Soft belly meditation.
Welcome to the Be Awake series of guided meditations.
This series is geared to assist you live a healthier,
Happier and fuller life.
The CD is about letting go and breaking the hard surface that sometimes encases us when we approach our lives and ourselves.
It's about encountering our lives with gentleness and bringing softness and care to what we encounter.
It's about learning to hold the centre of your being with kindness and softness.
In this day and age the concept of a soft belly can be missed.
We are encouraged to develop a strong core and in that we might become hard on ourselves and on others.
What we are intending here is a softness in our centre that is merciful and can hold all of life's experiences.
Pain,
Longing,
Sadness,
Joy,
Bliss,
Lightness.
All the learnings of being human.
There is no better work you can do for yourself than learning to soften from within.
We can go through life battling or we can allow a flow.
It's an act of compassion towards ourselves to soften and allow all that is.
In this meditation I invite you to bring attention to mind and body with kindness.
Encourage yourself to bring a curiosity to whatever you might find.
Be open to paying attention in the moment and you might discover more about your capacity to know yourself better and heal yourself.
Also welcome yourself into this space.
You might like to suggest to yourself that this is a time to slow down,
To nurture and nourish yourself through just becoming aware.
Make sure that you're comfortable either seated or lying down.
Turn off your phones,
Remove any distractions and if necessary cover yourself to keep warm.
You can do this practice with your eyes closed.
So take some time now to check in with the whole of your body.
Notice where you might be holding tension.
Can you feel the sensations of your body?
Is there a general mood or emotion?
You're now bringing your attention onto your breath.
Notice the sensations of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.
See if you can notice any shifts or changes in temperature on the in-breath and on the out-breath.
Not changing or controlling the breath but letting the breath breathe itself.
You're now moving your attention into the region of the chest,
Getting to know the breath in this part of the body.
You might notice the expansion of the ribcage on the in-breath and the deflation on the out-breath.
Letting yourself breathe naturally and normally.
No need to change what you're already doing perfectly.
Noticing the sensations in the region of the chest as you breathe.
Noticing any emotional tone in this part of the body and letting it be.
Noticing any emotional tone in this part of the body and letting it be.
Exploring the breath in the region of the chest.
Noticing when your attention wanders and not giving yourself a hard time about it.
Guiding your attention back to the breath.
Now sensing your way into the region of your belly.
You might be able to notice the gentle movement of the breath in the abdominal region.
Notice whether this part of the body is tense and tight or soft and relaxed.
There's no need to judge yourself if you discover tension,
Pain or tightness.
Welcome yourself and open up to the region of your own belly.
Beginning to soften the belly in whichever way feels right for you.
Just bringing awareness can bring softness.
Make room for the breath to flow in and to flow out.
Allowing the breath to move in soft belly.
Feeling the belly rise on the in breath and fall on the out breath.
No need to control this,
Just let it happen in its own way.
Let each breath bring softness.
On the in breath filling the belly with gentleness.
On the out breath letting go.
Letting softness in the belly with each breath letting softness grow.
No judgement of what is here in the belly,
Let it all float in softness.
You don't have to force this or try too hard.
Starting to know this part of the body and what is stored here.
We can hold so much grief and fear.
The need to control,
The need to protect.
For now giving yourself the time and the space to let it all be.
Each in breath is an opportunity to let go of the soft belly.
Each in breath is an opportunity to soften.
Each out breath an opportunity to let go.
Creating space in the belly.
Letting the belly be a place of mercy and kindness.
So much to notice.
So much to uncover.
So much to let go.
We're taking time here to soften the belly to release the heart.
Judgement,
Doubt,
Control,
Expectation,
Disappointment.
Let it all float in soft belly.
As you soften creating space for you.
There's nothing you need to change.
If there's hardness let it be there.
Soft belly can hold it.
Let it just float.
There's no need to analyse what we're doing here.
There's no need to analyse these words.
Let the words be.
Let them pass through you as you feel soft belly.
Noticing tightness,
Urgency,
Pushing.
Feeling soft belly.
Compassionate belly.
Having mercy for all that you hold and all that you are.
Continuing to explore the sensations as they rise and fall,
Shift and change.
Noticing any areas of tension,
Tightness.
Noticing where you might feel pressure.
Noticing if the sensations are solid or changing.
In soft belly we have room enough for all states and all sensations.
Notice your thinking as it arises on its own.
Watch it come and go.
There's no need to get caught up in what the mind is doing.
You can return to soft breath and the sensations in soft belly.
Noticing the levels of softening.
Noticing the layers.
Keep reminding yourself that soft belly can hold it all.
In soft belly there is room for healing.
There is room for just being.
There is room to let go.
Allowing soft belly to become a place of mercy,
Compassion,
Kindness for yourself.
There's no need to force or contrive this.
Just getting to know this part of your body.
Getting to know how at times it might protect you and contract.
Getting to know how you can soften and hold all life's experiences.
Breathing into soft belly.
As you soften creating space for you.
As you soften creating space for what's new.
Reminding yourself that there's nothing you need to force here.
Letting yourself just be with what you notice.
Softening more and more to how things are with kindness.
Finally you might like to take this time to acknowledge and thank yourself for taking this time out to take care of yourself in a special way.
Acknowledge yourself for wherever you are in your life and whatever condition you find yourself in.
There is always wholeness within.
Make a commitment to keep practicing and in do so you'll find it easier to open up to your life as it unfolds.
During the day from time to time you might like to just drop your awareness into your belly.
Noticing if you can soften as you do so.
As we end this practice today you might like to extend your wishes and prayers of kindness to yourself and to all those you know.
Extending wishes of compassion and healing to all.
