in the belly? Does the breathing feel relaxed, a little bit forced, like work, or like play? Are your inhales and exhales long, short, shallow, or deep? What are all the parts of your body that move as you breathe? What are the particular sensations that come into play as you breathe—sensations which are maybe unique to breathing in, and those that are unique to breathing out?

As you take an interest in your breathing, also notice the global experience of breathing in your body the whole way, from the beginning to the end of breathing in, and the beginning to the end of breathing out. Maybe it's like you're receiving a massage, or you're riding a wave, surfing, or floating on the waves on your back, being lifted and lowered gently on the swells that come and go.

Maybe become aware of the full range, the fullness of breathing in the body, the edges of where breathing is felt in the body. Expand and open up your awareness for the whole global experience of the body—the global bodily container for breathing. The warmth of the body, maybe the substantiality of the body, whatever stillness there is in the body, perhaps a subtle flow of vibration or energy throughout the body, within which there's the body breathing.

Then, as you're aware of your breathing, relax your body. Perhaps relaxing the belly—maybe on the exhale the belly can soften. Relax the chest, and if parts of the chest don't relax, soften around the places where it might be hard or tense. Relax the shoulders, relax the muscles of your face, around the eyes. And relax your thinking mind, letting the thinking become quieter. Any tension you notice in your brain, between your ears, or whatever the center of thinking is for you, see if you can relax that as you exhale.

So you might, as it seems appropriate and in a relaxed way that promotes awareness, being present here, and keeps you a little bit from drifting off in thought, cycle through these three steps of Anapanasati. Tune into the experience of breathing in and of itself, the sensations and the qualities of breathing, so you settle into breathing just there for the long term, drifting up and down the waves of breath. Then, other times, become aware of the body, the global experience of breathing. And then other times, relax the body, move towards a physical tranquility, let go to a place that's calm in the body, and then do it again.

Familiarize yourself with the global body, and relax the body at a relaxed, easy-going pace. As it seems appropriate for you, you could stay at any of those three steps as long as you wish.

Then, when you are relaxing your body, take a few moments to feel and experience what this relaxation feels like. If you soften and relax further the muscles of your shoulders, is there anything pleasant that you feel about that? That feels good? Or, if you're more relaxed now than you were at the beginning, is there anything pleasant or good about that? Feel the physical consequence of relaxing.

Maybe there's a way that you can reach deep inside of yourself, deep down into the core of who you are, and relax, release, and soften, and then feel what happens when you do. Perhaps there's a way you can soften the edges of your body, maybe on the exhale to relax, let go, and release all around the edges of your body, and then to feel what happens as you do so. In any parts of your body that you relax and soften, or that relax on their own, feel the consequence of that. If it feels pleasant, if it feels good, if it feels right, if it promotes some kind of intimacy and closeness, then breathe with that.

Have mindfulness of breathing be supported by the consequence of relaxing, becoming calm, and breathing with tranquility. And perhaps the breathing from time to time can feel suffused with these qualities of calmness, tranquility, and ease.

Reflections

As we come to the end of the sitting, let go of any concern for yourself just for a couple of minutes, so that your concern can expand and grow, bringing other people into your heart. People who are local that you know, people who are far away that you don't know. Relax for a couple of minutes any kind of focus on yourself, and rather just be open and receptive in the quiet of meditation to others.

For those who are happy, may you share in their happiness. For those who are sad and hurting, may you care for them, respect them, and have compassion. For those who are going about their lives and everything is good, may you have goodwill for them, friendliness.

And for those who are making choices in which they harm themselves, or making poor choices, and for whom you cannot change the choices they make, may you maintain your goodwill, your open heart, but do so with equanimity. Do so without getting contracted, angry, or afraid. Equanimous friendliness.

May we remember all the different ways that people might be feeling today. And whenever we're calm and settled enough, perhaps our heart can have space for everyone—a heart that offers basic goodwill, friendliness, and care to all beings.

How wonderful it would be if all beings could be happy. If all beings could be safe and healthy, and if all beings could be free. And if there's any way in which you can support that to happen in the world, it will begin by you taking time to be happy, friendly, calm, free, and safe. May all of us become happy, safe, and free together.