Come Back To Your Senses

If you are stuck in worry or anxiety, try this meditation to help you return to your breath and body sensations. It uses body scan and breath to help you get out of your head and literally come back to the senses in your body. A simple meditation can't solve the worries in your life, but it can help you rest and relax so you are better able to face your problems with calm and compassion.

Transcript

Hi, This is Claire Parsons, And this is a meditation about coming back to your senses when you're in a time of worry. Sometimes when you are worried, People will tell you, Come back to your senses, As if they mean to wake up or snap out of it. I don't mean it quite that same way. What I mean with this meditation is that if you come back to the sensations in your body, It often can help you get out of your head and get out of your worries so you can focus on resting, Taking care of yourself, Or doing what you need to do. So with that in mind, Let's get started. You first want to find a comfortable position. You want to root into your seat or lie down and melt into the mattress and just relax. Let the weight of your body go down into the chair or into the mat. Close or lower your eyes and just start to stretch out so you have a nice open airway and you have a sense of being alert without straining or stretching too much. Start by checking in with yourself and just noticing what's there for you in the body right now. We'll do a quick body sweep by checking in with our brow and eyes, Noticing our jaw, Our neck, Shoulders, Chest, Belly, Hips, And hands. Just notice if there's any tension in these areas and see if you can release it. And if you can relax that area, Maybe breathe into it a bit to let the tension go. If you can't just yet, Just sit with it for a moment and see if it eases up as we continue. Let's go back through again just a little bit more slowly. Check in with your brow and your eyes. Check in with your jaw and your neck. Let your shoulders fall back and away from your ears. Notice any sensations in the chest or in the belly and let that belly soften to invite the air in. Then let your hips stretch out and spread out into your seat and relax and let your hands rest effortlessly on your lap or the table in front of you. Now that we've settled, Let's find our breath. Just open your mind up to wherever you detect the breath most strongly. It may be in your nose or in your chest or belly. Find that spot and zero in on it. And let's first identify exactly what it is you are experiencing. Are you noticing cool air as the breath flows in and warm air as it flows out? Are you noticing a tingling or slight tickling sensation in your nose? Are you noticing the rising and falling of your chest and shoulders? Maybe the beating of your heart? Are you noticing the inflating and deflating sense of the belly or a sense of tension and then letting go? Whatever sensation you are feeling the strongest right now is the right one. Just notice it and stay with it. Let your attention rest on that sensation. Don't cling to it but just rest on it and let your mind go with the flow of the breath as it comes into your body and exits your body, Staying with the sensation of the breath instead of thinking about the breath. Now at any time you may find yourself distracted, You can just come back to the flow of the breath coming in and going out. A thought may arise or a sensation somewhere in the body may come up. You may even have an emotional reaction that could be very strong to you. You have two options to respond. You can try another body sweep from your brow to your hips and hands to come back to your body or you can just bring your attention back to the breath, Back to the feeling of the flow of the air coming in and going out. Now you may worry, You may think about the future. It may occur to you that focusing on your breath won't solve a thing in your life. But remember that I am not asking you to stay here forever. I'm only instructing you to stay here for right now. I'm just asking you to rest on your breath for a moment. Sometimes when we rest for a moment to catch our breath, We find that we can go on for a much longer time. Sometimes when we rest a moment to see what's there, We find we have a clearer head to make wiser choices that help us to avoid a struggle in our life. All we are doing right now is resting in the flow of the breath going in and out, Savoring what the breath feels like as it nourishes our body and being with what is right here right now. We live so much in our thoughts. Our minds are so creative. They are always making new ideas for us and trying to keep us safe by warning us of all the things that might occur that could go wrong. It takes wisdom to consider if they actually will. It takes wisdom to know which thoughts to believe. It takes wisdom to learn what thoughts deserve our time. Where does that wisdom come from? It comes from life experience. Life experience comes from paying attention as we live our lives. Part of our experience is our bodies and every moment of our experience is our breath. So just come back to that flow of the breath. Check in with your body and rest with it just for now. It is normal to think. It is human to wonder and to worry and to imagine. So if those things arise for you, Don't judge yourself. There is no point to treat the mind harshly for doing what the mind does. Just take each opportunity that you notice yourself thinking to practice kindness and gentleness with yourself as you redirect your attention and let it settle again back on the feeling of the breath. This practice isn't an escape. It's not a retreat. It takes courage to face what is there. It takes fortitude to sit with uncomfortable feelings. It can take restraint to find stillness when your mind and heart are racing. But you just showed you have that courage and you showed that you have the kindness to give yourself loving attention for these few minutes. I'm sure that we have all experienced in our lives how even a few minutes of courage and kindness can change everything. So for one last time, Just sit in the feelings of the breath, Noticing your own capacity for kindness and courage. As we prepare to close, Reflect that you have responded to worry and fear today with courage, That you responded to it with love, That you were willing to sit and rest even if your mind was demanding you to race and race and race around. As you go about your day, Remember that you can always come back to this space. You can see what's there. You can take a breath and return to the senses and sensations in your body and embrace each moment with kindness. Before we end, Just check in with yourself one more time to see what's there and to notice if anything has shifted. Then take one deep breath in, Filling your lungs all the way to the top. Hold it, Then release, And when you are ready, You can open your eyes.