INDIA CLARK: Take a breath in. Let it go. Gently look around you.
My name is India Clark, and as a former museum educator and yoga teacher, I use art and mindfulness to help creative souls find and follow their true path in life and work. I founded the Wayfinder Institute to unlock the power of art observation and mindfulness to spark personal growth and wellbeing.

So let’s get started on our journey with Shen Wei’s monumental painting, Untitled Number 8.
Find a comfortable place where you can sit in contemplation for the next ten minutes. You may be listening while you look at an image on your screen, or you may be in the Gardner Museum in person. Either way, take a moment to set your body up for comfort in a relaxed and upright position. Feel free to pause the meditation and begin again when you’re comfortable.

Close your eyes or gaze softly downwards, feeling your connection to the ground. Let’s take three long, deeper breaths. Consciously relax your body as you begin to enter into a state of mindful observation. For these ten minutes, practice nonjudgmental awareness, allowing everything that enters your perception to be welcome as it is. Even distractions like noise or other visitors in the gallery can become a part of your meditation. 

Now open your eyes and take in the scale of the painting. This canvas is 14 feet tall and 20 feet wide, or roughly the size of a moving truck. How does it feel in your body to be near or imagine this large object? Let your eyes move all around the painting. Breathe in and out as you look. Seeing light and dark. Shape and texture. Trust your eyes and follow your curiosity.  Notice what feels heavy and what appears to be floating.

Imagine yourself moving around inside the painting, as if in a landscape. Where might you rest?
Imagine yourself making these marks, with your feet, or your fingers, or with tools. What would it feel like? Now, let’s begin to explore the painting in synchronicity with your body and breath. We’ll be opening and closing the eyes, breathing in and out, and repeating some words in your mind as you observe.
Beginning with eyes open, looking:
Breathing in, I see rising, breathing out I see falling.
Breathing in, I see rising, breathing out I see falling.
Repeat these words silently in your mind as you breathe and look.
Now, close your eyes or gaze downwards and feel into the body. Feel your connection to the ground as you repeat:
Breathing in, I feel rising, breathing out I feel falling.
Breathing in, I feel rising, breathing out I feel falling.
Repeat silently on your own as you breathe and feel.
And now, opening your eyes to look again:
Breathing in, I see movement, breathing out I see stillness.
Breathing in, I see movement, breathing out I see stillness.
Repeating this silently on your own.
Now, with eyes closed, feeling into the body again:
Breathing in, I feel movement, breathing out I feel stillness.
Breathing in, movement, breathing out, stillness.
Repeat on your own.
And now opening your eyes to look again for one last round:
Breathing in, I see contrast, breathing out, I see unity.
Breathing in, I see contrast, breathing out I see unity.
Repeat.
Now, with eyes closed, feeling into the body:
Breathing in, I feel contrast, breathing out, I feel unified.
Breathing in, I feel contrast, breathing out, I feel unified.
And repeat on your own.
And now opening your eyes again:
Rest the words.
Rest through the eyes.
And rest in the breath.
Notice how you feel now. In your mind, finish the sentence:
That meditation left me feeling...
What stood out to me was...
I hope that... 
And now, check in with your body and heart one last time before we end. If there’s any positive or peaceful feeling in you, how can you share your good feelings with others today? Remember: No gesture is too small.
Thank you for giving yourself this time.

If you enjoyed this, you might like our guided courtyard meditation recording, as well, which can be found online or in Isabella’s wonderful courtyard on the first floor of the museum. Thank you so much.