Welcome to Scented Meditation.
My name is Marlou and I will be guiding you today through our Senses Awakening Meditation.
So let's start by finding a very comfortable seat with your back supported and your head unsupported.
And this will prevent you from falling asleep.
And take a deep breath in and sigh out.
Let it all go and slump into your chair.
And that is the perfect effortless position for your meditation.
So if you haven't done already,
I invite you now to close down your eyes and arrive here and now,
In this moment.
And today we are resting our awareness on our senses.
Tuning into our sensations is a great way to be present in the moment.
It's a great tool which is always available to you to ground yourself and to calm your mind.
And in this meditation you will use one of your senses as an anchor to teach your mind to become aware of itself.
And let's start this practice with alternate nostril breathing.
And this style of breathing involves alternating the flow of breath between nostrils.
It slows down your breath and helps to relax your body.
Starting by finding your belly breath.
Feeling your belly rising on your inhale.
And your left nostril with your middle finger and ring finger.
Whilst alternating your breathing between each nostril.
Then switching sides and exhaling.
And in your own time continue.
Exhaling through one nostril.
Inhaling through that same nostril.
And then switching sides.
Helps to reduce blood pressure.
It calms the nervous system and it strengthens the lung.
Feeling the steady rhythm of breath flowing smoothly in and out of the body.
The goal is simply to allow your mind to debug itself in the way it knows the effortless process of meditation.
Which involves very gently resting your awareness on an anchor.
Your hands back to its natural position.
On your lap or next to your side.
You shift into a more awake and aware state.
Where your senses light up.
Often times we can notice things that we don't notice.
Imagine your five senses like petals on a flower.
Slowly opening and becoming.
We will start by our sense of hearing.
Start listening to the sounds that are close to you.
And notice the sound of your body.
And you may notice your body making sounds in your stomach.
Or notice what sounds it make.
Or you take a deep breath in.
Now listen to the sounds further away from you.
Sounds more in the distance.
Chirping and singing of the birds.
Or the sound of the wind.
Or the sound of a car.
Or the hum of a distant car.
Take all the sounds as they are.
Simply acknowledging it and gently returning back.
Let's move to our sense of sight.
And be aware of what you can see behind your closed eyelids.
Maybe you see colors.
Bright.
Or maybe you see a lot of shadows.
Maybe you see many shadows moving.
And maybe you see nothing at all.
Whatever you see,
It's ok to full scenery be in front of you.
Instead they only ever exist in the present moment.
So a sense scan is an excellent way to ground yourself in the present moment.
And notice which taste is lingering in your mouth.
Maybe you just eaten a snack.
Or maybe you just brush your teeth.
Let's move to the sense of smell.
Maybe you just lit a candle.
And the last sense that is left is the sense of touch.
And the last sense that is left is the sense of touch.
Feel your sit bones on the chair.
Or do you feel a chill breeze touching your skin?
Feeling your five senses fully awaken.
All your senses awaken.
By choosing one of the senses.
Senses that are strongest to you.
Maybe you like to rest your awareness on the sound of my voice or the music.
Or do you like to rest your awareness on the feeling of your heartbeat?
Or how your belly rises and falls with your breath?
Any sense is the right choice for you in this moment.
Emotion or physical sensation that comes up for you during this meditation is meant to happen.
There is no need to control these.
Simply noticing when you happen to realize.
Very gently and slowly return back to your sense of choice.
And from this place notice how you are.
And I invite you to set the intention to carry these feelings with you throughout the rest of your day.
