Welcome,
My name's Paul,
And I'll be guiding you through the body awareness meditation sequence today,
Closing down your eyes,
Taking a moment to acknowledge the effort you've made to be here,
And how you're feeling right now,
Recognizing that for the next 10 minutes,
There's nothing for you to do but simply rest.
I invite you to notice your breath as it is,
Not seeking to control or change it in any way,
Just observing your breathing,
Each inhale and each exhale,
Noticing whether your breath is fast,
Or slow,
Shallow,
Or deep.
In the practice of effortless meditation,
Whenever you happen to notice your mind is on your thoughts or emotions,
Or just wandered away,
Gently and effortlessly rest your awareness back on your anchor,
Such as your breath right now.
It doesn't matter how many times your mind drifts away,
There is no place to get to,
There is no state to achieve.
I invite you to imagine a line of energy running from the base of your spine up through your body to the crown of your head,
Now allowing the crown of your head to ever so slightly float upwards by a millimeter or so along that line of energy,
Letting your chin and jaw gently relax,
Letting your shoulders melt down your back on your next exhale,
Allowing the crown of your head to relax.
I invite you now to scan your body,
Noticing any sensations as I guide you along,
Resting your awareness on your face,
Noticing any sensations in your forehead,
Around your eyes,
In your cheeks,
In your jaw,
Observing if there's any tension or tightness held in those places.
On your next exhale,
Letting go of any tension held there,
Flowing your awareness around to the back of your head,
Gently floating your awareness down the length of your spine,
Drifting down between your shoulder blades all the way to your tailbone,
Softening your back as you go,
As you reach the base of your spine,
Allowing your awareness to expand across your whole back,
Noticing any sensations there,
Drawing your awareness around to your chest,
Noticing any movement there as you breathe in and out,
Noticing if your chest feels tight or closed or relaxed and open.
On your next breath out,
Letting go of any tightness held there,
Lowering your senses to your belly,
Noticing any rumbling or other sensation.
On your next exhale,
Allowing your belly to soften,
Radiating your awareness from your belly button outwards,
Along to your arms and legs,
To your fingers and toes,
And radiating your awareness along the line of energy down to the base of your spine and up to the crown of your head,
Noticing any sensations inside your body and along your skin.
On your next exhale,
Releasing any remaining tension as you slowly breathe out.
I invite you now to rest your awareness on the natural rhythm of your breathing,
And to use your breath as your anchor.
Whenever you happen to notice where you are,
Gently and effortlessly resting your awareness on your breath as your anchor,
Continuing at your own pace,
Gradually starting to deepen your breath,
Becoming aware of your body once more,
Inviting gentle movements into the tips of your fingers and toes,
Slowly expanding this movement into the rest of your body,
Stretching or twisting in whatever way feels good.
Noticing how you're feeling,
Maybe setting intention to carry these feelings throughout the rest of your day.
You may gently open your eyes whenever you're ready,
Or keep them closed and rest a little longer.
Please take as long as you like.
