Seeing the Beautiful

(waves roaring) So much suffering comes from thinking that we're seeing a situation clearly. Continually the temptation (exhales) is to narrow the vision so that what we see becomes a known entity, and so we speak about relaxing the tension in the hips, relaxing the temptation in the hamstrings, but truly, one of the main purposes of yoga is to relax the tension in the eyes, with the possibility that we might be able to see wider. 'Kay, this is now easy task. It's no easy task to become aware of the possibility that your point of view is not the only one, and to allow the reality that you are one of many seven plus billion points of view, completely special, totally unique, necessary, and important, and a part of a team. So the rumor is that the eyes are the sense organ of the manipura, the manipura, which has such a beautiful translation, it translates into city filled with jewels.

Sometimes you'll hear it referred to as the navel chakra. The roots tend to sit in the lower lumbar spine and the flower, said to be at the navel, just, in truth, I usually feel the flower a little higher. So again, these are just maps. They're maps from our friends, they're pointing directions, and as all of you know, maps don't always exactly get you to where you thought you were gonna go, and they're not always totally accurate, okay, so the map is a helpful tool without being a rigid idea. So the play in this sequence, what we'll focus on, is this area of the manipura, whose sense organ is the eyes, and whose motor organ is rumored to be the feet.

So we'll start out softening our eyes so we have a sense of that, then we'll move into a few postures in the feet, and then we'll move into some experiments with getting more sensitive into this region, and this will prepare us for a seated meditation, where we'll again practice bringing a real-life situation into our meditation and letting our eyes soften, because the first step of seeing clearly is to admit how blind we are. Okay, thanks for being here. So you'll notice that I'm kneeling on a blanket. Having a little bit of padding as we move into this first foot exercise can be super sweet. It's not necessary, it's just nice.

And you'll notice I have a strap, because at some point we will be stretching out the hamstrings, so you may or may not wanna grab a strap. Okay, we'll start by snuggling into your sitbones. I'm sitting vajrasana, as you can see. This may or may not be comfortable for you. You may be in a chair or on a brick or cross-legged.

Okay, big deliberate inhale, exhale, let a (exhales) happen, and soften the low belly like we've been doing. Let the heart feel generous, and let the mind feel light. And so our point of focus being the eyes, this particular instrument of perception that we so rely on, let your eyes close, and just start to tune to the temple region, so the sides of the eyes, and can you let the temple region, the sides of the eyes, widen. And as the temples widen, can you let the eyeballs feel softer, and can you actually tune to a feeling in the eyes of kindness. Notice any holding around the eye socket, and can you use your imaginal realm.

I mean, most of you have probably seen an image of your eye at this point in your life, maybe not your own, but you know on someone else's, can you see these beautiful round orbs in your head, and can you let them feel more moist, more fluid, more soft. Uh-huh, okay, couple more moments. Let your eyelids feel heavier. Sometimes the cheekbones will feel like they need to drop a little bit. And sometimes, not always, but sometimes, as you soften the eyes, you'll feel that corresponding spot towards the back of the head where you're actually processing what you see, and so you might let this area open.

Nice. Okay, super nice. This is your reference point as we come into our first posture, known affectionately as toe torture, and I have to give my friends Scotty Blossom and Jason Crandell a shout-out for this. They love this one, and every time we hang out they seem to pull this out. So I've tucked my toes under, I'm sitting back on my heels.

It looks like not much. If you're doing it at home, you'll know it is (chuckles). Now there are a couple different ways to do this. Big deliberate inhale, exhale, let a (exhales) happen. Step one, soften the jaw like we practiced in the last episode.

Let the eyes be kinder. Nice, the more you put an effort towards letting your ankles, your heels come together, the more flavorful spicy it'll be, so if that's too much, you can just let them separate. Okay, not much longer now (chuckles). Beautiful, now let your hands come forward, and we'll move into what my friends Scotty and Jason also affectionately call as arch torture. So I'm gonna put my left foot down on the floor and I'm gonna place my right arch in, okay, my right top arch into the bottom arch of my left foot, shnuggle, and then you sit back on your heels, and what you're looking for, the opportunity you're looking for here is the top hard bony part of your arch gently caressing the soft, squishy part of the bottom of the other foot, okay, and if you haven't quite found the point, then why not lift off a little bit and adjust, like slide the foot down a little bit lower and sit back and ah, there it is.

