The body is the undeniable ground of the present moment. You learn to perceive gravity, your posture and your contact with space, as the starting point of every practice.
The body is the only place that is always "Here". Gravity is the direct proof of your presence. Feel your weight, and the mind finds somewhere to stand.
The practice of the Fourfold Axis always begins with the body. The body is your stable base, the undeniable "Here" that connects you with the present. We begin with conscious grounding, because relaxation comes before awareness.
Your body is not just a vehicle. It is a living archive of your experiences. The posture you have formed often carries the rejection, the disappointment and the tension you lived through because you felt different. These experiences get "locked in" as chronic tightness in the shoulders, the back, the pelvis and the jaw.
Gravity is not just a force. It is the proof of "Here". It shows you, beyond any doubt, exactly the point where you can exist in space, at this very moment. Grounding is the first act of relaxation.
• Not: to achieve a specific, perfect posture.
• Not: to stop your thoughts.
• Yes: to be comfortable, grounded and relaxed within your body.
Deep relaxation in the body is never an isolated act. It always presupposes awareness of space. Through the senses, your body keeps informing you of your position in space.
When space is perceived as open and welcoming, the body is given permission to let go of tightness and relax. True grounding happens only in a space you feel can hold you. The body and space work together.
Inside the body there are no concepts, only sensations: weight, warmth, pressure, pulse. When you turn to the body, you step out of thinking without fighting thinking.
When the mind has no stable, undeniable base in the present, it often falls into the trap of inner analysis and scenarios. Focusing on gravity gives you a way out of these mental scenarios.
Analysis and observation come in their own time, once stability is there.
This is a good moment to name two functions you will meet throughout this guide. The Mechanical Mind is the part of the mind that analyses the past and plans the future: a useful tool, but with no sense of now. The Open Mind is its complementary function: it observes without analysing, embraces without judging, sees beyond the scenarios. The content of the Mechanical Mind is recognised and let go, if it is not useful or if it is harmful, without any need for analysis. You will meet both again, in detail, in Chapter 5.
An undeniable "Here" and a ceaseless flow. While gravity gives you an unshakeable "Here", on a larger scale there is only movement and flow (like the Earth around the Sun). Mindfulness teaches you to embrace both poles: the stability of gravity and the ceaseless flow of life.
An important note on time. Changing posture and tension takes a good while. The habit was built over years and the body has been moulded. Do not rush and do not push yourself. Persistence in gentleness is the greatest act of self-regulation.
From a single moment to a few minutes. Start with whichever suits you.
1. The drop of weight (1 second) — Wherever you are, stop for a moment and let your weight "drop" towards the earth. That is all.
2. The soles (20 seconds) — Bring your attention to the soles of your feet. Feel the contact with the ground, the weight spreading, the earth holding you.
3. The axis (1 minute) — Feel the imaginary vertical line from the crown of your head to your soles. With each exhale, soften your jaw and shoulders around it.
4. Slow walking (2–3 minutes) — Walk more slowly than usual, feeling each sole touch down and push off. The earth holds you at every step.
Gravity is always here. The body is always here. That is enough to begin.