Mindful Moment: Whole Body Awareness

Mindful Moments from Action for Happiness, number 2 of 12

By bringing the mind back to the body, we can help ourselves feel more grounded and connected and have a real chance to rest and heal.

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Transcript

Hi, And welcome to this Mindful Moment practice, Whole Body Awareness. Mindfulness doesn't have to be difficult. In fact, It comes up quite naturally when the mind and body are able to be both relaxed and awake. In this practice, We're going to be gently scanning through the sensations of the body from the feet to the head to get a better sense of what mindfulness really feels like. So let yourself get into a comfortable position, Either sitting or lying down, Whatever feels good to you. Just begin to notice where your body is in contact with whatever is supporting you. Do whatever you need to do to let go of any tension and feel a bit more at ease. Let's begin with a couple of slower than usual breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth. So bringing our attention to our feet and noticing whatever sensations we find there. We're not trying to achieve anything here, So there's no need for things to be different from how they are. We're simply feeling whatever sensations we find here at the feet. Be they strong or faint, Pleasant, Unpleasant, Neutral. We're just noticing these sensations and how they're constantly changing, Arising, Shifting, Fading away. And now let's open up our awareness a bit more to take in the rest of the legs, The shins and the calves, Our knees, Our thighs, Until you can feel the whole of the legs and all the sensations that you're in touch with here. And if at any point you feel your mind getting distracted, Remember that's okay. You can just gently acknowledge where the mind has gone and bring your attention back to the sensations of your legs and to the gratitude that you have for everything these legs have done for you and everywhere they've taken you. And let's open up our awareness even wider now to include the hips, The lower back and the abdomen, Gradually expanding our attention to move right the way up our torso, Our back to our shoulders, And then right the way down the length of each arm, From the elbows to the very tips of our fingers, Just noticing the feelings present here, Be they strong or faint, Pleasant, Unpleasant or neutral, Arising, Shifting, Fading away. And feeling what gratitude you have for your hands, Everything they've enabled you to touch, To use, To connect with. And now let's expand our awareness to include the neck, The jaw, Our mouth and eyes and ears, Right the way round to the back of the head and up to the very top. And just before we bring this practice to a close, We can expand one final time so that we're holding the whole of our body in gentle, Grateful awareness, As if we are letting the whole body breathe.