This body-scape annotation is a simple way to help you reconnect your mind and body in a harmonious way.
We spend so much time in our heads doing.
We often forget about the incredible wisdom that our body has to offer us.
In fact,
By tuning into our body,
We can learn so much about who we are and whether we're pushing ourselves to burn out.
So to begin this meditation,
Find a comfortable spot where you won't be disturbed.
You can lie down on your back using pillows or blankets as props under your knees and head for support.
If you like,
You could do this sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
However you position yourself,
Placing your hands by your sides or gently on your lap and then taking a breath in and on the exhale,
Closing down your eyes.
If you find yourself at any point becoming sleepy,
Feel free to gently open your eyes and maintain a soft focus about three feet in front of you.
So now let's start by taking a few minutes to bring awareness to the physical sensations of your body as a whole,
Focusing on the touch points and pressure areas where your body makes contact with the surface you're on.
And on each out breath,
Allow yourself to sink a little deeper into that surface.
Remember this is a time for you to fall awake rather than falling asleep.
It's a time to be fully aware of your experience just as it is and not as you anticipate it might be.
So try not to change the way you feel,
Not even if it means becoming more relaxed or calmer.
The intention of the practice is to bring awareness to any and all sensations as you focus your attention on regions of your body.
And sometimes you may feel no sensation at all.
And if that's the case,
Then just acknowledge it.
There's no need to try and imagine anything where nothing is to be found.
So bring your awareness to the sensations of your abdomen.
Becoming aware of how the abdominal wall changes as you breathe in and breathe out.
You feel it maybe expand and contract.
Just follow this in and out in any sensations that arise.
Being connected with sensations in your abdomen,
Gather your attention as if it were a spotlight and bring it down the body into your legs,
Into both feet and all the way down and out your toes.
Focus on each of your toes,
Bringing a gentle interest and attention to them.
Investigate the qualities of the sensations.
You might notice the contact between the toes or the space in between.
There may be warm tingling or numbness,
Or maybe you feel no sensations at all.
Whatever your experience,
That's okay.
There's no need to judge.
Just allow the sensations to be just as they are.
And on an in-breath,
Feel or imagine your breath could enter your lungs and pass all the way down your body into the legs and all the way down to the toes.
And on the next out-breath,
Feel the breath flowing out your toes,
Coming back up the feet,
Legs,
Torso,
And finally as it passes through your nostrils.
Just focus in this way with your breath in and out for a few moments.
And when you're ready,
On your next out-breath,
Let go of your toes and bring your awareness to the sensations at the feet,
The bottoms,
The soles,
The heels,
The insteps.
Maybe you notice a sense of pressure where your feet make contact with the floor beneath them.
Experiment with breathing into any of the sensations you discover,
Being aware of the breath in the background,
Just exploring the sensations in the bottom of your feet.
And if thoughts carry you off,
The minute you realize you're off in thought,
Be gentle and kind to yourself and bring yourself back to the area of your body that you were focusing on and allowing your awareness to expand to the rest of the feet,
To the top,
To the ankles,
Right down to the bones and the joints.
And on a deeper and more intentional in-breath,
Direct it down to both feet and on the out-breath,
Let go completely and shift your attention to your lower legs.
You might feel tingling or heaviness,
The sensation of your clothing touching your skin.
Just allow it to be just as it is,
Breathing in and out of your legs.
And now taking another intentional breath in and on the out-breath,
Moving to your knees and just feeling what's surrounding those knees.
Maybe it's warmth or tightness.
Just experience what's here for you now.
And when you're ready,
Breathing in again and on the exhale,
Moving your awareness to your thighs,
The fronts,
The backs,
Feeling the pressure on the contact of the surface you're sitting on.
You might feel pulsating,
Vibrating,
Heat.
Just breathing into this area without judgment.
And breathing in deeply and when you exhale,
Moving your attention to your hips in your pelvic area,
Noticing the space between the hips,
The bowl of the pelvis that holds all your organs,
Your buttocks,
Your sit bones.
Bringing a gentle awareness to all that resides here.
And if any sensation at any time becomes too intense,
Just send it a breath and ask it to soften.
It may or it may not.
And that's okay.
Just continue as best you can,
Breathing in and out.
And on your next out-breath,
Move your attention to your lower back,
Area that takes so much of our stress.
And what's here?
Heat,
Tightness,
Maybe stiffness,
Pulsating.
Just experience it as it is for you right now.
And moving your awareness upward to include the middle of your back,
Feeling all sensations that are there.
And then expanding even further to include the top of your back,
Including your shoulder blades.
You might feel pressure or tightness,
Warmth.
Just allow and let be all physical sensations you're experiencing.
And taking an intentional breath in,
And on your next out-breath,
Moving your awareness to your chest,
And maybe you feel your heartbeat here,
Or the rise and fall of the ribs as you breathe in and out.
Or maybe you don't feel much at all in this region,
And that's okay.
Just know that you feel nothing.
And then moving your attention up to include the left and right shoulder and upper arms.
Maybe you notice your clothing touching your skin or the twitching of muscles.
There's no right or wrong here.
Just experience what's being offered by this region.
And on the next out-breath,
Moving down to your elbows.
And then moving down even further to include your lower arms.
And as you exhale again,
Moving to your wrists and the palms of your hands.
And maybe you feel warmth or moisture here.
Breathing in and out of this area,
And then moving to the backs of your hands,
And down each finger all the way to your fingertips.
What's here for you?
Pulsating,
Numbness or tingling,
Coolness even.
Whatever's there,
Just be with it as it is.
And taking a deep intentional breath in,
And as you exhale,
Shifting your focus to your neck,
The front,
The back and the sides.
Maybe you feel sensations as you swallow or tightness in the muscles that surround your neck or the coolness of the air as it passes over your skin.
And as you exhale again,
Moving to your face,
Including the jaw and the mouth,
Areas that tend to hold so much tension.
What does this hold for you today?
And then including the lips,
Maybe they feel moist and full.
You may feel air passing over your nostrils,
Touching your lips,
Just being with it as it is.
Then expanding to include the nose and cheeks,
The ears and eyes,
All the way to the forehead.
Just feeling whatever sensations are here,
And maybe there are very little,
And that's not a problem.
And now your next exhale,
Shift your focus to the top of your head and down the back.
Maybe your scalp feels twitchy,
Tingly,
Or maybe you only feel the contact you make with the floor if you're lying on it.
From time to time,
You may have thoughts taking you away,
Or feelings like,
This is boring,
I don't like this part of the body,
Or I like this,
This is normal.
Just notice and gently acknowledge the fact,
Make a mental note,
Thinking or feeling,
And then return your focus to the area of your body.
And now open your awareness to include the entire body,
From the top of your head,
Tips of your fingers,
All the way down to the tips of your toes,
Feeling the body as a whole,
Full of sensations,
Flexing,
Changing.
Be with this spacious awareness moment to moment,
As you breathe in and out of the whole body feeling.
Meditation after sensation.
And now deepen your breathing,
Focusing on the rise and fall of the in breath and the out breath.
And as this practice comes to a close,
Be thankful for spending this time with yourself in presence and awareness of all the sensations coming and going,
Arising and falling.
Sensations are just another part of you,
The whole of you.
Namaste.
