Body Awareness With Paul Lam-Po-Tang (30 Mins)

Our meditation sequences are specially curated for modern minds and involve a unique fusion of various evidence-based techniques. This Body Awareness meditation is designed to foster a greater awareness of the mind-body connection, in addition to the usual stress-busting and productivity-boosting effects that come with Effortless Meditation in general.

The signature of this sequence is a scan through the inner sensations of the body. Ideal for beginners and advanced meditators alike.

Transcript

Welcome,

My name's Paul,

And I'll be guiding you through the body awareness meditation sequence today.

If you haven't already switched off notifications and vibration on your phone or other devices,

Please take a moment to do so now,

And closing down your eyes,

Feeling your body resting in your seat,

Checking you're comfortable and your back is supported,

And if at any time you need to adjust your position during the meditation,

Please go ahead and do so.

And I invite you to start with some gentle movement,

As much or as little as you feel like,

Even if you just visualize it.

Gently rolling your shoulders forwards,

Gently rolling your shoulders backwards,

And returning to stillness.

Slowly turning your head to your left,

And then to your right,

And then back to centre.

Slowly lowering your chin towards your neck,

And then gently lifting your head as if you're looking up.

Turning your head to centre and level,

And ever so slightly lifting the crown of your head towards the sky,

Letting your face soften,

Your throat and upper chest relax,

Letting your shoulders and arms loosen,

And become heavy.

Taking a deep breath in,

And releasing a deep breath out,

And I invite you to notice your breath as it is,

Not seeking to control it,

But just observing it,

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Noticing whether your breath is fast,

Or slow,

Shallow,

Or deep,

Continuing to observe your breath.

As I share the theme of the week here at Centred Meditation,

And the theme is time,

Our experience of time may vary quite a lot,

It's too slow,

It's too fast,

Or it's just right,

Or sometimes we lose track of time.

We can often feel like there's not enough time to do everything we want to do,

Or have to do.

It's worth exploring that feeling,

And then going so far as accepting that not having enough time is a feature of life,

Regardless of how efficient or not we are.

This acceptance can create a sense of liberation,

Perspective,

And clarity of what to do in the very next moment,

Whether that be to take action,

To listen,

Or to reflect.

You may keep observing your breath,

Or you may practice some breath work with a few minutes of three-stage breathing,

Which is where we breathe into our belly,

Then our ribs,

And then upper chest.

I'll guide you along if you haven't practiced this before.

If you wish,

You may lightly place both hands on your belly,

With your fingertips touching,

Or almost touching,

And taking a slow and steady breath in through your nose,

Down into your belly,

Feeling your belly gently rise as you do so,

And breathing out through your nose,

Feeling your belly slowly fall,

Then sliding your hands up to lightly rest on your ribs.

Your hands can be on any part of your ribs,

Just finding a spot that's comfortable for you.

On your next inhale,

Breathing slowly into your belly,

And then into your ribs,

Breathing out slowly from your ribs,

And then your belly.

If it's easier,

You can simply set an intention to breathe into your belly,

Then ribs.

At any stage,

You can return to the natural rhythm of your breathing.

Now,

Moving your hands up towards your neck,

So that your fingertips are lightly curled over your collarbones,

Somewhere near your upper chest.

As you next inhale,

Breathing into your belly,

Then into your ribs,

Then up into your collarbones and upper chest,

Breathing out slowly from your upper chest,

Then your ribs,

And then your belly.

Taking slow and steady breaths,

But never to the point of discomfort,

Continuing at your own pace,

Breathing into your belly,

Ribs,

And upper chest.

You may leave your hands where they are,

Or let them rest wherever feels comfortable.

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,

Resting your awareness back on your anchor,

Such as your breath right now,

Allowing your thoughts and emotions to come and go,

Are an integral part of effortless meditation.

It doesn't matter how many times your mind drifts away.

What matters is the easy and effortless process of resting your awareness on your anchor.

Whenever you remember,

Taking a few more breaths into your belly,

Ribs,

And upper chest.

On your next exhale,

Letting your breath return to its natural rhythm,

And allowing your hands to rest back in your lap,

And if they're not already there,

I invite you now to become aware of what all your senses are taking in at this moment,

Feeling your body resting against your seat,

Feeling where your clothes meet your skin,

Smelling what scents are meeting your nose,

Listening to the sounds reaching your ears,

Noticing what tastes are lingering in your mouth,

Observing what you can see behind your closed eyelids,

Taking in all of your senses at once and experiencing them as they are in this moment.

I invite you now to scan your body,

Noticing any sensations as I guide you along,

Starting with your feet,

Feeling where they connect to the ground,

Feeling the support of the earth,

Floating your awareness slowly up through your legs,

Noticing where they rest on your seat,

Noticing any sensations on the front or back of your legs,

Resting your awareness on your hips,

Feeling the support they provide your body,

Observing any tightness or tension in your hips as you breathe out,

Releasing any tension there,

Drawing your awareness to your belly,

Maybe feeling it gently rising and falling with each breath,

Raising your awareness to your chest,

Noticing any tingling or tension held there,

And gathering up any tension there and on your next exhale,

Letting it go,

Gently wrapping your awareness around to your back,

From the base of your spine,

Up slowly to your shoulders and radiating out to your sides,

Feeling any muscles holding on tightly,

As you next exhale,

Allowing them to relax,

Becoming aware of your arms,

Letting them fall away from your shoulders,

Noticing any sensations along your arms,

Right through to your fingertips,

And bringing your awareness to your neck as it rises up to your jaw,

Noticing any tension or clenching in your jaw,

As you next exhale,

Letting your jaw soften,

Tuning in to your eyes and the space around them,

Allowing your eyelids to become heavier and softer,

Rising up to your forehead and sensing any furrowed brows or tightness there,

And as you next breathe out,

Letting that tension leave your body,

Resting your awareness on the top of your head,

Then softening your whole body,

From the crown of your head to the tips of your toes,

And releasing any remaining tension,

I invite you now to rest your awareness on the natural rhythm of your breathing and to use your breath as your anchor,

Not seeking to control your breathing,

Just letting it move through you,

At its own pace,

Tuning in to the flow of the air,

In and out of your body,

Resting your awareness on where you feel your breath,

You might feel your breath in the tip of your nose,

The back of your throat,

Or in your chest,

Or your belly,

The place in your body where you feel your breath naturally change throughout your meditation,

Whenever you happen to notice your mind has drifted away,

Gently and effortlessly,

Resting your awareness on your breath as your anchor,

Continuing at your own pace,

Drifting away,

Drifting back,

Effortlessly resting your awareness on your breath,

You are not your thoughts,

Your thoughts are just passing through you,

You are not your emotions,

Your emotions too are simply passing through you,

You simply are,

I invite you now to let go of your breath,

Noticing it as your anchor,

And simply rest for the last few minutes while you allow the effects of the meditation to sink in,

You may stay seated exactly as you are,

Or you can recline into a more comfortable position,

There's nothing to do here but rest,

I'll tell you when it's time,

Gradually starting to deepen your breath,

Starting to gently notice your body,

Sensing your fingers and toes,

Beginning to slowly wriggle your fingers and toes,

Expanding this gentle movement into the rest of your body,

Stretching or twisting in whatever way feels good,

Thanking yourself for meditating today,

Noticing how you're feeling,

Noticing how you feel about time right now,

Maybe setting an intention to carry some of these feelings throughout the rest of your day,

Whenever you're ready,

You may gently open your eyes,

Or keep them closed and rest a little longer,

Please take as long as you like.

Reviews

Lovely meditation as always with Paul!