Welcome.
This is not a meditation about emptying the mind or finding inner peace or any of that.
This is about the opposite of emptying.
This is about arriving fully in the body where you are right now.
Most of us spend our entire lives from the neck up thinking,
Planning,
Worrying,
Scrolling.
The body just carries us around and we barely acknowledge it until something hurts.
Tonight we are going to change that.
So,
Find yourself somewhere private where you won't be disturbed,
Lay down and get yourself comfortable in a way that feels indulgent rather than correct and let your eyes gently close and just breathe with me for a moment.
Deep breath in filling your lungs and exhale letting it all go.
Feel the weight of your body wherever you are lying,
The surface beneath you,
The warmth of the air around you.
Take another slow breath in through the nose,
Letting the belly rise,
The chest open and breathe out slowly,
Letting everything soften with it and once again breathe in and this time as you breathe out,
Feel yourself sink just a little further,
Like the body is finally being allowed to take up all the space that it deserves.
I want you to notice your skin,
Not in a critical way,
Not an inventory,
Just the simple awareness of it,
The way your skin meets the air,
The weight of whatever you are wearing against it or not wearing,
The temperature of the room against your arms,
Your legs.
Your skin is the largest organ of your body and most of the time we ignore it completely,
But not tonight.
Take another breath in and just arrive in your skin for a moment,
Feel the edges of yourself where you end and the world begins.
Bring your awareness to your hands now,
Feel the weight of them,
The warmth in them,
Let the fingers uncurl slightly,
Softening,
Becoming more alive.
Now slowly and with intention,
Bring one hand to rest on your chest,
Feel the warmth of your body,
Notice how that feels,
The simple act of your own hand.
Most of us are touched by other people more than we touch ourselves with any real awareness.
This is yours,
This body is yours and it deserves your attention.
Now let your awareness travel slowly through your body,
Starting at the top of your head,
The skin,
The scalp,
The face,
Let the jaw go completely,
The lips parting,
Steady and present,
Working for you constantly without ever being asked,
Each of them against the surface beneath you.
With each breath something is waking up,
It is taking it.
Take another deep breath in and repeat to yourself in your head or out loud,
I give myself permission to feel it.
Hail,
This body is mine and I,
I let myself arrive fully.
Slowly,
With curiosity rather than purpose,
No destination,
No goal,
Let your hands move wherever they feel drawn,
Not performing anything for anyone,
Not trying to get anywhere,
Just following the warmth,
Following the sensation,
Following the simple honest signal of what feels good.
The sides of your neck,
Your bone,
The inside of your wrist where the skin is softer than anywhere else,
Notice your breath changing as you do this,
Deepening,
Slowing,
In some places quickening.
The time we override it with thought,
With self consciousness,
The noise of a world that has a lot of opinions about bodies and most of them aren't useful,
Rising aliveness of a body,
Being here for as long as you need,
Waiting,
Just this warm,
That aliveness is yours,
It lives here in your body all the time,
It just needs to be invited.
Come back to this meditation whenever you need reminding that this body is yours and it is worth paying attention to.
