How to Let Go

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting down, lying down or standing up, whatever feels good for your body. If it's okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll take a deep breath together to settle in. Breathing in through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth. Inviting your jaw to relax and soften. The teeth don't need to be clenched. Allow the shoulders to be at ease. As well as the hands and the belly.

As the body relaxes, your breath can come back to its natural rhythm. You don't need to force it or breathe in a way that you think is appropriate for meditation. It's whatever feels good for you. And we'll take a few moments to settle our attention on the breath, making that our object of awareness. You can place one hand on your belly if it helps you feel the breath more vividly.

And as the mind wanders, we just notice it and bring the attention right back to the breath over and over. I'll give you some time to practice. In this meditation, we're exploring the idea of letting go and how to cultivate a mind that can let go. And although this can feel like a big endeavor or something difficult to accomplish, we're actually doing it in every moment of meditation. So each time you notice the mind wander into a thought, you practice letting it go and coming back to the breath.

It wanders off again, and holds on tight to a thought pattern or an idea, and we just practice letting go and back to the breath. That is letting go on the most micro level and helps us cultivate a mind that can let go in bigger ways. So let's continue to practice that. And each time, view returning from the thoughts as a practice of letting go. Attachment to things also shows up as tension in the body.

Chances are, if we're gripping at something or really wants something to remain as it is, we'll feel tension. You can start to work on this by focusing on the breath with total ease. And when the mind wanders and gets caught up in thoughts, as you bring it back and let go, also practice completely relaxing the body. And each time you do notice that you can let go and you're still okay. Try it out.

Just this breath, letting go of everything else. Any agenda, anything you want to maintain, relationship you're holding on to, let it go and right back here. Relax the body. Relax the mind. Let's take one more deep breath together.

In through the nose. And out through the mouth. Great job. See if you can bring this with you into today. When you notice yourself gripping, tightening, relax the mind, relax the body.

And let yourself see that you can let go and still be okay. Thank you for your practice. Have a great day. Take care.