This is a meditation for you because you're hurting right now Somewhere inside your body,
Inside your mind,
Inside your soul,
You're listening to this because there are intense sensations alive inside of you.
Just know by listening to this you are taking a step,
A step towards holding yourself and a willingness to feel and to comfort I just want to take a moment to acknowledge that I'd also like to acknowledge what is happening inside of you right now It is intense and it might be disturbing.
What you're longing for is relief That can come in many ways.
I'd like to suggest one way to you and practice it together The practice is called titration.
It means taking small drops of something because the whole might be too much to swallow at this moment For today,
That means feeling into different parts of the body and breath and switching back and forward between them Pain in whatever form can be intense,
Too intense to feel at times So while this intensity is happening,
There are always places in the body where there is less happening Less intensity and less pain.
Maybe even in a sense of ease or softness They might be off the beaten path,
But they are there and we will find them Holding intensity gets easier when we know there's a place to go to that feels safe or at least safer.
So let's begin our journey together You can do this practice either sitting or lying or even walking around Choose whatever feels right for you at this moment We'll take the parts one by one to find those places that are less painful That could be a sensation of numbness,
Maybe more relaxed or just less intense Shall we start?
Let's begin with a bit of grounding before and feel the places where you are touching the ground in whatever position you find yourself in Where are you connected to the ground?
To Mother Earth?
Can you look at those parts?
Can you feel those parts?
And feel what it feels like to touch the surface If there's something that would make you feel more comfortable right now,
Then do so We'll begin the practice Can you feel the breath?
Maybe your breath is going quick or maybe it's going slow Just notice what it is at this moment and then turn your attention back towards the whole body and we'll start going through all parts now Just see if we can find the ease somewhere in your body If there is this ease,
Say a gentle hello,
Acknowledge the feeling and then pause on to the next part We'll start at the bottom of your body So feel into your toes The soles of your feet and the top of your feet How are your ankles feeling?
How are your calves feeling?
How are your knees?
The back of your knees How are your thighs and your legs?
You might have found stress,
Unease and tension At the same time,
Do you feel numbness?
Or just places where it was actually feeling okay or quite good If you didn't find any,
No worries Tune into the feeling of the ground underneath you until we continue If you did find any,
Can you tune in to those parts with your attention?
Do those places that were less painful or quite okay?
Then take your breath to those places and be with them Enjoy feeling those places in your body And let's continue and take your attention to your hips Your shoulders,
Your knees Your hips Your pelvic region and your belly Look for different sensations Whatever is happening in those parts Then connect to your breath and feel how it flows in and out of you Like a wave washing on shore and back out into the ocean again Then bring your attention back to feeling your lower back Your kidney region To your upper back and the chest At the same time,
Connect to where you are connecting to The ground,
Your own body It's either your feet,
Your butt and your knees It's either your feet,
Your buttocks or your back Can you feel those parts?
Feel their pressure and heaviness on the ground and being held and supported by it And then tune back into your breath How's your breath doing at this moment?
Let's move to the last parts of your body Bringing your attention to your hands The palm of your hands The back of your hands Space between your feet and your hands Fingers,
Your fingernails,
Your wrists,
Your lower arms Your elbows and the crease of your elbows Your wrists,
Your upper arm and the inside of your arms The armpits and your shoulders What are the sensations that you're feeling?
And again,
Do you feel any sensation that is less intense than the pain?
In that place,
See if you can just direct your breath towards those sensations that are less Those sensations that feel a bit more gentle Fill those places up with energy in your breath Continue taking a big inhale and releasing on your exhale Last but not least,
Tune your attention into your neck The back of your head The top of your head Your face The eyes And the eye sockets The nose The mouth And even the tongue inside your mouth Your ears And the inside of your ears How do they feel?
Did you find sensations of lightness?
No more ease Or maybe just numb Tune your attention to these parts And if there are thoughts coming up that would like to draw your attention to somewhere else then thank them and return to the place that felt kinder Try to ground in those places that are a little calmer It might be more challenging to hear But they're the ones calling you home With every in-breath And every out-breath Now gently bring your attention back to your neck Gently zoom out your focus of the parts to check in with your body as a whole Where were those parts that were giving you a bit more of a resting place?
Can you tune into them and breathe at the same time?
Good Keep breathing And feel the ground underneath you In Open your mouth and sigh out Now at your own pace You can start switching between the parts that are less And the parts that are a little more intense with sensations Try to not take the spot that has the most intensity And when you feel that a spot has too much intensity Then know you can always go back with your attention You can always go back with your attention to the ones with less Inhale to those parts that are lighter And exhale out of the parts that are a bit more intense Inhaling through one part And exhaling another Feel how these parts exist inside of your body Right next to each other And next to everything else that is happening around you Keep breathing in through one part And out of another Just notice if the feelings change The intensity of the sensation increases or decreases Inhale now into a different part of your body that feels easier And exhale out of another part of the body that feels more intense Notice the feeling of sensations Cold,
Hot,
Dull,
Spiky Soft,
Warm,
Tingly,
Pulsing,
Vibrating Or maybe nothing much at all Inhale to that part and exhale out of another part Slowly,
We start to end our practice Feel into your breath one last time While tuning into the ground underneath you Your connection to the earth and to yourself To close this practice,
Try and find a place of gratitude inside of you A warm and gentle soft spot to say thank you from Thank you body for trying to communicate with me Even though it's not always easy for me to understand what you're saying And then thank the one who was witnessing the sensations Thank you for patience to practice Thank you for your willingness to listen and learn Thank you for taking care of me And I thank you for practicing with me today Have a soothing part of your day or evening
