breath of the biosphere: a meditation
Ideal for yoga classes or other group settings. Simply read the prompts in a relaxed manner, taking plenty of time for the experience to sink in.
Begin by focusing your attention on your breath…
Just the breath...
Take your time...
Now, expand your attention to include your entire body in the act of breathing.
Every cell in your body participating in every breath.
If you get distracted, don’t worry about it. Trust your body...
Now, widen your attention to include the breath of the people who are near you, in your home, your neighborhood, your community. Breathe with them...
Next, extend your attention to people who are further away, in the distant reaches of your city, your state and your country.
Breath with them...
Now, broaden your attention further to include all people, all human beings on the planet.
You are part of this…
Next, broaden your attention to include the breath of all the animals of the earth.
...the dogs and cats in your home and your neighborhood…
...the coyotes and wolves in your bioregion, all breathing…
...the mice and marmots, the beavers and otters that swim in the lakes and rivers…
...the deer and elk and antelope..
...the lions and leopards and cougars, all breathing
...the lions and leopards and cougars, all breathing
You are a part of this…
Next, broaden your attention to include the breath of all the marine mammals of the earth...
...the orcas, the humpbacks …
...the porpoises, the dolphins, the seals and sea loins…
You are a part of this…
Next broaden your attention to include the plants and their respiration...
...the great rainforests, the vast canopies and the understory…
...the grasses around the world…
...even the soil, growing wetter and dryer in waves…
....even the plankton in the oceans…
You are a part of this.
Now, broaden your attention to include the water of the planet and its breath-like movement…
...the vast evaporation from the ocean
...the condensation into clouds
...the tides, the currents and the waves
...the rain and snowfall across the earth..
Now, broaden your attention to the breath-like changes of the seasons in the hemispheres….
...Spring to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter.
The very biosphere expanding and contracting in its voyage around the sun.
All life breathing, living, thriving.
You are a part of this…