Welcome to this practice.
This is a meditation exercise that will help you land in your body and familiarize yourself with the sensations and innate wisdom of your body.
The more familiar and in tune we become with our bodies,
The deeper our connection to self becomes.
Our bodies are the ultimate communication tools and it's always available for us to listen to and to communicate with.
Tuning into the messages it provides brings us closer to self and provides a deeper understanding of our desires,
Our needs,
And our intuition.
So to begin this practice,
Find yourself in a comfortable position,
Whether that's seated,
Laying down,
Whatever feels right for you.
And as you land,
Feel free to do whatever your body needs to to really land comfortably if that means getting the fidgets out,
Just moving a little bit,
Just land.
And as you do so,
Just tune into maybe any sensations or aches or tensions that you might be noticing in your body.
Just notice them,
Don't judge them.
Again,
They're just information.
And now that we've landed,
We're going to take three conscious breaths together.
So as you land and settle,
We'll have you inhale for a count of four.
And exhale for a count of five.
And again,
Inhale and exhale.
And one more together.
And exhale.
Everything can anchor and center us in our body and this is mindfulness.
If you ever need to come back to mindfulness to your body,
Remember that a slow conscious breath can do just that.
So now we're going to continue to breathe.
And as you do so,
Just bring your awareness to perhaps the quality of the breath that you're experiencing.
How deep are you breathing?
Just notice again without judgment.
Is it shallow?
Is it deep?
Where in your body do you feel that breath?
How fast are you breathing?
Again,
Just noticing.
Does it feel faster than normal?
Is it slow?
Just notice.
How smooth does your breath feel?
Do the inhales and exhales feel the same rhythm?
Is there any raspiness or shakiness to them?
Again,
Just noticing and bringing awareness to the quality of that breath.
Where in your body do you feel the expansion of the inhale?
What parts of your body are moving as you exhale?
And as you notice,
Bring awareness to your chest.
Can you feel your breath moving your chest?
What direction does your chest expand in?
Does your whole chest move?
Noticing now if you feel your breath in your belly.
Does your belly expand with breath?
Can you even feel the awareness of the breath here?
Tuning into your lower back.
Do you feel the expansion of your breath in your back?
Again,
Just cultivating awareness here.
Tuning into your legs as you inhale and exhale.
Can you become aware of the breath directing itself into your legs?
Just playing with these sensations and noticing what you feel,
Noticing without judgment.
Do you feel breath more in your thighs,
In your calves?
What does that sensation feel like to you?
Tuning into your feet and your toes.
Can you direct your breath all the way to these extremities?
Again,
Just playing with these sensations.
Being aware of our ability to feel breath in all parts of our body.
Perhaps now bringing your awareness and attention to your hands and fingers.
Continuing to breathe in,
To breathe out,
And notice the sensation of inhale and exhale in the hands,
The fingertips.
What does breath feel like in these extremities?
Moving up from the arms,
What does breath feel like as you feel it in your forearms,
Your upper arms?
Just noticing,
Playing with that sensation.
Even as we bring our attention back to the center,
We'll start to feel breath in our neck,
Our face,
Our head.
What happens here as you inhale?
What does the sensation of exhalation feel like in the face and the head?
Can you feel the cooling sensation of the air as it goes through your mouth,
Your nose,
Into your chest?
Bringing your attention back to your chest.
Feeling that expansion,
That contraction as the air and oxygen find their way through to your lungs.
Noticing now,
If you will,
If that sensation has changed from the first time you tuned into it.
Has your rate of respiration changed?
Are you breathing faster,
Slower?
There is no wrong answer,
There just is.
What does the depth of your breath feel like now?
Do you feel the air in different areas in your chest now?
And as we become more and more aware of the sensation of breathing,
We are learning to tune in and to listen to our body and really revel in the innate wisdom that our body contains,
This life force.
I invite you to place your hands over your chest and as we begin to close this practice,
We will take another three deep conscious breaths together.
We'll inhale for four and exhale for five.
Hands over chest.
Inhale.
And exhale.
And inhale.
And exhale.
One more inhale.
And exhale.
We're turning to a normal breath again,
Remembering that the breath is something you can always come back to.
If you need to ask your body anything,
Anchoring with a simple inhale and exhale can prime you for any answers you wish to receive.
I invite you to perhaps bring a little wiggle into your toes,
Your fingers.
Becoming aware of these little movements,
Perhaps rolling to one side if you've been horizontal.
And when you're ready,
Bringing your eyes open and bringing your attention to the room you're in.
Thank you for joining me and thank yourself for giving you this time to tune into your body today.