Let it sink in, and now ah, hello doll, like we've been practicing. Kind in the eyes so that you're remaining soft, kind, and open in the intensity. Now I'm just gonna slip a little bit more forward and I'm gonna slide that foot a little bit lower so I can find a slightly different part, oh. The play here is that the connective tissue in the bottom of the foot, right, the connective tissue in the bottom of the foot corresponds to the whole rest of the body. Most of you, I mean, especially if you live in California, at this point you've had reflexology on your feet, 'kay.

Okay nice, now come back up, and here's the fun part. Come back into the toe torture (laughs). Tuck the toes under, sit back on the heels, and suddenly toe torture doesn't feel so bad after arch torture. Sit down in the heels, big deliberate inhale, exhale and a (exhales) happen. And notice the temperature on the feet.

Sometimes it's quite amazing. Some people report it feeling quite cool and open and breezy, like you've just had a York peppermint patty. Some people feel like it's more like hot or warm, so you gotta find out. (exhales and hums) Excellent. Okay, arch torture, lean forward opposite, so now it's right foot on the earth and it's my left, so again, I'm tryin' to find that bony part of that foot to sit down into the squishy part of the other one, and then it's your weight.

So obviously if it's too much, you keep leaning a little bit forward, right, like this is gonna reduce the weight. It's only as you really want it (chuckles) that you bring your weight back and you sit and (exhales). But it really helps if you're gonna go (vocalizes and laughs). That's amazingly helpful, because it's heating, and this action is cooling (exhales). Good, again, this might be the spot.

You might lean forward and just slide that arch down a little bit more so you can find a different spot. Snuggle in (exhales). Easy in the mouth. And while the play is to keep your attention here, okay, if it's too much tapas, if it's too much heat, sometimes it can help, for some of you it might just help to reach your arms over the top of your head while you're doing this. This will literally take some of the weight out.

It will give a certain amount of distraction. I mean, I know that sounds like a funny thing to say, but sometimes you can be there longer if you have a little bit of distraction, okay, that will take some of the intensity out and it will make you feel like you're getting other things done at the same time. Okay, so I'm gonna slide that foot down a little bit more. (mumbles) Like multi-tasking, even though it feels necessary, it's also a way of not really being involved in anything. (exhales) 'Kay, couple more moments (exhales and hums), soft jaw, kind eyes.

Notice how focusing pain is. This is really one of the points of beginning like this is rarely do we pay attention to anything unless it hurts, okay, so the number one thing we tend to crave as human beings is rumored to be affection, but right after affection we'll take attention, and if the only way we give attention to anything is if it hurts, well then, we just kind of set up a pattern. Okay (exhales), rurp, tuck your toes under, one last toe torture. Sit back on the heels. Notice how it feels.

Perhaps just notice the result from the arch torture to the toe torture. I'm sure there are more technical names for this. I don't know them. I guess I could call it toe mush asana (chuckles). Okay (laughs), let this be open.

An arch ouch asana (chuckles). 'Kay, couple more beats. Notice like this, what I'm doing right now, this is a little distraction. By pressing my palms together, it's not so intense, so that's what happens (exhales). Okay, super nice.

Awesome job, release, pause. Now we're gonna find our way towards the earth, okay, finding our way towards the earth, and we're gonna offer ourselves towards a hamstring stretch, and the reason we're finding the hamstring stretch first is because we're gonna make our way into a movement that can sometimes be cramping on the hamstrings, and so the hamstring stretch will help open up the back channels, okay, and it also just help perhaps maybe avoid some of the cramping that sometimes is inevitable with this next motion. So I'm gonna bring my left foot down to the earth, my right knee is into my chest. Now again, this is one of those moments where if you don't wanna use a strap, you don't have to. Okay, in fact today I don't really feel like using a strap, but if you wanted to, you could wrap that strap around the ball of the right foot.

You extend that right leg up towards the sky, and some of you might hold onto the back of the leg, some of you maybe the ankle, some of you the top of the foot, okay, so today the ankle feels like a really super good spot. Big deliberate inhale, exhale, let a (exhales) happen. Soften the sitbones now. In this season and in this show, we've practiced relaxing the pelvic floor, so relax the pelvic floor, relax the jaw, and now notice what's happening in your eyes. Can your eyes feel kinder?

