A guided embodied awareness meditation.
Take a moment now to find a comfortable position.
You don't need to be in any particular posture.
You can be standing,
Sitting or even lying down.
The most important thing is that you feel relaxed and alert.
Take some care now that you have some openness in the front of your body.
Maybe rolling your shoulders up and back and seeing then if the shoulders might drop even a little.
Or if you're lying down,
Just allow your shoulders to really sink into the floor.
You want to have some uprightness or length in your spine without being rigid or stiff.
And then inviting a softness into the face,
The jaw,
The shoulders and the belly.
This balanced posture of being both relaxed and alert,
Being soft and open is the beginning now of our embodied awareness.
And in this next moment now,
Beginning to notice how the body is feeling just right here right now.
You don't need to change anything about the mind,
Your thoughts,
The heart,
Your emotions,
The body or any sensations at all.
Just simply allowing whatever is happening now to be in your awareness.
How does your body feel right now?
See if you might feel what's going on physically or mentally.
What sensations are you experiencing?
Where might there be some tightness or tension or holding in the body?
And where is there ease,
A sense of softness or space?
Just tuning in,
Noticing what is here.
As you continue to settle into this embodied awareness,
You might like to lower your gaze or close your eyes,
Choosing how best to focus on resting your awareness on the body now.
Just noticing what is present and allowing what's happening.
Perhaps there are thoughts or emotions coming up.
Just as best you can,
Letting everything be here.
Now I'm going to invite you to take a deep breath in through the nose,
Filling the belly with maximum air.
And then as you exhale nice and slowly,
You might even want to make a sighing sound.
Noticing now any tension in the body as you breathe in and breathe out.
Do this now a few times on your own as you're breathing in,
Opening up the front of the body.
And as you breathe out,
Intentionally softening,
Relaxing,
Letting go,
Even a little.
And now allowing the breath to come to its natural rhythm again.
Just taking a moment in silence to notice your bodily sensations.
You don't have to think about the body,
But just feeling now any sensations or vibrations within the body.
Moving the awareness now to sensing the contact with whatever is supporting your body right now.
Could be a chair,
A cushion,
A bed,
Or the floor or ground beneath you.
Just really sense into your feet or your seat,
Allowing yourself to feel grounded.
Continuing to sense the connection with what's underneath you,
Bring awareness to the pressure or to the weight of the body.
What is that sensation like right here and right now?
Even now,
Thoughts or concerns might be coming up,
This is not a problem.
The mind thinks about the past or the future and comments on the present.
That's what the mind does often.
But the body is always in the present moment.
So each time you notice thinking happening now.
Just inviting the awareness gently to rest back on the body.
And now bringing your awareness to the breath,
Just as it flows in and out of the body,
Right here and right now.
Perhaps you might want to take one or two deep breaths again,
In and out.
Connecting you with this process that's always happening,
Whether we pay attention to it or not.
You might even notice the belly rising with the in breath and then gently falling back again with the out breath.
If you find it difficult to connect with the sensations of breathing right now,
It might help to place a hand or perhaps both of your hands over your belly.
So that you actually feel the belly rising on the inhale and falling out again on the exhale.
If focusing on the breath is itself difficult for you,
You can choose as your anchor,
The body,
The body's contact with whatever is underneath you or any part of the body that brings you a sense of ease of connection.
And if you're staying with the breath,
Continue now noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Embodied awareness is a way for us to stay with our experience by using the body,
The breath or any sensory experience as a way to connect to the present moment.
Not by pushing away thoughts or emotions,
But rather by allowing the body to be the ground for our awareness.
Just taking this final moment now in silence to rest in this embodied awareness.
As we end this practice now,
Taking a moment to express gratitude towards yourself for taking time to cultivate this practice.
And know that in any moment you can reconnect with the body,
The breath,
The sense of groundedness as a way to create spaciousness,
Ease and rootedness.
When you're ready now,
Opening your eyes and bringing a little gentle movement to your hands and your feet.
Let yourself reconnect to your surroundings as we finish this meditation.
