Focus And Sensing Exercise - 30min Version

This relaxation track begins with a brief introduction, directions to bring the body into a relaxed and comfortable position with awareness to the body through the breath. This is followed by the opportunity to explore a worry or problem. The process was adapted from an exercise on "Focusing" by Eugene Gendlin and is a longer, more indepth version of my other Sensing Track on Insight Timer.

This longer version allows time for the exploration of a worry or problem through gentle guidance with space to bring awareness to sensations in the body. The dialogue is delivered slowly, with longer space between guidance to allow for deep and deliberate processing of the sense.

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome to this relaxation meditation.

My name's Andrea,

And I'll be talking you through the next exercise.

This exercise is in focusing.

It was inspired by Eugene Gendelin,

And perhaps you've tried the other track that I've recorded that's a shorter version of this one.

This recording is going to allow for more space between the questioning,

Between the instructions,

To allow things to unfold a little bit more slowly if you're one that processes things,

And it takes more time.

So,

I like to just introduce this by saying,

For me,

It's an exercise of sensing,

Of being able to connect what's happening for us between our mind and our body.

I think this exercise has been something that I've used,

And used with people that I work with,

With good success.

It doesn't make you have to go into a symptom or a problem in any great detail.

It actually focuses more on your internalized sense and your bodily sense of what's happening for you.

So,

While there's thinking involved and there's some verbalization in the process,

The focus of this is actually on the feeling sensations in the body,

And getting better at reading those to lead to insight and discovery.

In this exercise,

We're not looking to solve or resolve the problem,

But rest assured that by the end of the exercise,

You'll feel that things may have shifted or settled,

And that's the proof in the pudding,

So to say.

So,

What we'll be doing is just taking some time to allow the body to relax deeply,

Because we know that in a relaxed space,

When the mind is able to slow down and the body is fully relaxed,

We can actually tap into those sensations a little bit better.

So allow some space for yourself to go through this process,

Switch off anything that's going to be distracting,

Find a comfortable space where you'll be able to devote this time to yourself,

And be in a comfortable place so that you can rest easily,

So that the comfort of the body allows you to help process whatever comes up.

So,

Take a minute to get comfortable settling into your space,

Whether that's in a chair,

Sofa,

Or even in bed,

Take a moment to find stillness in the body,

Shifting,

Moving in any way,

To find that optimal,

Comfortable place,

Starting with the head.

Finding a space where you can let the head rest.

We know that when we're relaxing that we can sometimes build up tension in the neck and the shoulders just by having to hold up the head.

So position yourself with some pillows or cushions behind the head or the neck that allows you to let the head rest back easily and gently without needing to pay attention to holding the head up.

Take a moment to find this position,

Just noticing the contact that you have with the pillow or the cushion behind you,

Or around your head and neck.

And then wherever you are,

Sitting or lying,

Just be aware of the contact,

Then your shoulders,

The arms,

And the contact of your back,

Resting into those cushions,

Into that space,

Letting the arms unwind,

Relaxing the hands and the fingers and the thumbs.

It might just take a minute to stretch out,

Position your limbs in a way that's comfortable,

Unwinding,

Straightening as much as possible.

Just becoming aware again of the contact of your body to the surface,

The sensation of sinking into that surface underneath you,

Letting go and just trusting that surface to support your body as you rest,

Relax,

Noticing midsection of the body in the lower part of the back,

Base of the spine,

Hips and pelvis,

Relaxing and releasing,

Notice any tension here,

And just be aware that you can invite this part of your body to let go.

We often hold tension in this space when we're guarding,

Feeling threatened,

Feeling anxious or worried,

Just releasing that tension.

And then just notice the contact of the body,

Again with the surface,

Moving your awareness into the legs,

Big muscles in the top part of the legs are relaxing and releasing,

Allowing tension to be released from the knees.

Such an odd place to hold tension,

But we often do,

Just give the body permission to let go,

Working that awareness into the calves,

Lower part of the legs,

Even the ankles can let go,

And just notice any tension in the feet,

And if you're sitting,

Just noticing the contact points with the feet on the floor,

Or if you're lying down,

Just noticing the heels' contact to the surface,

Just noticing the tension in the feet,

All the way into the balls of the feet,

Toes,

And again,

Positioning yourself,

Moving and stretching,

Reconfiguring yourself if you need to in your space,

To become comfortable,

Unwinding,

Relaxing as much as you can,

And by now your eyes might have just naturally shut,

Closed,

And if you haven't,

You can just release your gaze,

Soften the gaze,

Bring down the eyelids,

Blocking out the light,

Any distractions.