Can you literally look at your foot and can you literally let your eyes soften and like almost, the request is, can you almost see like a softer glow around your foot, almost like as if you put a Barbara Walters filter on it? Can your foot just be more lovely just by like relaxing some of the tension in your eyes? Now you might keep this left knee bent, or you might let that left leg draw straight, so just wobble this leg a little bit closer. I mean, how close the leg goes just depends on you. Okay, I'm gonna give a little juju through the back heel 'cause it feels good.

Soft in the eyes, last few moments. Nice. Okay, super sweet, relax the effort, twirl your ankle a few times in one direction, twirl them a few times in the other. Bend the knee, let that foot come back down to the floor and pause, big deliberate inhale, exhale everything. Super nice.

Bring the opposite knee into your chest. If you're using the strap, wrap the strap around the ball of that left foot, okay. Big deliberate inhale, exhale everything, soften the floor of the pelvis (exhales), soften the eyes. Okay, only as you're ready begin to extend that leg up, only letting the knee straighten as much as is correct for you. We've explored these details in earlier sequences.

You might hold around the back of the calf, you might hold around the back of the ankle, top of the foot. You just decide where it feels right today, and again, really do notice as you relax that ashwini, the perineum, and that front mudra, like notice how your leg just relaxes into the hip socket. Notice your eyes. They're probably a little tense, soften. And the thing is, is most of us are trained, we're trained to see what's wrong.

Okay, this is one of the greatest problems. This is really one of the definitions of duka. Duka, the opposite of suka. Suka means ease, duka, dis-ease, dis-ease with everything, and we forget to notice, oh my god I have a left leg, yes, and we forget to notice how awesome that we have a foot perhaps and toes. What we notice is huh, I should get that pedicure redone.

I mean, we just notice the details that we assume we know how they should be better. Either keep this leg bent or let her draw straight and for the last few moments, can you literally practice looking at your foot, relaxing some of the tension in the eyes. You don't have to force yourself to see her as more lovely, but can you allow her loveliness to be revealed. Nice, leg might be closer or further away from the face, wobble (hums). So nice, release the leg, twirl the ankle a few times in one direction, twirl it in the other, bend the knee.

Big deliberate inhale, exhale, let a (exhales) happen. Nice, then bring the other knee up and pause. I'm just gonna scooch down a little bit on my mat to make sure I have enough room, so we're gonna make our way into what we usually call rolling bridge, and we're gonna start out rolling in the bridge so that you have a sense of moving with your breath, and then we're gonna eventually add on a holding out of the breath to result in what we call uddiyana bandha. Okay, I'm gonna reach my arms up over the top of the head. My heels are in line with my sitbones.

Now the reason for arms up over the top of the head as you kinda shnuggle your shoulders back and down and in is it helps allow for the natural chin lock that will occur here, but what I've discovered in the last handful of years is this isn't comfortable for everybody (chuckles), so while this has benefits, the benefits do not outweigh the pain, so what some of you might do is you might let the elbows bend a little bit, come down along your side, okay, so you adjust this to feel correct. Okay, spread your toes wide, heels in line with the sitbones. Clearing breath, big inhale, exhale everything. As you're ready, inhale, and as you exhale, you press into the feet. You're gonna draw your sitbones up towards the knees and pause.

From here, inhale, and as you exhale, come up onto the balls of the feet and roll back down on the exhale. Upper back, mid-back, low back, hips land, heels land. Nice, big deliberate inhale, exhale everything. Then as you're ready, inhale, and as you exhale, press into the feet, let your sitbones draw towards the knees, and pause. Inhale here, and as you come across your exhale, up on the balls of the feet roll back down, upper back, mid-back, low back, hips land, and heels land.

Nice, clearing breath, big inhale. Exhale everything. And let's pause for a moment. Now if your hamstrings are cramping when you're doing that, you're not alone. That's just because this sort of action is engaging the hamstrings, so sometimes it helps to keep the heels on the floor, to not lift up onto the balls of the feet.

Okay, sometimes it helps to really lengthen the sitbones. Okay, but if you moved into a cramp, you pause, you stretch it out, and you join back in. Okay, we'll do two more like this. While I'm leading, please, please, please see if you can start to find your own breath pace. Okay, clearing breath, big inhale.

Exhale everything. As you're ready, inhale, and as you exhale, press into the heels, let your sitbones draw towards your knees and pause. Lengthen, inhale. As you exhale, maybe come up onto the balls of the feet and roll back down, upper back, mid-back, low back, hips land, heels land. Last one, inhale, exhale, press into the feet, let your sitbones lift, stay in the shape as you inhale, and as you come across your exhale, up on the balls of the feet, exhale, roll back down, upper back, mid-back, low back, hips land, heels land.

