Welcome,
My name is Flo and this is a meditation I've called the compassionate mess meditation.
It's for people who are looking to bring forward and live a little bit more comfortably with different parts of themselves and we all have those different parts.
So bring yourself ideally to lie down or arrange yourself in a way that feels really comfy and take a moment to just kind of squash yourself into the space around you.
Arrange the body in a way that feels like you're making space at the key joint areas so maybe the shoulder blades are moving down and away from the central point of the spine.
Perhaps the legs are extending,
You're having a gentle sway into the hips,
You might have a crackle through the toes and the fingers.
Maybe you're letting the back of the jaw slightly open space behind the back teeth.
And then whenever it feels comfy just come into some stillness.
Could be now,
Could be in 10 minutes time,
It's your choice.
We'll begin by gently spreading our attention across the palms.
Imagine that you can find the creases of the palms with your mind's eye.
And then if you would like to we'll gently bring the hands to the sides of the neck,
Fingertips behind the neck.
Begin by noticing the temperature of the skin.
Temperature differences.
Maybe you can feel the subtle pulse underneath the palms.
Perhaps you can feel the very light touch of the fingertips at the hairline.
And then if you would like to,
If it feels intuitive,
You might gently begin to draw the skin of the neck forwards and then press backwards,
Moving the skin of the neck.
This could become multi-directional,
Maybe the skin is drawn in circles or waves.
Perhaps there's just a really subtle press and then release in the hands.
As we do this we ever so slightly compress the carotid artery and this can help to bring the blood pressure and the heart rate down.
Take that for a little longer and as you do think about unlocking,
Softening all around the face,
Neck and shoulders.
Then this movement might become a little bit more of an emphasis on the fingertips.
So the fingertips may begin to press into the base of the hairline,
Right at the nape of the neck.
Maybe there's a gentle movement of the skin here or a brush over the hair follicles.
And then one of the fingers,
Whichever one feels the most natural here,
Might slide behind the ear.
So you slide the finger behind the ear finding the dip at the join between the skull and the ear.
And then slide that finger downwards finding the dip behind the earlobe and then further down tracing the side of the jaw to the corner.
If that felt good,
Do it a few more times on both sides,
Fingertip tracing behind the ear and down.
We have the largest lymph node in the body residing just behind this point.
And it can be helpful in quite a minor way but still to begin to move lymphatic fluids which can be affected by stress or tension.
From here the fingertips might come to the jaw muscle at the corner of the jaw.
And now you might be pressing the squashy muscle of the jaw upwards towards the cheekbones and outwards towards earlobes.
Maybe you're squashing the fingers into the cheeks,
Feeling the weave of the tissues underneath the fingers.
Finding the places where softness meets bone.
And then sliding fingertips up over the cheekbones,
Finding the temples,
Rerouting the fingers back into the hairline towards the crown of the head.
Pressing the fingers from the centre of the forehead outwards into the hairline,
Taking in the shape of your head,
Your unique skull and everything it contains.
And then as you do this a few more times you might bring the heels of the hands to the temples and begin to slightly draw back the skin at the corners of the eyes with this traction.
And then you might pause the next time you're drawing back the corners of the eyes with this movement.
Hold the head,
Hold the mind.
Maybe you take a long warm exhale and then you might pause.
Hold the mind.
Maybe you take a long warm exhale out of the mouth.
As you do that like you have turned on the hot water tap of your bath.
Feel the body soften.
And then whenever you would like to arrange the body for a bit more stillness.
Perhaps the hands rest on the body or out to the sides or in the lap.
You might take this opportunity to check in with how you are.
How have you arrived here?
How's the physical body?
Are there any places in the body particularly calling your name?
How's the energetic body,
The emotions,
The thoughts,
Maybe your sense of spirit?
Any places here that really resonate?
Any messages your body is trying to send you?
And any kind response you have for your body?
Maybe you let that moment,
That connection vibrate through you.
Like you have just struck a gong.
Let your attention touch down to the eyelashes.
Find the top line and the bottom line.
Any slight movement or slide between the two.
Find the eyeballs and let the eyeballs rest back in their cavities.
Then drop the attention feather light,
Feather-like onto the tip of the nose.
Watch that feather break into two parts that brush down either side of the bridge of the nose,
Over the cheeks,
Over the ear lobes.
Maybe imagining those feathers resting either side of the ears.
Find the lips.
Are they sealed or slightly parted?
Slide your attention inside the lips to find the contact between inner lips and the teeth.
The tip of the tongue.
The upper palate.
The back of the throat.
And the warmth of the root of the tongue.
And the warmth of the root of the tongue.
Drop your attention to the center of the throat.
Soften the sides of the neck.
As you next inhale,
Spread the breath across the collarbones.
As you exhale,
Soften the shoulders like someone is pressing them into the ground.
Do that two more times.
Inhale to the sternum,
The central bone of the ribcage.
Exhale,
Wrap the breath underneath the armpits and the sides of the ribs.
Inhale to the upper belly.
Exhale the sides of the ribs,
Wrapping around the back.
Inhale to the low belly.
Exhale,
Wrap around the hips,
Soften the back of the pelvis.
Two more times.
Allowing the complex wrap of connective tissues at the pelvis to loosen and soften.
Sweep your breath over the legs.
As you exhale,
Soften the connective tissues of the legs,
Like the bones could have more space.
And then finally inhale to find the tips of the toes,
Like you're painting a dot on every single toe.
And as you exhale,
Five grams of weight in each foot.
Each foot finds the foot a little bit more grounded.
And find how you are again now.
Any changes.
Any continuities.
And any parts or versions of yourself that you would like to invite forward into the light.
The soft,
Warm light of this space you have created.
As we invite forward or draw forward parts or versions of ourselves that maybe don't get the time or the love or the attention,
We can invite more softness around them.
It's so common for us to push away inconvenient parts.
But allowing them to be with us sometimes,
Or to sit with them,
Can make them more livable,
More bearable.
Sometimes a little smaller.
And friendlier.
See how it goes for you.
And just as we did before,
Is there a message that occurs that you have for these other parts?
Notice where you particularly experience these other versions or parts in your body.
And if you would like to,
You might softly and lovingly land the hands to those parts.
If nothing particular occurs,
Rest the hand somewhere that feels good.
Notice how it is to make contact with those parts.
Allow the breath to travel underneath the hands,
Exactly as it is.
Allow the air to brush over those parts.
Soft and life-giving.
If you would like to now,
Bring your right hand and spread it across the chest.
Imagining that the hand is yawning over the chest.
There might be a slight expand and contract of the hand,
Or a very gentle press and release.
When we bring the hand to the chest in this way,
The same parts of the brain are stimulated and light up as when we hug.
So perhaps this is a hug for yourself,
In all your different versions.
All your multitudes.
Contained with love.
When you feel ready,
The hands might slide both up the body to find the sides of the neck again.
There might be intuitive movement or stillness.
There might be pressing of the fingertips into the base of the hairline or behind the ears.
This time the fingertips might press up the back of the head,
Behind the ears,
The sides of the skull.
And then again,
You might bring fingertips to temples or across the forehead,
Pressing them backwards towards the back of the skull.
You might softly press the heels of the hands to the temples,
Draw back the skin of the eyes.
And then pausing with the skin of the eyes drawn back,
Hold the sides of the head.
Take a longer inhale through the nose,
Cool and pour out the stream of warm breath through the mouth on the exhale.
Take this two more times.
And then stay in rest as long as you would like.
I hope you'll join me again soon.
Thank you.
