The purpose of this mindfulness exercise is a body scan.
We will deeply bring attention to the breath and body to feel deeply rested and at the same time contact our aliveness.
We will also explore anchoring with breath,
Sounds or bodily sensations to keep coming back to presence and rest with it.
Let's begin.
Let's set an uplifting,
Inspiring motivation to this practice.
You may think to yourself,
May this practice bring more presence and calm to my life and may the benefits of this practice ripple out to help my loved ones and others as well.
Finding a sitting position that allows you to be alert,
With spine straight,
Yet not erect and seated with ease.
Resting your hands in an easy and effortless way.
Closing your eyes or leaving them open if you wish and inviting your attention to be warm and gentle.
Letting curiosity be your touchstone.
Now gathering your attention in the here and now.
Lengthening your inhalation,
Taking a few slow,
Long,
Deep breaths.
Relaxing with the out-breath.
Noticing how this relaxation is quite natural.
You don't have to do that.
As I breathe in,
I calm the body.
As I breathe out,
I calm the mind.
Resting with the inflow and outflow of the breath and how intimately can you feel the breath from within.
As you keep your attention gently on the breath,
Continue doing a few rounds of purposeful,
Slow,
Deep breathing.
Now gently let the breath resume its natural,
Unrestricted rhythm.
Easy and effortless.
As you breathe organically,
Notice what may have shifted inside in the few minutes.
If nothing has shifted,
That's okay too.
Our breath is a natural resource.
Our breath connects us to our wholeness.
Each in-breath is a fresh beginning and each out-breath a release,
A letting go,
An opening possibilities.
Now shifting attention to your body.
Noticing the body.
Inviting the body to relax.
May the body relax and inviting a body scan.
As I mention a body part,
Let your attention flow there.
Just gently contact the aliveness in that part.
No need to try to make anything happen.
No striving here.
Quite natural experience.
Begin with the forehead and temples.
Relax the muscles around the eyes.
Sensing the muscles on the face,
On the cheeks.
Unhinge the jaw.
Sensing the lips and the tongue.
Letting the tongue fill the lower jaw and relaxing to the root of the tongue.
Moving attention to the back of the head.
The back of the neck.
Softening the throat.
Feel the aliveness in these parts.
Now bringing attention to both the shoulders.
Relaxing the shoulders.
Feeling the shoulders inside and out.
Imagine or sense eyes melting into streams,
Flowing away.
Now sensing down both the arms,
Elbows,
Wrists,
Back of the hands,
The palms,
The thumbs and each of the fingers.
Feeling the length,
Weight and volume of the hands,
Arms and fingers.
Shifting attention to the lungs and the heart.
The diaphragm and the ribcage and the lower back.
Feeling the abdomen and the belly and feeling your sits bones firmly planted on the surface you are contacting.
Sensing the hips.
Now sensing simultaneously down the legs,
Down to the knees,
Back of the knees,
Kneecaps,
Down to the ankles,
The tops of the feet and the toes,
The arches and soles of the feet and the heels.
Seated here,
Rooted to the ground like a mountain.
Now widening your attention and feeling the whole body.
Feeling the sensations in the body like streams of light in a vast dark night sky.
Sensing the temperature,
Pressure,
Weight,
Heat,
Cool,
Pulsing,
Vibrations,
Tingling.
Rest with the awareness of the changing experience in the here and now and embrace the dance of your aliveness.
The direct experience of life.
Sensing the body,
Both deeply rested at the same time alert.
And notice the subtlety of the breath as the body relaxes.
Feel the breath from within.
Now take a moment to notice where the breath is most vivid or perhaps pleasurable.
Maybe the flow of air at the nostrils or the movement of the breath,
The rise and fall in the chest or the belly or you may sense the whole body breathing.
Whatever resonates with you.
Now feeling the vibrations of the sounds in your space and feeling the bodily sensations,
The pulsing,
The tingling in your palms,
Fingers or soles of your feet.
You may choose any of these as an anchor.
The sensations of the breath,
The sounds or the sensations in the palms or feet.
And that may serve as an anchor to the present moment.
The anchor will help you skillfully come back to presence when the mind wanders off.
Come back to your direct experience of aliveness.
So rest with your anchor for a minute or so.
Taking it in silence.
Where is your mind right now?
Each time you wake up with your mind far away,
Maybe absorbed inside a thought,
It's not an issue.
In fact,
It's a profound moment of mindfulness.
When you notice you're already back in the present moment,
Simply relax without any judgment.
Rejoice.
Incline your mind to gratitude and welcome yourself back to the moment.
And as you escort your attention back to the breath,
The sound or sensations,
Sense there is a letting go.
A letting go.
A letting go.
Reinforcing who you are as an awareness of all that is changing in your experience.
Moment by moment by moment.
As we come to a close,
I will read a poem by Dana Faulds.
It's called The Breath of Life.
I breathe in all that is.
Awareness expanding.
To take everything in as if my heart beats the world into being.
From the unnamed vastness beneath the mind,
I breathe my way into wholeness and healing.
Inhalation,
Exhalation,
Each breath a yes and a letting go,
A journey,
And a coming home.
Inhalation,
Exhalation,
Each breath a yes and a letting go,
A journey,
And a coming home.
Now taking a deep breath in and a slow out breath and letting go.
And sense if anything has shifted with this practice.
If nothing has shifted,
That is okay too.
Without any rush or hurry,
Open your eyes if they were closed and come back to your surroundings and notice everything as if they were fresh,
As if you are looking at the world for the very first time.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
