Mindful awareness of the body is key in managing stress.
Within challenging situations,
Learning access points or grounding points within the body can help steady the emotion and calm the mind.
Success in this depends upon having an awareness of inner body sensations,
At the same time remaining in touch with the whole of what's happening inside and outside.
So now in your own way,
Let's take a few moments to relax the body.
Perhaps taking a few deep conscious breaths,
Breathing deeply right down into the belly and as you breathe out,
Feeling the muscles in your body softening and loosening.
You're relaxing yet remaining awake and alert.
And now allowing your breath to find its own depth and rhythm and if you feel comfortable allowing your eyes to gently close,
Maintaining a soft internal gaze.
As you do so,
Noticing the space behind the closed eyes,
The muted shapes,
Perhaps you can see some colours.
Noticing the shapes and the colours morph and change as you view them.
And as you go along with this guidance,
Notice when your attention is called to any thoughts or sounds coming to you from inside or outside and actually allowing your attention to be called into the moment of that thought or that sound,
Noticing it,
Letting it arrive and then go.
Not holding on to any thought,
Not pushing them away,
Not holding on to any sound,
Not pushing them away.
Simply aware of what's happening in this moment because it is.
Good.
Notice now your awareness of breath and breathing.
Notice the feeling of the breath as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Notice particularly the movement of the body,
The rising of the upper part of the body,
In the chest,
The abdomen,
The expanding of the belly,
Rising and falling easily and naturally as you breathe in and out.
Noticing the breath as it enters the mouth or nostril,
Flowing through with it,
The stilling,
The pause between the in breath and the out breath and then flowing out easily.
We're just breathing in and breathing out and paying attention to it,
Knowing that breath is experienced by the whole body.
Now moving your attention down to your feet,
Feeling,
Sensing into your feet,
Noticing any sensations there with a gentle curiosity.
Noticing any pressures,
Tinglings,
Softness or hardness,
The bareness of your feet or the wrappings around your feet,
The warmth or coolness.
Just knowing your feet are there,
Feeling the toes,
The arch of the foot,
The heels,
The surface of your feet and as you pay attention to your feet,
Knowing part of your awareness remains with your breath.
Simply breathing as you let your awareness fold around your feet and still keeping a small part of your awareness on the breath,
Bring your attention to your hands,
Rest your attention on your hands,
Feeling the touch of your hands against each other or your side or thigh.
Notice your fingers touching each other,
Noticing the temperature of your hands and the light tingling,
That subtle sensation of aliveness.
Just exploring all the sensations around and through your hands.
Good and now let your attention flow to your shoulders,
Settling attention on your shoulders,
Noticing any sensations across the top of the shoulders in the muscles there and if you're feeling tension,
Breathing into that area and then as you breathe out,
Allowing the shoulders to soften and relax and droop a little with that out breath.
Noticing the base of your neck,
Perhaps a softness or hardness there,
Maybe the touch of clothing,
Warmth or coolness.
And bringing your awareness back now to that soft internal gaze,
Taking time to notice any sensations in and around your eyes,
Softening with the out breath any tension that is around your eyes.
Letting the eyes relax,
Noticing the soft touch of the lids,
The eye sockets,
The eyebrows and as you feel through the eye area of your body,
You can feel too the eye on going flow of your breath as it moves in and out of your body.
Your body relaxing just a little bit more with each out breath.
And now let your awareness open wide to include your whole body,
The access points,
The feet,
The hands,
The shoulders,
The eyes,
Aware of each of these areas.
Noticing whatever sensations are coming into your awareness now from the body,
Including the movement in the body as you breathe.
Notice the awareness of your mind,
Noticing what there is to notice.
Knowing that balance and steadiness can be encouraged at any time by a simple pause,
By paying attention to the next breath,
At the space in front of your eyes,
The feeling of your feet on the floor,
Your hands,
Your shoulders,
The flow of your breath.
And as we close and the gong sounds,
Allowing your breath to become a little stronger as you reactivate your body before slowly opening your eyes.
