OPEN

[burnseternal]

WHO: Saint Walker and YOU.
WHERE: In every Porter City to make sure imPorts of every city have access to some good old fashioned meditation!
WHEN: Throughout March.
WHAT: As per this post, Saint Walker is offering meditation lessons -- people tagging in needn't respond to that post to participate, however. All of my starters will be geared towards meditation classes, but if you want to play out anything else, feel free to PM me or PP me at feygasm!
WARNINGS: None anticipated.



A: HEROPA

[Heropa is, in truth, where Saint Walker prefers to give his lessons. Not because he lives there - to commute between cities is but a trifling thing - but because it features a quiet, peaceful beach ideal for meditation. While it's possible to meditate no matter the locale, it's always easier for beginners to have nothing but the sounds of nature and Saint Walker's harp to distract them from their task.

Saint Walker is easy enough to spot on the beach, as blue and alien as he is, but even if he goes unnoticed, he's got an eye out for any of his potential students coming towards him. He floats in mid-air, legs crossed and hands resting gently on his knees as he surveys his surroundings.

Even if you're not here for meditation classes, there's certainly no harm in saying hello.]

B: NONAH/MAURTIA FALLS/DE CHIMA

[In the absence of a nearby beach in the remaining Porter cities, Saint Walker has located nearby forests for meditation purposes. It may not be as sunny and warm as Heropa, but the air is clean and fresh, and Saint Walker knows that there's a small river - more of a creek, really - not so far away that they may use to their advantage. To prevent others from getting lost, he lingers at the entrance of the forest, hands wrapped around a thermos of green tea he had made at home, large enough to provide cups for anyone who may decide to attend his lessons.]

C: WILDCARD

[Want to do anything else? Go to the library? To a cafe? Catch him flying about town, or playing his instrument publicly? Just let me know, and I'll be happy to write a starter for you, or respond to one made for me!]

Comments

[burnseternal]

Thank you.

[With that, he leans in with his long, delicate fingers, and pushes his thumbs into the first knot he spots. He digs in with surprising strength, but his motions are slow, deliberate.]

Do you feel that? The way that this muscle has formed into a tight ball? Try your best to relax it.

[Eventually, his hands travel up to the crook of her neck, and he pushes in gently at the area that's carrying its weight.] Allow your head to dip forward, and for your chin to touch your chest. Allow yourself a moment's relaxation.

[protects_the_small]

[Kel winces as he walks up the knots in her back, and loses her breathing pattern for a few seconds as she tries to focus on relaxing.

It's not easy, and she's only slightly successful.

As she dips her chin forward she settles into her breathing pattern again. A moment of mindfulness.]

[burnseternal]

Good. Better.

[He takes in a slow, deliberate breath, blending in with the sound of the water behind them.]

Listen to the water to the exclusion of all else; whatever birdsong you hear is of little consequence now. Instead, match your breathing to the sound of the river. Do you hear how it flows against the rocks, as steady as the pulse of your own lifeforce?

[protects_the_small]

[Kel's breathing hitches as her mind switches tracks. But it falls back into a pattern. She lets the water sounds fill her mind, and feels her mantra of 'I am stone' washed away.

Too much stone is unbalanced. Water, energy, fluidity, flexibility, these are necessary]

[burnseternal]

[Saint Walker allows Keladry to simply relax in the healing sound of the river for some time, intentionally matching his own breathing with hers so that there is no sound to distract her. Eventually, however, he speaks up.]

Try not to disrupt your breathing, [he starts off, a preliminary ramble that he knows is impossible; she cannot speak without disrupting it a little bit,] but can you tell me what this exercise makes you feel?

[protects_the_small]

[Kel exhales quietly and opens her eyes slowly. For a moment she's silent, staring into the running water before answering]

I feel this is the first time I am quiet in myself to push away the sounds that would not exist in my own world.

[burnseternal]

[That makes Saint Walker smile. He's usually smiling, to be fair, but there are shades to his smile, and this one is very genuine indeed.]

Precisely what many of us hope to accomplish through meditation. I can, I think, understand the feeling very well.

[He tilts his head, listening carefully to the sounds of birdsong.]

I encourage you to come to places such as this more often, to remind you of home -- to remind you of the things that matter in life.

[protects_the_small]

I will...Thank you. I think I forgot this was all here within reach.

[burnseternal]

It is easy to forget. To be amongst people is important, no doubt, but to find pockets of solitude... that is a great thing to have as well. I am used to being very connected with nature, and while the cities are very interesting indeed, there is something lost in those wide swaths of concrete and metal, [he says, running his fingers lightly through the dirt beside them.]

But should you ever wish to come here to meditate again, or to find other, greener pastures, I will always be happy to guide you. I have done quite a lot of exploring since my arrival here, you see.