Nice, it would probably feel good to hug your knees into your chest and wobble. And what usually feels good for most people, again, because it's working the hamstrings there, most people it feels pretty good to stretch the legs straight and then just flex the feet so you can feel the backs of the legs. Good, nice. Now what we're gonna do is we're gonna repeat pretty much that exact same thing, but what we'll do is as we come up into the shape of the bridge on the exhale, we'll stay there on the inhale, we'll stay there on the exhale, and then when you're really super bona fide absolutely blue ribbon country fair award-winning empty, then you roll back down, 'kay? Okay, let's see how it goes.

Heels in line with the sitbones, arms up over the top of your head. Adjust your arms so it's more comfortable for you. Spread the toes wide, big inhale, exhale everything, then as you are ready, inhale, exhale, press into the feet, let your sitbones draw towards your knees, and lift. Now stay here as you inhale. Stay here as you exhale everything (exhales).

Once you are bona fide totally for real empty, you come up onto the balls of your feet and you roll back down on empty. Upper back, mid-back, low back, hips land, heels land. Pause, you feel strong contraction in your belly most likely. Okay, relax the contraction, let the inhale occur. Let the exhale occur.

And just rest for a few moments, like just feel the effect of that. Okay, so what we're creating in there is something we always call uddiyana bandha, bandha meaning lock, and uddiyana, flying upward. Okay, so we're getting used to being empty, okay, so that might been enough, that might have been too much. If you felt like you were gonna drown, you go faster than what I'm suggesting. If you felt like you could have been there a lot longer, you go slow.

Okay, let's do that again. I have to say, it's a little hard to get totally empty and instruct at the same time, so that's a new challenge (chuckles). Okay, spread the toes wide. Big deliberate inhale, exhale everything (exhales). Nice, inhale.

As you exhale, press into the feet, root through the heels, let the sitbones draw towards the knees. Okay, now pause here, inhale. Exhale everything (exhales). Empty, empty, empty, empty. Only once you're for real empty, come up onto the balls of your feet and roll back down on empty.

Upper back, mid-back, low back. Hips land, heels land. You'll feel a little tug in the base of the throat. Okay, relax the contraction. Let an inhale occur, let an exhale occur, pause.

Super nice. Okay, some of you, that might be deep enough. Just rest, okay, just like rest in meadow of it. Otherwise let's do one more together. I'll give just the tiniest little bit of guidance so that I can actually perhaps maybe for real do it with you.

I'm just finding that it's like super hard to be all the way empty and tell you what to do (laughs). So we'll try that again. Okay, spread the toes, inhale (inhales). Exhale everything, nice. Then inhale.

Exhale, root through the feet, let the sitbones draw towards the knees. Super nice, inhale here. Exhale everything. Once you're empty, wait for it, up on the balls of the feet, roll back down on empty. Relax the contraction, let an inhale occur.

Let an exhale occur (breathing deeply). And just let your elbows soften. Just rest for a little bit and like feel the effect, good. Feel the effect of emptiness, like the reduction of the will. Nice.

Okay, let the knees come into the chest and wobble. Super nice job. Okay, cross your ankles, inhale, roll back, exhale, roll up to sitting, and what we'll play with now is we'll see if we can take that pattern of that uddiyana bandha just a twist and a forward fold, just to see if we can tune to the quietude that's available on empty. Like, this is really the same request of the eyes. Can we empty our eyes of what we've already seen?

You know, our friend Jesus is rumored to have said, "You have eyes but you do not see, "you have ears but you do not hear." Okay, it's so difficult to not see what we've already seen, and so the practices of yoga are designed to help free us from what we already know. Okay, so I'm gonna move into a spinal twist. So bend your bottom right knee and place your left foot across and snuggle it. Now we've explored this shape a whole bunch of many times, so if your hip isn't quite on the earth, you work with a straight leg, and there are other variations, but the play here is can we allow ourselves to really only move on empty, okay, so what we're gonna do instead of the usual pattern, which is to grow on the inhale and then twist on the exhale, we're gonna slow it down even more. We're gonna grow on the inhale, we're gonna exhale everything, and then the suggestion is twist at the bottom of the exhale.

