Feel free to begin this practice in whatever position feels most comfortable for you right now. You might be sitting, standing, lying down, or gently moving. There's no need to be still unless you want to be. Your eyes can be open, softly focused, or closed if that feels okay. You're always free to change how you're participating.
This practice uses the image of a lotus flower opening and closing with the breath. You don't need to visualise anything clearly for this to work. If imagery doesn't come easily, you can simply work with the movement of your hands or the feeling of the breath itself.
If it feels comfortable, you might bring your hands together in front of your body, palms touching lightly, like a closed flower bud. If using your hands doesn't feel right, you can imagine this movement instead, or skip it entirely. The practice works with or without physical movement.
When you feel ready, you might begin to notice an in-breath arriving. There's no need to change it or deepen it. Just noticing that it's happening. As you breathe in, you can gently open your hands outward, like petals slowly opening. Let the movement match your breath, not the other way around.
As the out-breath happens, you might slowly bring your hands back together again, allowing the petals to close. There's no need to rush. If your breath pauses or changes, the movement can pause or change too.
You can continue in this way, letting the hands open with the in-breath and close with the out-breath, at your own pace. The breath doesn't need to be calm or even. Whatever rhythm it has today is welcome.
If at any point the movement feels uncomfortable, you can make it smaller, slower, or stop altogether. You might rest your hands on your body, place them by your sides, or return to imagining the lotus instead. Choice is always part of the practice.
As you continue, you might notice the contrast between opening and closing. Expansion and gathering. Receiving and releasing. There's nothing you need to feel or achieve here. Just observing what happens, moment by moment.
If your mind wanders, that's completely okay. When you notice, you can gently return to the next opening, or the next closing, or simply to the feeling of your hands resting. There's no right amount of attention required.
If bringing attention to the breath ever feels too intense, you can shift your focus outward — noticing the room, sounds around you, or the feeling of your body being supported. You can return to the lotus movement later, or not at all.
As we begin to come toward the end of the practice, you might let the movement slow or come to a natural stop. You might rest your hands somewhere comfortable and notice how your body feels right now, without needing it to be different.
Take a moment to acknowledge yourself for practising in a way that respected your needs. There was no right way to do this — listening to your body was the practice.
When you're ready, you can gently transition out of the meditation, carrying with you the reminder that opening and closing, engaging and resting, are both allowed — in this practice, and beyond it.