Just noticing in this space,

Your body fully relaxed,

You might even be aware of the temperature in the room now,

Any movement around you,

Just feeling those subtle sensations,

Noticing the body as you rest,

Movement through the body as you breathe,

And you might notice as you breathe,

The contact with the surface changes,

With each inhalation and exhalation,

Noticing the pattern of your breath,

Noticing the quality of the breath as you breathe,

Seeing if you can lengthen the exhalation a little bit more each time you breathe out,

Releasing and relaxing easily and gently,

Letting go of whatever doesn't need to be held onto for right now,

Feeling that the body is relaxing because we're bringing awareness to this relaxation,

Bringing this stillness,

This sense of being at ease,

Helps the nervous system to calm down,

We can't tell it to do that,

It needs our breath to guide it into a relaxed place,

Relaxing the body as best you can,

Letting the breath fall into its own natural pattern,

Without worrying about how deeply you're breathing,

Just letting the breath help you relax more and more,

And pay attention now to sensations in your body,

As you feel a little bit more fully relaxed,

Notice anything that comes up when you ask,

How is my life going,

What is the main thing for me right now,

Try to let the answers come with sensations within your body,

Rather than a verbal dialogue,

What is the thing for me right now,

And let the answer come slowly from sensing in the body,

Sensing what is it that comes up in the body with the thought of what is the main thing for me right now,

And if something of concern comes up,

Try not to delve into it,

Try not to detail it,

Just notice the sensation in the body,

Bring your focus to the bodily sensations of whatever it is that's most important to you right now,

Try not to go inside of it,

Try to stand back from this thing,

And ask,

Where do I feel this in my body,

What's that sensation,

Ah,

I can feel it,

Just let yourself have a little bit of space to view it from outside,

You can see it,

You can feel it,

You might ask what else you feel,

Sensing,

And like most humans,

Probably a few things have come up,

If not,

That's okay too,

If one big thing seems to be prominent,

But if there are several things,

Just feel into each one,

And I like to describe this like,

You are feeling it in the same way that you would sort of notice a difference between two people that you know,

If you just bring two people you know to mind right now,

Without describing them in words,

Just feeling what it would be like to be in the room with one or the other,

You would most likely feel a different sensation from each one,

In the same way,

See if you can sense into whatever it is that's the main thing for you right now,

What is the sense of it,

Without describing it,

Just letting it be,

And just be with it for a moment,

And if several things have sort of cropped up through this process,

Choose whichever one feels like you want to spend some time with it,

Which one seems stronger,

Most urgent for right now,

Select this one thing,

This one sort of problem or issue that you're having to focus on,

This exercise in focusing is more about sensing and feeling,

Rather than trying to solve it,

Or detail it,

Come up with strategies for it,

In this way we're standing back from it,

But yet we're feeling the impact of it in our body,

Just getting a full sense of what it feels like,

At this point you might be thinking,

Oh this is really vague,

I really don't feel clear about what I feel,

And that's perfectly normal,

So don't go into it,

Just keep sensing that in your body,

Sense all of it,

Sense it as a whole,

Whether it's comfortable or not,

Whether it's clear or not,

And just think about the sense of what you're feeling,

Sensations in the body,

And now we're going to just spend some time trying to put it into words,

Or images that might resonate with that sense,

Thinking of a word,

Phrase,

Or an image that comes out of the sensation that you're getting in your body,

How would you describe it,

In a quality sort of a way,

Meaning kind of like an adjective,

Does it feel heavy,

Does it feel cold,

Does it feel wobbly,

Or perhaps there's a phrase that comes to mind,

For what you're feeling,

Or an image,

Just stay with that quality of that sensation,

And keep trying to substitute different words or images into that space,

And see how they settle,

See how each one of those words or phrases or images settles,

If one seems to really tap into that sensation,

You might think you have it the first time,

Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to discover that it's something else,

So here I want you to take some time going back and forth between words or phrases or images,

And that sensation,

Check in,

See if one resonates more,

Check for a good fit,

And really allow yourself to try any words or phrases or images that come into your mind,

Even if they seem quite absurd,

Sometimes it's those really not expected things that sometimes end up fitting the best,

Allow yourself to explore more words and images,

Going back and forth checking that one might resonate,

You might have discarded a couple now,

And you might even go back to those and try them again,

You might come back around to that first one,

And double check that you're still sitting with the sensation,

With the issue or the problem that you came into focus with,

Keep your thoughts into that field as you go through this exercise of finding the word or the phrase,

The image,

And as you're going through that process,

See if there's anything in your body that signals a good fit,

Sort of perfect match,

See if you can bring your attention to that felt sense,

The sensation in your body,

When you get that real good match,

When the match is just right,

And allow yourself to just sit with that feeling for a moment of how that word or phrase fits with what you're feeling in your body,

Resist the urge to go inside of it,

Resist the urge to try to solve it,

Resist the urge to ask why,

Why,

Simply let yourself sit with the feeling,

And that word or image that you found fits,

Simply noticing the bodily sensation,

Noticing yourself in the space,

As you go through this process,

Finding that fit,

Finding that sensation,

Settling into that word or phrase,

Image,

And thinking once again about the whole problem,

This thing that makes you feel so whatever,

Whatever that word or image is,

Sense this quality again,

As you think about the whole problem,

So again,

Trying not to detail the problem,

But just in a general way,

Like a person in the room,

Thinking about that quality,

What makes,

What makes me so whatever that is,

What makes this whole problem,

So whatever,

Or maybe you might ask,

What is the feeling about?

