#03 Meditation: Distill Your Mind w/ Malina Dawn
Tansi, hello, my name is Malina Dawn, my pronouns are she/they, and I am joining you from the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, otherwise known as Vancouver, BC. Today we are going to be taking a brief pause - a sacred pause - to distill our minds, otherwise known as meditation. Find a comfortable seat - grab a blanket or a cushion if you want to create some space for your hips, feel free to sit in a chair, or even lay down if you like - whatever supports and works for your body right now, and start the video when you are ready to join the meditation.
If you are seated, begin by lifting up through your heart, roll your shoulders to open up across the collar bones, and find a comfortable place for your hands to land such as in your lap or on your legs. Soften the gaze of your eyes or if you feel comfortable, you can also close them. Allow your sit bones to root down into Mother Earth and feel her holding you. Feel the invitation of gravity on your body.
Feel the earth's energy rebound up your spine, lifting up through the heart and the crown of your head, tuck your chin a bit and feel the back of your neck become spacious.
Take a full breath in through your nose and out through the mouth, and let yourself transition consciously from whatever you were just doing into this moment. Imagine that you have threads or tethers of energy reaching out from you, connecting you with the outside world to your relationships, roles, and responsibilities. As you take your next breath in, imagine yourself pulling these threads back in and calling your energy back into your center. Take a full breath in, and breath out while softening the face.
As you take this moment to pause, take a scan through your physical body and notice how you are feeling in your body right now. Allow yourself to be honest and kind. You may notice certain parts of your body seem to feel or speak louder than the rest.
Allow yourself to expand your awareness to your emotional body and notice how you are feeling right now. How are you feeling in your heart? How are you feeling in your emotions? Again, let yourself be honest and welcome everything into your practice right now, just as you are.
Expand your awareness to the mental body which is your mind. Observe your thoughts, the thought forms, the vrites of the chita (the twistings and the turnings of your mind and thought-forms) as we say in yoga. Notice the thinking mind. You may notice that your thoughts are of the past, or perhaps projecting into the future. As you move into this observational state, we call this the "witnessing consciousness". You are experiencing yourself as you are in this moment, and you are watching it at the same time.
Now return your awareness to your breath. Bring your awareness to your nostrils and feel the breath moving in and out the doorway of the nostrils. Place your awareness on your heart. Feel the hold of Mother Earth, and the lifting up from the sky - you are connected to both earth and sky. Each time your mind wanders, invite it back to the moment with your breath and follow your breath inside.
Let your breath become deeper and fuller, drawing it down to your belly and ribs and upper chest. Imagine that you sit in the sacred circle with all of creation, right at the center of your being where you are most powerful. Feel free to stay here as long as you like.
If you are ready to transition, take your breath in a little deeper. You may find a little movement in your fingers or toes, or slowly blink your eyes open. If you would like to, bring your hands to your heart in any way. Take a moment to honor this ancient practice of yoga. Honor yourself for taking a moment to pause, and honor everything in creation.
Nanâskomow. I am so grateful.
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Matriarch.Movement
