(I have included audio this time - below I read out this piece and further down you’ll find a 10 minute guided meditation along the same theme. Let me know if this is something you enjoy!)
There are many reasons to engage with a spiritual practice, and none of them are wrong. A clear intention helps us to remain in alignment with whatever it is we hope to cultivate.
These days, when I sit in meditation and practise yoga, my intention is to come home. Not just as an idea, but as a felt experience. To feel the qualities of a great mystery and know this to be home.
The experience itself is beyond definition: it’s the heart which recognises and aligns with it, not the mind. But we communicate through words, so recently, when attempting to describe this great mystery I’ve used the word sacredness. For me, it describes the sense of restful reverence I feel in its presence.
So, I sit in meditation and practise yoga to experience sacredness directly through body, heart and mind. To remember, however briefly, that everything is an expression of its grace.
First, I like to remember the ease of sacredness. With an exhalation I soften and broaden my eyes, lips, tongue, cheeks and jaw. I exhale to release tension in my throat, shoulders, diaphragm and belly.
The arrogance of my self-importance begins to relax and I feel soft and wide.
Next, I remember the groundedness of sacredness. Exhaling, I feel where my body is in contact with the ground. I invite a feeling of roots descending into the Earth, until there’s a sense that I’ve been received, that I belong.
The addiction to the stories which spin like a vortex in my mind begins to relax and I feel held and safe.
Then, I remember the luminous brightness of sacredness. With an inhalation, I lengthen the sides of my body. Extending my arms up and broadening my back, I free up my breathing to move with more ease.
The habits of self-diminishment and collapse begin to relax and I feel present and awake.
Relaxed, safe and awake, I remember the openness of sacredness. Breathing softly into belly, diaphragm, chest and throat, I remind myself that these emotional centres are safe to release and open.
The habits of protection and contraction begin to relax and I feel receptive and alive.
Relaxed, safe, awake and alive, I remember the spaciousness of sacredness. I receive the infinite space which extends in front of me, sensing its warmth and aliveness. I receive this infinite space behind, to the sides, below and above me. I widen into the infinite space which extends within me.
I feel held in Love. I come home.
Together, we come home.
I hope you can join me on this journey. The next workshop is March 25; the next retreat is May 20-26; for more information you can read below. Also below is a short guided meditation inviting you home to yourself.
Enjoy this homecoming, and remember it’s already here. You are already home.
Guided meditation: coming home
Workshop
The next workshop at Love Supreme Projects is on March 25th 1.30-4.30pm.
With a long, slow yoga and meditation practice, we come home to ourselves. From this direct experience of ease, safety, aliveness and vastness, we discover how it’s possible to remain here, in sacredness, even in each other’s presence. Letting go, letting be and in love. More info here and book here.
Feedback from our last workshop a few weeks ago: "You have a remarkable ability to create an environment where huge shifts can happen." ~ "Brought me back to life" ~ "A beautiful workshop" ~ "Extraordinary and brilliant!" ~ "Thank you for the magic, I can still feel it this morning in the 'air' we are breathing together" ~ "So much more than I hoped for"
Retreat
The next retreat in Sharpham House, Devon is from May 20-26.
Join us for a magical dive into deep homecoming, remembrance and return for 5 full days of yoga, meditation, ceremony, contemplation, intimacy and celebration in the extraordinary grounds of Sharpham House. This is where real transformation happens. Retreats feed and nourish us for the rest of the year. More info here. Email me (ayalagill@gmail.com) to book.
Feedback from retreats: “Thank you for the beautiful gift of this retreat. Words can't translate what this week has been for me” ~ “I’m bursting with love and joy and gratitude. I feel so blessed to have been there” ~ For an in depth description of her experience, read the wonderful Eleanor Mills from Noon describing her retreat last November here.
Beautiful! I love this notion of coming home, & of finding sacredness through the act of coming home.