Hello,
My friend.
Thank you for being here.
This is a game-changing practice for blessing our bodies instead of complaining about them or criticizing them,
Which is a habit that's easy to get into,
Isn't it?
Something we forget is that we have a big power inside of us,
And that's the power of choice,
And especially the power of how we choose to pay attention to someone or something.
We can pay attention in a way that is kind and appreciative or helpful,
For example.
Or we can pay attention in ways that are cross,
Stubborn,
Critical,
Judgmental.
And we're human,
So at any given time,
At any given moment,
We may not be paying attention in quite the way,
If we checked in on ourselves,
We'd like to be.
What's great about any awareness practice like meditation is that we are actually having an intention to pay attention in ways which are uplifting,
Helpful,
Rewarding,
Nourishing,
And healing.
And that's exactly what we're going to do now.
And in this way,
Really make amends with any rupture in your relationship with your body.
So in this practice,
What we're going to do is offer blessing to our bodies as a way,
Perhaps,
Of making amends for those times when maybe we've compared our bodies to other bodies and found them wanting or looked in the mirror and criticized a part of our body,
Tried to push our body against its will and force it.
Or,
You know,
When we felt our body just isn't doing enough for us,
Or is behaving in ways we don't like,
And made it feel like a useless thing instead of a home,
That is having conversations with us all the time,
Guiding us to a really great relationship with it.
So as you begin to settle in and get comfortable,
Remember your body is miraculous.
Your body is unique.
Each of our bodies is unique.
And going through unique experiences,
As well as experiences like illness and injury,
It has experiences of great joy,
Pleasure and delight,
Peacefulness and restfulness.
Our bodies are built to experience life.
So now,
Begin lovingly to enter your body.
Feeling your breathing carrying you inward,
Enter your body as if you were going to meet someone you love greatly.
Move into your body as if you were moving into a magical home,
Which you are.
And becoming aware that you are breathing.
Place your attention on the flow of breath as it comes in through your nose,
Swirls around your sinuses,
Glides down your throat and fills your lungs.
Feel how your whole torso expands and contracts with each breath.
And how delicious that expanding and that contraction can feel.
Savoring that feeling.
Remembering that every breath you breathe is sacred.
Breath is the foundation of the miracle of your life.
And you are taking this miracle into your being all the time.
This miracle is happening in your body all the time.
You might touch your fingertips to the center of your chest in gratitude.
And feel the intimacy,
The closeness of the breath of life moving into that space.
Your breath is right now breathing life into your form.
As you take in a small amount of air and embrace it into your body,
That small amount of air will allow you to breathe life back into your body.
As you take in a small amount of air and embrace it into your body,
That spirit of life,
That spirit of air becomes part of you.
That spirit of creation,
Healing and love,
Pure love.
These are all the nutrients of life that allow everything to regenerate and flourish.
We're going to use our hands now to bless our bodies and our beings.
As you take your next breath,
Breathe in slowly and lift your hands slowly above your head and hold them there comfortably.
And as you breathe out,
Slowly bring your hands down to rest again in your lap or in any part any way your hands want to land.
And then the next time you inhale,
Slowly lifting your hands above your head,
Hold them there comfortably for a moment.
Breathing.
Sense that you're receiving the energy of your body.
And as you inhale,
Slowly bring your hands down to rest again in your lap or in any part any way your hands want to land.
And as you inhale,
Slowly bringing your hands down to rest again.
And as you inhale,
Slowly bringing your hands down to rest again.
And as you inhale,
Slowly bringing your hands down to rest again.
And then exhaling,
Bring your hands down and feel yourself bringing that blessing inside you and into your whole form.
Do this one more time.
You're breathing up with your hands,
Allowing the energies of blessing to move inside you.
And you're bringing that current down as you bring your hands down and exhale into every part of your body.
Blessing your body.
There are parts of our body that we forget to bless or we withhold our love from.
So now is the opportunity to continue this movement.
And as you bring the blessing in,
You can even touch parts of your body that you particularly would like to make friends with,
To give love to.
Parts of your body that would particularly like to receive the blessing.
You can literally,
With your blessing hands,
Massage or stroke the blessing into your body and into particular parts of your body.
Although it may feel unfamiliar to you,
Stroking,
Massaging or blessing your body this way,
Remember when you are in the shower or the bath,
You are stroking lotion into your being in exactly this way.
This time,
What you are stroking in,
Sending in,
Are healing,
Inspiring energies.
Love,
Forgiveness,
Inspiration,
Nourishment.
And all the time you're breathing your life-giving breath,
Savouring the blessing,
Savouring your breath,
Savouring touch,
Savouring these healing,
Inspiring energies.
Aware that your breath permeates even the areas of you that you don't like or that you want to fix or change.
Breath is generous and breath is everywhere.
It moves generously towards and into you and then offers itself back into life as a blessing and appreciation from you to all life.
And when you're breathing in,
You're breathing in an amplification of that blessing and appreciation.
So now,
One more time,
Let's use our hands again.
To take a breath in,
Raising your hands up to this spiritual source of loving energy.
And then bring your hands down to rest anywhere.
And let your breath take its natural rhythm again.
While you continue to receive this love,
This healing from the highest source,
Sensing it pour into every cell of your body.
Every cell is sparkling.
Your whole body is sparkling.
Your whole body is sparkling.
Sensing that and feeling grateful that you are a living,
Breathing form.
That your living,
Breathing body is itself a blessing beyond measure.
A blessing allowing you to belong to the blessing of life,
To the magic,
To the gift.
Receive the blessing.
Receive the blessing.
And take a moment using your outgoing breath to send blessings to all those you love.
Pouring blessings to the whole of the earth.
As you prepare to return now,
Take a moment to feel every cell of your body thanking you for this practice.
Thanking you for your blessing and for receiving the blessing of life.
And then begin to come back,
Taking clear and conscious breaths.
Enjoying any stretches that feel delicious.
And when your lids want to flutter open again,
Just let them.
And take a moment before you enter your next moment to gaze at the blessing of the space around you.
Feel how your own body is situated in that space.
And be present with the wonder of being here now,
Alive.
Thank you for joining me for this beautiful practice.
I hope you'll return to it and in so doing perhaps build a new appreciation and love for your body.
Until next time,
Bye for now.
