Welcome back.
Getting into a comfortable position.
Closing the eyes or lowering the gaze.
And just pausing.
Allowing your body to settle from the day.
Feeling the points of contact with your body against the seat of choice you have made.
Any contact with your clothing.
And now allowing the breath to set the pace.
Bringing the breath into the forefront.
Not changing or controlling.
Just allowing it to be your focal point.
Allowing it to be your anchor that's holding you in this spot right now.
And meeting the breath where it is.
Noticing when your inhale pauses and turns into an exhale.
Becoming curious on how you're breathing.
Whether it's through your nose,
Through the mouth.
And as we use the breath as our anchor,
You may find that thoughts may be coming to you.
And this is perfectly normal.
You can observe them.
Label them.
Planning.
Judging.
Remembering.
And just letting them go.
You can imagine them blowing away like a leaf.
No longer a part of you.
And it's okay if that leaf comes back.
Just again holding it up to the wind and allowing it to blow away.
And now checking in with the body and how it's feeling.
Your mind might mentally be reminding you with what's been happening in the body the last couple of days.
But let's allow the body to speak.
Let's really be present.
Starting from the head.
Scanning over the face.
And gently relaxing your facial features.
Unsquinting the eyes.
Unclenching the jaw.
Relaxing the ears.
And feeling any sensations that the head might be holding.
Feeling beyond the surface.
What's behind the eyes.
Inside the sinuses.
Really having a thorough look at what's being held in the head.
And try being with the sensations just for ten seconds.
Even if you find them unpleasant.
And reminding and telling the body that you are here to listen.
You are here to help.
And now moving down into the neck and the shoulders.
Again gently adjusting.
Allowing the shoulders to relax.
You may feel the heaviness of your arms pulling them away from your ears.
Imagining all the tiny muscles in the neck that hold your head.
And seeing your shoulders.
And all the muscles that are attached to it.
Allowing any sensations to speak up.
And it's alright if you don't feel any.
Just allowing your body to have the space to communicate with you.
And moving down each arm.
Again seeing the muscles laying over the bone.
The joint of the elbow.
The forearms.
Wrists.
Palms and fingers.
Allowing your awareness to rest in your hands.
Seeing if you can feel into each finger.
And noticing how the hands are resting.
They may be holding on to one another.
Clenched into fists.
Just making a note.
There is no right or wrong way to hold your hands.
Allowing the arms and hands to speak.
And we move into the chest and the upper back.
And allowing the chest to move freely with the breath.
How is this part of the body feeling?
Does it need anything?
Continuing the body scan into the stomach,
The lower back,
The hips.
Taking a deeper dive into what resides in the stomach.
The liver,
Kidneys,
Digestive tract.
The diaphragm.
The reproductive system.
And feeling the rhythmic wave of the breath moving the belly.
And examining what's happening in the stomach.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Neutral sensations.
And asking these sensations,
What is it that you need?
Try not to overanalyze what you hear.
Just listening with loving kindness.
And now moving into each of the legs.
The quads,
The hamstrings,
The knees.
Taking a mental note of how they're feeling right now.
If you find that they are clenched,
You may try to adjust and relax them.
Allowing the legs to be limp.
Looking into the knee.
The angle in which the knees are bent.
Feeling inside of this joint,
Behind the kneecap.
Any sensations that are coming to you are correct.
Allowing the calf and shin,
Ankles and feet to come into awareness.
Again,
Feeling how they are right now.
Any sensations that are happening from the points of contact.
And resting your awareness into the feet.
Trying to feel each toe.
And the spaces between the toes.
It's okay if you're not able to feel into the feet.
And just as we took the time to allow our bodies to speak,
Now we view the body as a whole.
And allow emotions to come into our bodies.
And we're going to sit with them and allow them to speak.
Really listening into what they have to say.
And knowing they are just visitors.
These emotions are not your identity.
You can pick one emotion you've been feeling recently.
Placing yourself in the setting to really bring this emotion out.
And even replay what had happened.
And noticing the sensations that come from this event.
Just allowing it to be in the body.
What does it feel like?
Whatever emotion you've chosen.
Where do you feel this emotion in your body?
How does it feel?
Does it feel hard?
Clenched?
Soft?
Does it look like something?
However it's coming to you is perfect.
And I want you to ask this emotion,
What is it that you need from me?
What is it that you need from me?
Try not to overanalyze its response or judge its answer.
Just accepting what it has said.
And you can imagine sitting with this emotion and having a conversation.
You may find after speaking this emotion might change.
It may turn into a new emotion.
Or maybe more emotions are coming in.
It might also feel softer.
Emotions are often trying to get our attention.
So they may be excited that you are spending the time and lending a listening ear.
And as we get to the end of this meditation,
I want you to let your emotions know that you will come back to listen.
And that you are here for them.
And returning back to the breath for a few moments.
And whenever you are ready,
You can open your eyes.
