Stress Relief - Get Out Of Your Mind, Go Into Your Body

This meditation draws awareness into the physical manifestations of stress and anxiety and brings relief from symptoms through a complete and total radical acceptance of the sensations in the Present. Most often we think of stress and anxiety as a psychological phenomena but there is a far deeper physical component. By becoming aware of this deeper physical root of stress we form a compassionate relationship with the body, and through a profoundly thorough enquiry come to recognize that stress and anxiety can be relieved through a true acceptance of raw physical sensation as it manifests in the Now without engaging with the psychological suffering that ordinarily arises. (This is not intended as healthcare, it is a complimentary practice for symptomatic relief and should not replace professional advice)

Transcript

Good morning. Go to the physical sensations in the body. Become open to the sensations of breathing and the entire bodily sense. What is the physical sensation of being in this present moment? Allow yourself only the present moment. There is no future. There is no day ahead. No next moment. We are not about to do something in this meditation. Just now. Just this. Just being. There is no previous moment. There's no yesterday. Just being in the here and now and experience the present moment physically. What is the physical experience of being? What is it to experience a body? See if the body is willing to release a little tension. But do not try to force this. Just see if it's willing to start letting go. See if the breath is willing to deepen. Slow down. Just allow yourself just to be. Slowing the whole bodily process down. So that the physical experience of being is more aligned with the present moment. Aligned with reality. The physical sensation of being is undoubtable. It is raw and immediate. It is real and here. It is present. So remain in the body as the body and disengage from any of the thoughts in the mind. There's no need for any stories here. No imagination. No circumstances. No situations. In the present moment there are no conversations. No need to recall memory or to predict the future. Just leave all of that aside. Perfectly safe to just be in the body as the body. If you are in a period of stress and anxiety at this time, See how this stress and anxiety is manifesting physically in the body. Is there tension? Tightness? Is the body dense? Heavy? Perhaps there is an agitated or restless, Energetic jumpiness. Perhaps a heightened sense of expectation or impatience. Just feel this in the body, Not in the mind. Just for this time there are no situations to fix or change. No circumstances to alter. Nothing you should do or should not do. Just allow yourself to be. Just being. It's already here. You already are and all is well. So getting all of these narratives and stories, Situations, Conversations, Imagination and memories, Get all of these out of the body. We're not engaging with any of this mind activity now. Just open your conscious awareness entirely to the body and only the body. And feel the entirety of your current state of stress and anxiety as it manifests physically. The physical manifestation of stress and anxiety is the deeper root. It is there before the mind. So go straight to the root, The heart of this discomfort, The heart of this uneasiness and be there. And truly feel it. Allow it, Accept it in this moment. Just being with it, As it, As it is. Is there uncomfortable sensations of stress and anxiety trying to hide somewhere in the body? Perhaps in the gut or in the shoulders? Perhaps in the chest or in the back? Just see if there's any areas of the body that we can bring the light of awareness to. Just become aware of the entire physical body. With a sense now of allowing and accepting. And attach no opinion or analysis to the sensation. Just feel it raw as it is. Feel it neat. Continue to see if the breath is willing to slow and deepen. Just see if the body is willing to start letting go of some of this tension. You will find that these uncomfortable feelings are persistent and stubborn and that's okay. We are accepting them as they are in the present. We're not trying to make them go away. Just accept them as they are and they are no longer painful. They are no longer uncomfortable. They won't cause agitation because there's nothing to get away from. Accept the feeling fully and all becomes well. You may find that upon contact with the physical sensations of stress and anxiety, There is a great deal of mind activity that arises. This is due to our ordinary habit of trying to get away from painful and unpleasant sensations. Unpleasant sensations. So recognizing how this mechanism operates, You can simply remain courageous and firm in your commitment to simply accepting and allowing the physical sensation to be as it is. And you'll find that the mind activity ceases. There is nothing to get away from, So there is no need to go up into the mind and get lost in a stream of thought. Just go to the physical sensation and be in it as it. We then find that the negative emotions ordinarily associated with this feeling also simply vanish. There is nothing to be done. If you find that there are occasional surges of agitation and restlessness, This can be frustrating, Especially as you may have just been coming to a sense of inner peace and then feel a sudden rush of agitation or heart beating suddenly for no reason. Similar to when you're falling asleep and then you suddenly jolt awake. This is a very common phenomenon with this practice, So do not be frustrated. This is normal. As your body starts to relax and just rest in the presence of being total allowance, Total accepting, There can just be a little bit of turbulence. Just a little sense of hypervigilance as the body just begins to fall into a space of relaxation. And we do not need to fight the body on this. We can even thank the body. We can say thank you for trying to keep me safe, But the alarm system is not needed. Now so we can just let go, Let go. And if the mind is continually pulled this way and that, Just return attention to the physical sensations and just keep doing this. A relentless return to the physical sensation in the body. All is well, Nothing to change. Accept, Allow. And here in this open, Empty space of total acceptance, Total allowing, We find here the negative feeling of stress and anxiety is beginning to neutralize. As you immerse your body in this peace, This serenity. Just now, Just now, Just this. Let the body melt. Let the body fall away. Now, In a moment, We will be leaving the formal aspect of this meditation. If you have the time and space for it, You may wish to put on some soothing, Gentle sounds and continue to abide in this. This is remarkably healing and powerful to do. So spending as long as possible in this neutral, Relaxed state will go a very long way to alleviating stress and anxiety. Or it may be time to get up and begin moving about your usual daily activity. Throughout the day today, When you notice that your mind has become lost in the usual stories and narratives of stress and anxiety, See if you can gently return just to the physical sensations in the present moment. By doing so, You will find that your experience of life changes quite profoundly. Thank you for doing this meditation with me today. Take care, Be well, And stay present.