開學季裡，這個練習幫我更穩

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This Practice Helped Me Feel Steady This Week — And You Can Try It Right Now

When Life Feels Full, the Body Knows the Way Back

Thursday evening, I was recording a YouTube episode with a fellow mindfulness teacher. Our topic was learning to stay steady.

It felt like exactly the right conversation for this time of year.

For me, this time of year always brings its own particular kind of fullness. More to coordinate, more to hold, more to navigate.

Maybe you feel it too.

(And yes — this week also happened to be the first week of school. 😄)

As we talked, we explored a simple somatic practice that I have been guiding in my classes lately. Something about it always shifts the room.

I'd like to share it with you here.

You can try it wherever you are — at your desk, on the couch, waiting for the kettle to boil.

The Practice: Three Steps to Feeling Steady

Step One — Notice How You Are Already Looking

Find something in front of you.

Anything at all.

A cup. A plant. A window. A patch of light on the wall.

Now look at it.

Really look.

And as you do, notice what happens in your body.

What do your eyes feel like? Is there any tension in your face? Any tightening in your shoulders or neck?

Most of us don't realize how much effort we put into simply looking at things. We reach. We grasp. We chase the object with our eyes without even knowing it.

Just notice that for a moment.

Step Two — Let It Come to You

Now, something small.

Instead of reaching toward that object with your eyes…

Let it come to you.

Soften your gaze. Relax the muscles around your eyes. Stop chasing it.

And simply… receive it.

Let the image arrive on its own, the way you might let a friend's words land instead of rushing to respond.

Notice again.

What happened in your eyes? In your face? In your shoulders?

Most people feel something release here. A softening they didn't know they were holding.

This is the shift from grasping to receiving. And it happens in the body first, before the mind even understands it.

Step Three — Open to Everything

And now, one more step.

Without moving your head, let your awareness expand.

Beyond that one object. Out to the edges of what you can see. The periphery. The wide open field of your vision.

Let everything in. All at once. With open hands.

And notice the space inside you that can hold all of this.

The stillness. The steadiness. The sense of being completely here.

Why This Works

When I guide this practice, something always happens in the room.

People slow down. Faces soften. The room becomes a little more still.

Because something in us recognizes this.

We have been working so hard to chase and grasp and reach.

Chasing the next thing on the list, the version of ourselves we think we should be, the life we keep telling ourselves is waiting just ahead.

And for a moment… we remember.

We don't have to chase life.

We can let it in.

What This Has to Do With Equanimity

In mindfulness, we often talk about equanimity — that quality of steadiness that doesn't get swept away by what life does.

But equanimity is often misunderstood.

It isn't distance. It isn't indifference.

It's a wide, open, steady presence that can receive everything… and still stay grounded.

Like peripheral vision — you are not focused on just one thing, gripping it tightly. You are open to all of it, held by none of it.

This practice is a way of feeling that in the body.

Not as a concept. As an actual experience.

And the beautiful thing is — you already have this capacity inside you.

The body knows how to be steady. The body knows how to receive.

Sometimes we just need a moment to remember.

A Gentle Reflection

Where in your life have you been chasing…

when you might instead simply open and receive?

Maybe it's the way you approach your mornings — already reaching for the phone before you've even arrived in the day.

Maybe it's the way you listen — waiting for your turn to speak instead of letting the other person's words actually land.

Maybe it's the way you live — always oriented toward what's next, what's missing, what needs to be done.

This practice is an invitation to try something different.

Not forever. Not perfectly.

Just… for this moment.

Let it come to you.

If this resonated with you, feel free to pass it along to someone who might need to hear it today. 🌿

And if you'd like to practice together, you're warmly invited to join our weekly classes: 👉 zitamae.com/offerings

May we slowly learn not to chase, not to grasp, but to open gently and let life in.