Okay, again as I said in the introduction, looks like not much is happening (chuckles). Hands are on that top knee, snuggle in. Big deliberate inhale, exhale everything, let a (exhales) happen. Soft in the pelvic floor, root enough so your heart feels receptive and generous, gooey in the back of the neck, and tune to the kindness in your eyes. Like, if the eyes feel kind, chances are you'll see more kindly.

Okay, so now inhale. Exhale everything, really get empty. Good. Once you're empty, bring that right elbow, excuse me, yeah bring that right elbow around the left knee, bring that left hand behind, pause. Inhale here, you might feel yourself grow a little bit, but stay where you are as you exhale everything.

Like, get totally for real empty. Once you have really for real found empty, then twist. Okay, then stay where you are. Inhale, exhale everything. Once you're really truly empty, then twist.

And I'm showing this, continuing like this, so you inhale, and you exhale everything. On empty you twist. I'm showing with my elbow holding my knee. If it's required for you to adjust with the arm across or something more fancy, please feel welcome. Start to really tune towards this central channel, this sushumna.

Like feel the small little alignment details that become available when you're this quiet. Base of the skull, base of the spine, soft in the jaw, fluffy in the lips, and so kind in the eyes. Nice. Those of you for whom the uddiyana bandha is easily available, okay, then what you might do is when you come to that next bottom of the exhale, what you might do is allow for that slightest little bit of uddiyana bandha. Get into it.

Okay, couple more beats. And then obviously if you're playing with the uddiyana bandha, you relax that contraction as you move towards the unknown. Okay. If you happen to be finding the uddiyana bandha then, you relax that. You'll eventually come across an inhale that feels inspiring.

You will eventually exhale, and then wait for the empty, wait for the empty as you lead with the gaze, upper back, mid-back, low back, and pause. And just like sit, like sit in the results. Tune towards that gracious channel. Kind in the eyes. Nice.

Beautiful. Okay, other side, lean back, switch (clicks tongue). (hums) Snuggle. And this isn't to imply that it's wrong to twist on the out breath. That's the problem, is each new thing implies that what was before was wrong.

It's just an experiment of moving on empty, so experimenting on moving when there's very little there. Okay, so soften the floor of the pelvis, heart is generous, mind is light, eyes are kind. Inhale, exhale everything (exhales). Once you're fully for real on empty, come into the shape, hugging one arm behind, okay, and then you wait for it. Inhale, exhale everything (exhales).

And then once you're really bona fide empty, like draw this knee in and let yourself twist. Feel the rise of the inhale, like feel the inspiration of the inhale. And feel the surrender or the releasing, the offering of the exhale. Wait till you're empty. And then maybe twist a little bit more.

Making the adjustments necessary, tune into what you're doing with your throat, like if you're (gurgles) cranking her back and around, like just pay attention to letting her feel full. Soft and kind in the eyes. Okay, again, I'm showing with the hug. You might have made some adjustments for you, but the instruction is the same, that you're allowing for the inspiration in the inhale, you're allowing for the emptying of the exhale, and then once you're really truly for real empty, you twist. Now if you're lucky like me, you have the Pacific Ocean to hold some of your tension.

I guess if you're watching, you are lucky like me. Get kinder. If you've been forcing, there's no way you can hang here for this long through force. It's gotta be tender, intimate, listening. Nice, okay, if you're playing with the uddiyana bandha now, relax the effort of that play.

Eventually you'll come across an inhale that's inspiring. You'll come across that final exhale in the shape, and then once you've found empty, you'll lead with the gaze and you'll find your way all the way back. Pause. Nice. Beautiful, so the suggestion now is to find your way into a favorite forward fold.

If you've been hangin' out with me for awhile, you've probably caught on that baddha konasana is my favorite forward fold. So maybe it's a rounded baddha konasana. Some of you might prefer upavistha konasana, okay. You might be a fan of ye old paschimottanasana. Actually, I think I'll take this one.

Wobble a little side to side. Now same idea, big deliberate inhale. Exhale everything. And can you wait, like wait? Now when you really get down to the bottom, you exhale, then let yourself sink in a little bit.

Pause, then inhale. Exhale everything. Get to the bottom of the exhale and then sink in a little bit. Kind in the eyes, easy in the jaw, so soft. So the play here, right, the play, like the momentum of what we already know, the desire to continue what is is so immense, okay, and so we all have a certain storyline that benefits, okay, from not seeing.

