Akasa is a Sanskrit word meaning space – a wide, open expanse. It can describe the ether, the sky or the atmosphere, but it also reminds us of the spaciousness we can cultivate within ourselves.
When a sunny day arrives, make the most of it.
Lie on your back in the open air and gaze up at the sky. Allow your eyes to soften and your mind to wander. Let your breath become slow, smooth and effortless.
As the clouds drift by, notice how they are constantly changing—forming, dissolving and moving on. Thoughts are much the same. We don’t need to hold on to them or follow every one. We can simply watch them pass.
For a few quiet moments, feel yourself becoming part of something much bigger than your everyday concerns. The boundaries between you and the natural world seem to soften. The sky stretches endlessly above you, the earth supports you below, and your breath gently connects the two.
Cloud gazing is one of life’s simplest pleasures. As children we did it instinctively, finding stories and shapes in the clouds and losing all sense of time. Perhaps that’s a habit worth rediscovering.
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give ourselves is a little space—space to breathe, to notice, and simply to be.
“As vastness envelops you, the body vanishes, thoughts forget to come; in this moment, you are the nature of the great sky.”
— The Radiant Sutras, Lorin Roche
The next time blue skies beckon, leave your phone indoors, find a patch of grass, and give yourself ten unhurried minutes beneath the clouds. You may discover that what you needed most wasn’t to do more—but simply to make a little space.
For another summer practice try my relaxation audio A Celebration of Summer Colours Relaxation
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