In this meditation,
We'll be working with sensations of pain.
I'd like to invite you to come into whatever posture is supportive of this meditation.
You can sit in a chair or on a couch or the floor.
You can stand or you can lie down.
You are also welcome to shift between postures during the meditation.
You're invited to keep your eyes open and downcast or closed.
If at any point during the practice you start to feel overwhelmed or anxious,
You can turn your awareness towards an anchor,
Which is something that feels pleasant or neutral to you.
Some invitations would be for you to come back to the anchor of the breath,
The anchor of naming objects in your environment,
Or the anchor of touch by giving yourself a gentle hug.
Taking a few full breaths as you settle into your meditation posture.
As you allow your attention to scan your body,
Notice if you sense particular discomfort in any areas.
And if you do notice an area where there are uncomfortable sensations,
Bring a gentle awareness to that area.
You might want to name the quality of the sensations you are experiencing.
Is it constriction,
Aching,
Stabbing,
Heaviness?
Is it sharp or dull?
As you become aware of the sensations that are present,
What are you noticing in your body and your mind?
Are you resisting the sensations of discomfort?
What feelings or thoughts are arising?
Simply notice what is coming up for you.
And if you are able to stay with the unpleasant sensation,
You might want to send a message of kind allowing,
Such as you belong.
Can you allow the discomfort to be as it is?
Can you bring a kind attention to the sensation?
Similar to the attention you might offer to an injured child or animal and noticing if that awareness shifts the sensation and how.
Does it intensify,
Dissipate,
Shift?
If you are able to,
You might want to deepen your awareness of the unpleasant sensation and notice the experience.
You might want to continue to name what you are experiencing.
Notice how the experience changes.
And if the sensations feel intolerable,
Take some moments to return to one of the anchors.
You might want to return to the breath.
You might want to give yourself a gentle hug.
Or you might want to bring your awareness to the neutral or pleasant sensations in the body.
This might be sensations in the hands,
The lips,
The eyes,
The feet.
Turning to your anchor or noticing those neutral sensations now.
And now you are invited to explore going back and forth a bit.
Sensing into the area that feels neutral and then gently easing into a bit of where it's unpleasant and then back again.
And then moving back in and sensing again a bit of the discomfort.
Noticing what happens when you move back and forth between the discomfort and the neutral places in your body.
Sensing into the space that arises around the area of discomfort.
Seeing if you can allow the sensations to change.
They might intensify or fade.
Noticing how these sensations are always changing in the body and allowing the body to create more space for discomfort to shift and change.
And as we close the meditation,
Seeing if you can allow these sensations to be in your body with a kind attention.
Noticing that the body is an open field with space for a wide variety of sensations and that multiple sensations are present at the same time.
And allowing yourself to return to and rest in the neutral or pleasant sensations whenever you desire.