With warmth, Caroline 🌿

Peace and always love

這個練習幫我在這週更穩——你現在就可以試試

當生命感覺很滿的時候，身體知道回家的路

週四晚上，我和一位正念老師一起錄製YouTube節目。我們這集的主題是：如何在忙碌中保持穩定。

這個對話，感覺在這個時節來得剛剛好。

對我來說，每年這個時候都會帶來一種特別的「滿」。更多需要協調的事，更多需要承擔的事，更多需要應對的事。

也許你也有這樣的感覺。

（對，這週剛好也是開學第一週。😄）

在我們的對話裡，我們探索了一個簡單的身心練習。這是我最近在課堂上常常引導的練習。每次做，房間裡總是會發生一些什麼。

我想在這裡把它分享給你。

你可以在任何地方—在書桌前，在沙發上，等水壺燒開的時候試試。

這個練習-- 三個步驟，找回穩定

第一步：注意你現在是怎麼「看」的

在你面前找一個東西。

什麼都可以。

一個杯子。一盆植物。一扇窗。牆上的一片光。

現在看著它。

真的看。

當你看的時候，注意你身體裡發生了什麼。

你的眼睛是什麼感覺？ 你的臉有沒有緊繃？ 你的肩頸有沒有收緊？

我們大多數人都沒有意識到，光是「看」這件事，我們就用了多少力氣。我們向前伸，我們抓取，我們用眼睛追著那個東西，卻渾然不知。

就先注意這個。

第二步：讓它來到你這裡

現在，試一個小小的改變。

不要用眼睛去追那個東西……

讓它來到你這裡。

放鬆你的目光。 放鬆眼睛周圍的肌肉。 停止追它。

只是……接收它。

讓那個畫面自己到來，就像你讓朋友的話真正落進心裡，而不是急著回應。

再次注意。

你的眼睛發生了什麼？ 你的臉呢？ 你的肩膀呢？

很多人在這裡會感覺到某種鬆開。一種他們不知道自己一直在撐著的緊繃，就這樣軟化了。

這就是從「抓取」到「接收」的轉變。它先發生在身體裡，還沒等到大腦理解它。

第三步：對所有的一切敞開

還有最後一步。

不移動頭，讓你的覺知慢慢擴展。

超越那一個東西。 延伸到你視野的邊緣。 那個廣闊的周邊視野。

讓所有的東西都進來。同時。用敞開的雙手。

然後注意你內心那個可以容納這一切的空間。

那份靜止。 那份穩定。 那種完全在這裡的感覺。

為什麼這個練習有效

每次我在課堂上引導這個練習，房間裡總是會發生一些事。

大家慢下來了。 臉部表情軟化了。 整個空間變得更安靜了一點。

因為我們內心有某個部分，認出了這個感覺。

我們一直那麼努力地追趕、抓取、向前伸。

追著清單上的下一件事，追著我們認為自己應該成為的樣子，追著我們一直告訴自己就在前方等著我們的那個生命。

然後，就在那一刻……我們想起來了。

我們不需要去追生命。

我們可以讓它進來。

這跟「捨」（平靜）有什麼關係

在正念裡，我們常常談到「捨」——那種不被生命的起伏帶走的穩定品質。

但「捨」常常被誤解。

它不是距離。不是冷漠。

它是一種寬廣、開放、穩定的臨在，可以接收一切……同時還能保持紮根。

就像周邊視野——你沒有緊緊盯著一件東西。你對所有的一切都開放，卻不被任何一件事抓住。

這個練習，是讓你在身體裡感受到這一點。

不是作為一個概念。 而是作為一個真實的體驗。

美好的是——你內心早就有這個能力了。

身體知道怎麼穩定。 身體知道怎麼接收。

有時候，我們只是需要一個時刻來想起這件事。

一個溫柔的提問

你在生命的哪個地方一直在追趕……

其實你可以只是敞開，讓它來？

也許是你開始早晨的方式（還沒真正醒來，就已經伸手去拿手機了。）

也許是你傾聽的方式（等著輪到自己說話，而不是讓對方的話真正落進來。）

也許是你生活的方式（永遠朝向下一件事，下一個缺少的東西，下一個還沒完成的事。）

這個練習，是一個邀請，試試不一樣的方式。

這個練習不需要完美。

只是……這一刻

讓它來到你這裡。

如果這篇文章觸動了你，歡迎把它分享給身邊可能需要聽到這些話的人。🌿

如果你想一起練習，我們每週都有課程歡迎你參加： 👉 zitamae.com/offerings

願我們都能慢慢學會， 不追逐，不緊抓， 只是溫柔地張開，讓生命流進來。

祝福

Caroline 🌿

Peace and always love