Welcome to your practice.
Take a few moments to settle.
You might choose to sit,
Lie down,
Or find any position that feels supportive for where you're at today.
There's no right or wrong,
Just what your body needs right now.
Take a deep breath in,
And when you're ready,
Breathe it out,
And let yourself arrive in this moment.
Feel the support beneath you,
The ground,
Floor,
The mat.
Begin to sense into the contact points.
Let your body rest into them.
A little more with each breath.
You are held.
Let's begin by bringing awareness to the breath,
Not to control it,
Just to feel it.
Notice the inhale.
Notice the exhale.
Let the breath move as it wants to move.
Simply meet it in this moment.
Now gently begin to tune into sensation.
We'll start with temperature.
See if you can find one place in your body that feels warm.
Where in your body do you feel this warmth?
Let your awareness rest there.
What does this warmth feel like from the inside?
Let the warmth be exactly as it is,
And stay with the sensation of warmth.
Now invite your awareness to shift.
Where do you notice a cool sensation?
Perhaps it's at the skin's surface,
In the hands or feet,
Or somewhere more internal.
Where in the body do you feel this coolness?
Let the coolness be felt fully,
And stay with this sensation.
Now allow both to exist in awareness,
Warmth and coolness.
Sensation is not always either or.
It shifts,
It layers,
It can speak in quiet ways.
Let yourself listen.
And now invite you to tune into the sense of weight.
Where in your body do you feel heaviness?
It might be a sinking feeling,
A sense of gravity,
Pressure or fullness.
Wherever you find that heaviness,
Let yourself drop into it,
Feel it fully.
Let this weight be there without trying to change it,
And stay with that feeling of heaviness.
And now gently shift your awareness from feeling of heaviness,
And look for a sense of lightness,
A sense of lift or air or spaciousness.
It might be subtle,
It might be in contrast with the heaviness.
Take your time to find that lightness.
Notice what this lightness feels like from the inside,
And stay with that sensation.
Now let these opposites be part of the whole,
The heaviness and the lightness,
Both speaking the language of your body,
And stay with these opposing sensations.
Now gently shift to the sense of pressure or contact.
Notice where your body is being touched by the ground,
Clothing or even air.
Begin to feel your way into these contact points.
Is there firmness,
Softness?
What is the texture of that connection?
Now slowly turn inwards once more.
Begin to notice movement within stillness,
The quiet pause of your heartbeat.
Stay with that sensation.
Now notice the expansion and the release of your breath,
These tiny internal shifts that might not be visible but can be felt.
Stay with this feeling of your breath,
And allow your body to show you its rhythm.
Now invite your awareness to areas that feel neutral,
Neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
Sometimes these quiet places are where we can rest.
I invite you to find one area of neutrality and gently place your awareness there.
Just be with it.
Now,
If you feel safe to do so,
Notice any areas that feel tense or activated.
You don't need to analyse it,
Just feel what's there.
Stay close to the sensation.
Let it be felt fully without needing to solve it.
Just give it your presence.
Now begin to shift to a place in your body that feels at ease,
Even if only slightly.
It might be subtle and that's okay.
Let that sense of ease or openness be felt fully too,
And then allow it to grow,
Only if it wants to.
You might notice that your body is a whole landscape of sensation,
Rhythm,
Emotion and energy.
There's no need to map it perfectly,
Just be in it,
Listening,
Breathing,
Resting.
Take a few deeper breaths now.
Allow your breath to expand gently,
Filling the space you've created,
And feel your whole body as one,
One integrated field.
You don't need to name or organise anything,
Just be in the experience of breathing deep.
When you're ready,
Slowly begin to bring your awareness back to the space around you.
Feel the room,
The air,
The sounds.
You might try to move your fingers or your toes,
Allow your body to be your guide.
Take your time to return,
There's no need to rush.
Let the effects of this practice linger.
Thank you for being here,
Thank you for listening to your body,
And may this awareness stay with you,
Quietly supporting you as you move through your day,
Your week,
Your year.
