For this noticing practice you're best off sitting upright in a chair where you can have your feet flat on the ground.
So feeling your feet firmly planted on the earth and checking in with the physical posture.
So taking a moment to roll the shoulders back,
Sitting up nice and tall and having your hands resting in the lap,
Palms open and facing up to the sky.
Really feeling that lengthening up through the spine which supports that quality of alertness in meditation.
So starting to close the eyes now,
Gathering up that mental focus and awareness.
And to relax the physical body and to create a bit more space in the mind,
Let's take some deep breaths.
And as you breathe in,
Really drawing the breath softly but deeply into the belly.
So let's breathe in through the nose,
Feel the belly expand on the in breath and exhale out through the mouth.
Nice deep breath in through the nose,
Feel that belly expand on the inhale and exhaling out through the mouth.
Deep breath again in through the nose,
Feel the belly expand,
Beautiful.
And letting the exhale go through the mouth.
Couple more breaths like that,
Nice deep breath in once more,
Drawing it deep into the belly and out through the mouth.
Final breath like that and we'll hold on the inhale,
So draw that breath deeply into the body once more and then gently holding with that full breath.
Relax the face,
Drop the shoulders,
Beautiful.
And when you're ready exhaling out through the mouth.
Now allowing the breathing to return back to normal,
Settling down into whatever pattern or rhythm that may be.
Noticing the sensations after those deep breaths,
Knowing it's okay to feel a bit tingly or light headed.
It's just the body adjusting after those deep breaths.
And to help sharpen the attention of the mind we're going to draw our attention inwards,
Focusing on the body as the body exists in the here and now.
So let's start with the left hand resting in the lap,
Noticing the left hand.
So even though your eyes are closed you still have a sense of the hand existing in space.
Noticing the fingers and the thumb,
Starting to focus on the palm of the left hand.
Just focusing inwards,
Letting other thoughts go for now.
Giving yourself permission to be here.
What sensations can you feel in the left hand?
Is there maybe tingling around the fingers?
Maybe heat or coolness?
Just focusing in.
Now bringing your attention to the back of the palm,
Noticing where the left hand makes contact with the lap.
Noticing if the left hand feels heavy resting in the lap or if it feels light.
Just staying with it for a moment longer.
And we'll now allow that awareness,
That mental focus to gently spread.
So we'll welcome in the right hand to join as well.
So we are still maintaining that connection to the left hand.
And we also welcome in the right.
Noticing the fingers,
The thumb,
The shape of the fingers.
Can you feel the air maybe swirling around the fingertips?
Just focusing in.
Although the hands are still,
Perhaps there's still feedback,
Some biofeedback that your mind is receiving from the body.
Just staying with it,
Trusting that you're doing it right.
Notice how the mind likes to label and judge and give commentary.
Just let that go.
Come back to noticing what is rather than what should be.
Focusing on the hands resting in the lap.
As the mind wanders off into thoughts,
We let them go.
Just focusing inwards.
The hands are an anchor point into the present moment.
Staying with it,
You're doing so well.
Let's expand that awareness.
Your ability to be aware.
Let's expand that to become curious about the left foot.
So we'll maintain the hands as these two points of connection.
And now introduce the left foot.
Noticing the texture of the floor and the foot.
If the foot is bare or maybe wearing socks or shoes,
Noticing what textures and sensations you can feel in the left foot.
Just staying with it,
Staying with it.
And how do the hands compare to the left foot?
Are the sensations different at all?
Being open to the feedback from the body?
Beautiful.
Let's introduce the right foot as well now.
So now we have four points of connection to the present moment.
Connecting deeply to this body.
Noticing the right toes.
Noticing any textures in the right foot.
Noticing the sensations of the floor underfoot.
Any tickles or itches,
Can you allow them just to be?
We can just notice things arising in the moment and rather than reacting to them,
Just allow them to pass through.
Just staying with it,
Just for a moment longer.
These four points of connection.
Noticing the mind to the body through the hands and feet.
Well done,
Okay.
Now after that intense focus,
You're welcome to let go of those four points of connection.
And in fact,
The mind can be completely free.
The mind can think what it wants to think without judgments,
Can go where it chooses and we will sit in silence for a moment and just observe the mind and what it does with the invitation of freedom.
Okay,
Well done.
As we head towards the end of this meditation practice,
Take a moment to consciously acknowledge that you have taken time out of your day to connect in with yourself.
By focusing on the hands and feet,
We're starting to cultivate a mind-body connection.
And as we deepen our connection to the body,
So much wisdom becomes available to us.
Our ability to notice our emotions,
Our ability to tap into reception,
Our ability to be aware of biofeedback from the body.
So you can start to notice what your body actually needs.
And when we start to honor the body's needs,
We can act more in alignment with this animal body and noticing when we're starting to push beyond its edges.
So this noticing exercise,
As simple as it may seem,
Starts to really strengthen your self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
So however this experience has been for you,
Be proud of yourself for showing up and doing the work.
And just like any connection,
It gets stronger with a clear intention and repetition.
Let's take a deep breath to bring this practice to a finish.
So taking a deep breath however you wish,
Drawing it deeply into the body and on the exhale allowing your body to soften and relax,
Letting go of that straight spine,
Allowing yourself to sink down into the furniture.
Taking a moment to feel the softness of the body.
And let's start to wiggle the fingers,
Wiggle the toes,
Keeping the eyes still closed.
You can start to stretch if it feels good,
If that's what feels right for this body.
And when you're ready,
Just very softly opening the eyes,
Really taking your time to let the light,
The colours and the shapes back in.
Well done.
