Over time,
As you gradually become more able to rest in your body,
You can become aware of a more subtle depth of consciousness,
An awareness of the aliveness of being.
This is the energetic aspect to your physical body and can be directly experienced as a life force or an inner vitality or vibrancy like a sense of aliveness.
This is the start of a connection to what we call your subtle body or energy body.
This meditation I will gently lead you towards the experience of it.
Relaxation is really beneficial so please just relax as much as you can and try to be open to explore and allow everything to just be as it is without judgments or trying too hard or pushing anything away or getting entangled in any stories.
So with a sense of bare,
Quiet,
Present awareness.
So close your eyes and give yourself a moment to settle.
Find yourself a comfortable position where you can feel awake but your body is relaxed and you can stay soft and relaxed.
You don't need to hold yourself too rigid.
In this meditation I'll give you some guidance and then I'll leave short spaces of silence and this is for you to practice being within your own experience and notice what is happening for you.
So let's begin by bringing your awareness in to your breath,
The breath within your body.
The breath within your body.
Notice the rhythm of your breath coming in and out.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the air coming in and out of your nostrils and throat.
Notice the feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
And gradually allow your body to relax and your mind to settle.
If you get distracted in thought that's fine.
Whenever you notice you're distracted see if you can just leave the thought to be as it is and then gently bring your awareness back to your breath within your body.
There's never any need to judge yourself.
There's no need to stop the thoughts or push them away and there's also no need to create stories around them or do anything with them at all actually.
You can just leave them to do what they need to do.
They will arise,
Move through and evaporate on their own.
And gently keep bringing yourself back to the breath within the body and notice your body relax as you do that.
Move your awareness slightly to your out-breath as a resting and as you follow each out-breath down,
Allow your body to become more and more relaxed with each out-breath and now move your awareness slightly to your out-breath as you allow your body to settle and allow your mind to settle into your out-breath.
Allow your mind to settle into your out-breath.
Bring your awareness to your ground.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the ground or the chair pushing up from below you.
Notice the feeling of it really supporting you as you relax.
Notice the weight of your legs on the ground.
And where your body meets that ground.
And allow your whole body to really trust that ground and deeply let go and relax into it.
And then gradually move your awareness up into the trunk of your body and notice what you feel there.
Allow everything to be as it is.
There's no need to change it or create stories around it.
Just notice with a sense of bare awareness.
If you become distracted again,
Don't worry.
Just see if you can let go of the thought and then gently bring your awareness back to your breath.
And back into feelings and sensations within the legs and your trunk again.
And then let your awareness expand out to the rest of your body.
Out to your arms.
Up to your neck and your head.
And back down into your legs.
Until you're present in and aware of your whole body as much as you can.
If you notice yourself trying too hard,
You will probably notice a sense of holding or contraction in the body.
Or like you're lifting up out of the ground.
So that's okay.
Just allow your body to soften and relax back down.
Allowing your awareness to come back to your breath and your body.
And deeply relaxing and resting.
If you struggle to be aware of your whole body,
You can gently scan around your body.
Kind of like you're inside a dark cave.
And you're shining a torchlight into all the corners of the cave to see what's there.
And then you'll notice a sense of calmness in your whole body.
To see what's there.
Keep breathing.
Keep relaxing.
And keep resting in the comfort of your body.
You could have a sense that your whole body is breathing.
Like your skin is permeable.
And let that breathing process allow your body to deeply relax and feel soft and spacious.
And as you rest there in your body,
Do you notice a feeling of an inner vitality?
Kind of like a life force.
Or a vibrancy within.
If you do,
Continuously relax your body.
And let this vitality open out into your whole body as much as you can.
It doesn't need to be perfect.
Or doesn't need to be anything specific.
Just feel with a sense of bare awareness and openness.
And as you relax,
You might notice that this vitality has different tones,
Feelings,
And nuances to it.
Whatever you notice or don't notice,
Just see if you can give it the space to be as it is.
Continuously relaxing into the ground,
Supported by the breath.
With a sense of quiet,
Present awareness.
At some point,
You might get the sense that your body and your mind have become one.
They are of one essence.
Remember,
Don't try too hard.
And keep allowing your body to relax and your mind to be as it is.
And keep allowing your body to relax and your mind to be inquisitive of what you feel and notice within your body.
And as we bring this meditation to a close,
Take a moment to notice how you feel.
Do you feel calmer or more relaxed?
Or do you feel more present in your body?
It's important to note that every day is different in meditation,
Because every day you have changed.
So it's really helpful to get used to not getting attached to how the meditation was,
Whether it was incredible or whether it was frustrating.
Each time,
See if you can just allow it to be as it is.
And I encourage you to stay with what feels satisfying and nourishing for you.
If you need to stay with the breath a bit longer,
That's fine.
It's important to give yourself the time to gradually deepen into the experience and also to trust your own intuition,
Because a path of meditation should feel rewarding and fulfilling.
This meditation is from my course,
Learn to Meditate and Self-Explore,
Where I gradually take you through the steps,
Starting right from the basics of learning to meditate,
Learning to connect with yourself,
And begin to self-explore.
So if you'd like to go through that process with me,
I invite you to do so.
