When we practice mindfulness of the body,
Sensations may arise from different sources.
It can be helpful to explore these different vectors as a way of deepening our body awareness practice.
What are some of the types of physical sensations that can arise for us?
One type of sensation that we may feel is the physical impact of and points of contact with our environment.
We may feel our weight settling down onto what we're sitting on,
The touch of other points of contact,
How our clothes,
Shoes,
Jewelry,
Watches,
And or glasses feel,
The feel of our hair against our neck and ears,
Different parts of our body pressed up against each other,
And the feel of the air around us,
Breeze or a draft,
Shining sun,
Rain,
Snow,
Or mist.
We might notice hardness or softness,
Dryness or moisture,
Different textures.
Are you able to feel any of the physical impact of the contact of your body with your environment at this moment?
We may also feel sensations of moving,
Our muscles exerting,
Moving through space,
Contraction and release.
Can you feel any sensations of moving in your body at this moment?
We may also notice the internal animal physiological factors that go along with having a human body,
Feeling our breathing in our nose and mouth,
Upper chest and lungs,
In the depth of our belly,
Even noticing expansion and contractions in the periphery of the body.
We may tune into digestion,
Including hunger and a rumbling stomach or satiation and fullness,
Blood circulation,
Heartbeat and pulse,
Aches,
Soreness and pain,
Itches or tingling,
A full bladder,
Nausea,
Pressure,
Cramps,
And an experience of tiredness or freshness.
At this moment,
Can you detect any sensations that come from physiological factors?
We may notice temperature,
Cold,
Cool,
Warm,
And hot,
Both inside of our bodies and everything that we touch and in the air.
Can you feel any sense of temperature in your body at this moment?
We might be feeling emotions and moods,
Including anger,
Fear,
Sadness,
Embarrassment and shame,
Guilt,
Disgust,
Sexual arousal,
Joy,
Pride,
Love,
Excitement,
And tranquility.
Excitement and tranquility.
Sometimes emotions can lead to observable changes in breathing,
Heartbeat,
Energy in the limbs,
And other physical sensations.
At this moment,
Can you detect any feelings in your body that seem to come from emotions?
We may feel something in our body in reaction to something we see,
Hear,
Taste,
Or smell.
For example,
If we hear a dog suddenly barking right behind us,
People speaking about something that interests us,
Or we see a beautiful sunset,
These will probably trigger feelings in the body.
We may have feelings in our body in reaction to our thoughts,
Verbal or visual.
And we may have reactions to other body sensations,
Fear that we pull the muscle,
Pleasure riding upon pleasure.
At this moment,
Can you detect in your body any reactions,
The sounds,
Sights,
Thoughts,
Or other body sensations?
We may notice body sensations coming from motivation,
Both desires,
Motivations,
Urges,
Intentions,
And impulses.
And also impatience,
Drivenness,
Impulsion,
Tension,
Agitation,
Pressure,
And restlessness.
Can you notice any motivation in your body at this moment?
There may be areas in our body where we don't feel much of anything,
That feel deeply relaxed and or blank,
Or there may be very subtle sensations,
But they are a challenge to notice.
Are you able to detect any parts of your body that meet that description?
We can also detect relatively subtle flows of energy,
Relatively subtle flows of energy in the body,
Which we could call life force,
Spirit,
Prana,
Or chi.
These can include feelings of heaviness and lightness,
And areas that feel tight,
Contracted,
Dense,
And pressured,
And other areas that feel more loose,
Spacious,
Fluid,
Expansive,
And released.
We may notice parts of the body that feel solid and still,
As well as other parts of the body where there's subtle movement,
Vibrations,
Pulsations,
And tingles.
You may notice spreadings or collapsings of energy in the body,
Increasing or decreasing in size,
Intensity,
Strength,
Or frequency.
Is there any sort of vibratory flow that you can detect anywhere in your body at this moment?
When you take all of these types of body sensations together,
They form up our experience of having a human body,
Which is,
Of course,
A major portion of our experience of having a human life.
When experienced mindfully,
We can have more sensations,
When experienced mindfully,
We can have more spaciousness,
Clarity,
And choice around the whole thing.