Where's that feeling coming from?

Again,

Trying not to pick apart too much history or delve into questions about why,

Just finding the origin of that if you can,

Might be a surprise where this line of questioning goes.

And again,

Just going with the process,

Whether you expected it or not.

And then just noticing what,

What does this problem need?

Or what is the sensation that I'm feeling need?

What should happen?

And again,

We're not trying to set up strategies or outline what needs to be done so much as we're just trying to look at it in a broader sense of what does it need?

What's what's the needing if it's heavy,

Might need lightness?

Or if I feel overwhelmed,

And the feeling is busy,

Perhaps I need stillness.

And what should happen might mean that in that stillness,

I need to stop.

Or what should happen should mean whatever it is for you.

Wait for the feeling to come and give you the answer.

Notice that each time you bring something to mind the change sensation if there is one in the body.

And maybe the question that might be easiest to answer is what would it feel like if everything was okay?

Notice how that feels in the body.

Notice the sensation that comes with that question.

Or that statement.

What if it was all okay?

And if you're getting the answers to these questions quickly,

Just keep confronting them.

They fit.

Just sit with the sensations in the body.

You might feel like they've moved or shifted or eased or intensified in some way or another.

You might feel like they've released.

Even if it's just a small,

Slight release or a slight shift.

Just welcoming whatever comes up through this process and just sit with that.

And again,

If you're human,

You might have noticed other things,

Tangents,

Other sensations or other thoughts,

Other problems,

Other things that have come up.

And just know that this is just the first step,

One step,

Not always the final or the last.

That's perfectly normal.

Just again,

Noticing and focusing on that one thing you came in with,

Rather than trying to solve it all.

Know that those other things can be left for another time.

And also know that sometimes the ripples from this exercise of going into shifting one thing can often have a domino effect.

And help shift other things through time.

Try to resist the urge to criticize or let sort of negative thoughts get in the way of what you've accomplished here.

I'm just sitting with what's been coming up in this exercise for right now.

Thinking about other things that may have come up.

Just ask yourself,

Is this a good place to stop for today?

Or do I need to go through this process again?

Do I need another round?

Do I need another round of this process?

Or is this enough?

There's two phrases that come to mind.

One is you can strike while the iron's hot.

Keep going if you feel you want to.

But sometimes it's good,

Less is more.

Sometimes we can just stop after the first time around and that could be enough.

So you can decide where you're at for today.

And you can go back and review this exercise again if you want to.

Or you can leave it for today and always have the option to come back to it some other time.

And if you feel like you haven't had a major shift or nothing's really changed,

Sometimes it just needs to be a different day,

A different space.

Perhaps we didn't connect with the sensation or the words and phrases that might have connected to that.

It doesn't really matter for right now.

You can just sit with whatever's come up for you.

Even if it is just a deep sense of relaxing for this period of time.

The body will decide when it's ready.

Sometimes we don't have any control over when we can have a shift or if we can even use our mind and our body together.

We might need further guidance or a different space on a different day.

But just acknowledge any small change that you've made today.

Whether it's a physical change or just perhaps a change in your thinking,

Way about being.

Or just a way of changing your sensing or your awareness.

Sometimes it's not easy to describe in words.

It's often like listening to a piece of music where we just get this overwhelming motion,

Feeling.

Sometimes that can be chills in the body,

Heat.

Whatever it is.

Again,

Trying to resist the urge to pick things apart.

Asking why it happened or how it happened.

Just sitting with the feeling of having a shift.

Noticing now as you bring yourself back to the everyday world,

What you might want to take away with you.

I often think that sensing is like planting a seed.

Act in this process has just encouraged us to go about our day in a different way.

That we might look at things differently.

We might keep thinking of it.

It might have brought other things to mind.

It might have brought other feelings through our body.

It might have even shifted.

We might not feel it yet.

But in the hours and days to come,

We might notice some things changed.

Try to not overthink it too much.

Take a moment to simply have gratitude for what's come up.

And gratitude for the space and the time that you've spent to explore the space.

Noticing now as you bring your awareness back into the room,

Back into your body,

Where it sits in the room,

Just noticing,

Becoming aware of the room and your body.

Just stretch,

Move.

Take a deep breath if you feel that's helpful and release.

Just opening the eyes and allowing yourself to notice the room again and yourself in the space.

And I encourage you to,

If it's helpful to journal or,

You know,

Do something creative after being in the space.

Sometimes that's often helpful.

Doing a little drawing or even just putting colors on a page,

Something tangible.

Perhaps just even stick figures or an image of something that's come up can help remind you of the process.

And coming back to this process whenever you feel it's helpful or needed.

And I look forward to you being able to,

Yeah,

Be a little bit more at ease with whatever's coming up and use this exercise as much as you like.

Thanks for joining me.