It's important to understand why we don't see, what the benefits are (chuckles). And so the play here, by tuning into the uddiyana bandha region, by tuning into the manipura, and slowing things down, like it's hard to see when things, because we move so fast. In fact, one of the jokes, chin into the chest, roll on up. One of the ways that it gets expressed is we're like monkeys on the back of charging tigers explaining the view. You know what I mean?

It's true, actually, that what we experience is a little delayed from what already happened. Okay, so from that forward fold start to make your way into a comfortable seat. So I've chosen to sit up on a electric blue blanket with my heels in line with each other. You might have a different method, okay. So again, I mentioned that the purpose of this, right, is to help soften some of the sharpness of our eyes.

Okay, like in the West, when we hear the expression to see more clearly, we think, "Oh, better vision, like Lasik surgery." Okay, to see more clearly is to actually realize how blind we are and therefore to allow for more of the mystery. So here's the project, here's our final project here. We're gonna snuggle in towards a meditation. We're gonna tune towards the softening of the eyes. Then the invitation will be to bring a situation in your life that you think you know what's going on (laughs), okay, and lemme say like for example, you're pretty sure that your neighbor has intentionally built her fence on your property just to piss you off (laughs).

Like you gotta like find a situation, you're like when you're pretty sure you know exactly what's going on, and in a way that you can feel a sense of (gurgles), okay, like a sense of grip, right. Like when we pay attention, rarely do we hear ourselves say, "Oh, I know what's happening" (chuckles). "She really cares for me, she really wants to help me. "That's why she's treating me so badly." So try to find a situation where you're pretty sure you know what's going on and it's causing you pain and grip and tension. Okay, if you don't have something, awesome job.

Okay (laughs), snuggle in. Big deliberate inhale. Exhale, let a (exhale) happen and relax down through the belly, soften the pelvic floor, okay. Root just enough through the sitbones to feel your heart generous and receptive, shoulders soft, palms open, mind light. Okay, soften the jaw, and then like we've been doing, let your eyes feel kinder, like physiologically soften the temples, let the cheekbones drop, let the eyes find more rest in their sockets.

And sometimes you'll just find out, some of you will feel much more comfortable keeping your eyes closed. Some of you will feel much more natural to have a soft, gentle gaze out in front of you. And maybe, maybe, maybe, once you've slipped into this situation, just like let your low belly relax, and can you remember that place just kind of at the bottom of the exhale, like you're not trying to force yourself to the bottom of the exhale, but can you remember the quietude. Only once you feel safe and ready to do so, the meditation experiment is please let this situation or this person or this scenario gently come out in front of you. Let a situation come where there's a sense of like you know how it is and you can see it.

And as you let this scenario, the situation, this being come in front of you, tune into how it feels in your eyes (laughs), like connect the assured scene with the feeling in the eyes. Couple more moments. Nice, okay, relax the project. Let this person be, situation go. Big deliberate inhale.

Exhale everything (exhales). 'Kay, and like we practiced in the earlier episode, we'll do that again, but with a vigilance on maintaining softness here, 'kay. Okay, snuggle in, big deliberate inhale. Exhale, let a (exhales) happen. Soften the low belly, soften the pelvic floor.

Heart is generous and receptive. Hands are open, mind is light, eyes are kind and soft. And again, you might find it easier to keep the eyes closed. You might, if you haven't yet tried through, you might just keep them barely open, because it becomes more real to what it's like in the world, like we do generally have our eyes open or at least physically. 'Kay, so so soft, so soft, kind.

But only when you're ready, like wait for it. Only when you're ready, maybe it's the same being, maybe it's the same situation, maybe it's a little different. Notice the temptation of sharpening. And the request is just play and experiment with letting this being or person stay here as you soften your eyes. Like just put vigilant attention into (breathes) this.

Kinder, softer, if it helps, you have the skill of softening the jaw. You have the skill of softening the pelvic floor. Good. It's not easy. If it were easy, more of us would see the world as beautiful.

'Kay, few more moments. Okay, nice, let the being go, let your eyes closed if they'd been open. Big deliberate inhale. Exhale everything. And perhaps sit here for a little longer.

Just really knowing this softness in the eyes, knowing this bottom of the exhale, like physiologically knowing the willingness to be surprised by what you might see. Thank you for your willingness. Thank you for your practice. Namaste.