Mindfully Reconnect

The natural tendency of the mind is to disconnect from the body and go on autopilot. Join me to use kind curiosity and awareness to engage in an orienting and body scan practice. This effort will help you mindfully reconnect and listen to your body and any messages it has to share.

Transcript

Welcome to this Mindfully Reconnect practice.

I am so excited to be here and thrilled that you're joining me today.

And part of what we're going to do today is really kind of get back into our bodies because it's very easy to disconnect and go into autopilot and go about our day.

And that's understandable,

Right?

We've got things to do,

Places to be,

Tasks to complete.

So part of what we'll do today is just work to reconnect to our body and listen a bit.

Because when we spend a lot of time in autopilot and focus on other things,

Sometimes our body gets the message that it needs to scream in order to be heard.

And that's usually when we start to pay attention.

So we're just going to scan through and find out where our bodies are in this moment.

We're gonna begin with our eyes open,

Which is different for some people.

We're just gonna begin by orienting to our space.

So if you're in a four cornered room,

Maybe just kind of looking at each corner and recognizing,

And this can help create safety in the body.

So just noting the four corners in the room that you're in.

Maybe even recognizing the size of the room,

The size of the container that your being is housed in in this moment.

And beginning with your five senses,

We're just going to,

Again,

Pay attention with our eyes open.

So taking in anything within your immediate surroundings that you can see.

Maybe looking at colors or textures or light,

If you've got light coming in.

And just noting what you can see.

Perhaps you zoom in and then zoom out.

If you've got a window nearby,

You can look into the distance or even just across the room.

And next,

Pay attention to what you can feel.

And it might just be as simple as the clothing on your body or the item that you're sitting on or standing on or lying down on.

And then just looking at the space that you're sitting in.

So if you're sitting in a room with a lot of space,

Lying down on fabrics,

And just noticing what you can feel.

And then shifting and paying attention to what you can hear.

You'll perhaps you hear the sound of my voice.

Is there anything else in the distance or perhaps you're just looking at the space that you're sitting in.

And then just looking at the space that you're sitting in.

And then just looking at the space that you're sitting in.

Is there anything else in the distance or perhaps something close up?

Maybe there's vehicles passing by.

And then switching into what you can smell.

Maybe you smell the remnants of a meal prepared.

Or the scent of a fabric that you've just touched.

And then just looking at the space that you're sitting in.

And then anything that you might be able to taste.

Again,

It may be what you've consumed.

You can vaguely taste it.

Or your toothpaste.

Just paying attention with kind curiosity to what you can taste in this moment.

And if it works for you and your body,

I invite you to close your eyes.

And settle more into this space.

Kind of letting go of that outside experience that we just tuned into.

Knowing that if at any point during this practice,

You need to open your eyes,

Shift your body or stop,

You're welcome to do so.

Please take care of you.

And as you kind of arrive into your internal experience,

Maybe taking note of gravity holding you in place.

So sensing into those contact points of where your body meets the surface below you.

And maybe feeling into that surface,

Holding and supporting you in this moment.

Knowing again that this is an anchor you can return to.

As mentioned before,

We're going to do our best to check in with this internal experience from a kind,

Curious place.

And notice if any judgments arise.

If any critical voice arises.

And experiment with opening up to that kind curiosity.

So we're just going to begin at your feet.

And slowly begin to scan upward.

And as you scan,

Recognizing what exists.

And the first scan we do will be a bit faster and then we'll go back to the surface.

And then we'll go back and spend a bit more time with each area.

So moving up from the feet,

Recognizing if there's any tension or holding there.

As you move into your calves,

Your knees,

Your thighs,

Paying attention to any sensations as you move along.

Reconnecting with those areas of your body.

Moving up through your hips,

Your bottom,

Your lower abdomen,

Circling around each of your organs up through your torso and your heart space,

Including your chest and your back.

Just paying attention to any sensations that exist with kind curiosity.

Up into your shoulders,

Your forearms,

Each of your hands and fingers,

Your neck,

Your jaw,

Your cheeks,

Your eyes,

Your forehead,

All the way up to the crown of your head.

And just checking in to see if any judgments arose.

And not judging yourself if judgment came up for you.

Just recognizing.

Was there a sensation that was strong?

Was one part of your body speaking to you more than some of the others?

We're going to reverse now and see if with that lens of kind curiosity we can listen and reconnect a bit more deeply.

So beginning at the crown of your head,

Begin scanning down,

Expanding your awareness to include your forehead,

Your cheeks,

Your jaw.

Is there anything here that's speaking to you?

Can you receive it with kind curiosity?

Can you respond to it with kind curiosity?

Always knowing that if this becomes too difficult or challenging,

You can return to that anchor of gravity holding you in place.

Or perhaps opening your eyes and experiencing your external world instead.

Expanding now,

Moving down into your neck and shoulders.

Is there anything here that's speaking to you?

Using that lens of kind curiosity,

Can you hear what it's saying?

And also using that lens,

Can you respond back to it?

Expanding now into your upper arm,

Your forearms,

Your hands and each of your fingers.

What's here in this moment?

What's present for you in this area?

What's present for you in this area?

If you could speak,

What would it say?

Perhaps responding to it with that kind curiosity.

Letting it know that you hear,

That you're listening.

Moving now into your heart space area,

Your chest.

And circling around to the upper back,

Just checking in to see what's here.

Again,

Opening with that kind,

Curious lens.

And checking in to see what's communicating to you.

And always feeling free to respond back.

With that kind curiosity.

And noting if any judgments arise.

Often we're most critical with ourselves.

Things we would never say to another person.

Where does the kind curiosity fit in there?

Expanding now,

Moving down into your lower abdomen and lower back.

And just listening for a moment here.

Noticing any sensations that exist through that lens of kind curiosity.

Noticing if there's any response you want to share in this area with kind curiosity.

And doing your best if at any point you need to return to that anchor of gravity holding you in place,

And the surface below you supporting you.

Feel free.

Expanding now down into your hips,

Your bottom and your upper thighs.

Noticing any sensations that exist here.

Perhaps experimenting with that kind curiosity.

Opening to hear what's being shared.

And also to share what needs to be heard.

And moving down,

Stopping at your knees.

Listening here for a moment.

Responding here for a moment.

Before you expand your awareness down through your calves,

Noticing any sensations.

Listening and responding as needed.

And then shifting once more down into your feet and your toes.

Paying attention to what's being shared here.

And perhaps responding with kind curiosity.

And expanding now your awareness to encompass your entire body from the tip of your toes to the crown of your head.

And noticing as you open to this entire internal experience,

What sensations exist.

Maybe some areas feel heard from your scan and focus.

Maybe there's still other areas that could use your kind curiosity.

Sensing in to your whole self from the inside out.

Reconnecting with that internal experience.

Knowing that throughout the day you have this opportunity to come to your body,

To come to your internal world,

And listen and respond.

And together we'll take three deep breaths,

Full body breaths here,

Before we close the practice.

And wherever you're at,

I invite you to bring your attention back to the sensation of where your body meets the surface below you.

Recognizing that surface holding and supporting you in this moment.

And we'll close with a nice big deep breath with an audible sigh,

Inhaling.

Opening your eyes.

Maybe giving yourself a stretch.

Perhaps a little hug,

An acknowledgement for taking this time to pause and reconnect mindfully to you.