Vipassana Practice - Sensation To Sensation
by Dan
This meditation track was put together to give you a full cycle of the sensation to sensation practice very similar to what you are taught in Vipassana. Ultimately, this practice is about creating equanimity and compassion. Beginning to be with the aversion, we feel from pain so we can bring it into those more difficult moments we find in living.
Transcript
Let's get ourselves comfortable.
And today's,
These practices are about recognizing equanimity,
You know,
So recognizing a state that we can,
I don't want to call it a state,
But sort of the recognition that actually I can be with what I'm feeling and not get caught too much up in the dialogue of the thoughts.
You know,
The thoughts that want to tell you how bad it is,
How much pain that you're in,
And all the rest of it.
Now if you want to close your eyes for this practice,
You're very welcome to.
I'll have my eyes closed for most of the practice.
I'll be sort of guiding through as I do for myself.
And I do a normal Vipassana practice,
So I'll go through,
Sort of do the body scan sort of twice,
Twice through,
Which is why it's going to be 30 minutes.
All right?
And all I'd invite you to do is just begin by bringing some attention into the body.
Let's start at the nose.
And so we're going to just be holding some of that attention around the nostrils,
Upper lip.
And just for the next two minutes,
We're just going to hold our attention there as best as we can do.
Apply some of that Shamatha to how we are,
How your day has been.
Just softening the mind,
Even remembering thoughts,
Just thoughts.
We're here for practice.
So anytime the mind wanders,
You're just recognizing thoughts,
Just coming back gently,
Back to the nose,
The nostrils,
Upper lip.
Good,
Mr.
Company.
And remembering the important part of this practice is equanimity.
Finding that space for yourself to be with whatever is there.
Maybe at the moment it's just thoughts.
We're not trying to get rid of them.
We're not trying to change them.
It's more stability.
Balance.
At the moment we're just noticing the flow through our nose,
Upper lip.
The next point we're going to move to now is just at the brow.
Just above the eyes and the eye sockets.
Just the eyebrows.
And we're just going to hold our attention there.
Again,
No good,
No bad,
No important,
Less important.
It doesn't matter how much or how little you feel.
Just noticing.
And seeing how well we can just hold our attention.
And then brow to forehead.
And forehead to the top of our head.
And again we're just going to hold our attention there just for the next minute or so.
Remembering it doesn't matter how much or how little you feel.
The point of the practice is not to try and relax the body.
Just feeling what is here with us now with equanimity.
And round to the back of our head.
It doesn't matter sometimes if we want to jump directly to that sensation and then sort of begin to branch out and sort of begin to feel all the different sensations around that part of it.
Maybe you can't feel any sensation,
Just the intention,
The effort is wonderful in itself.
Doesn't matter if you can't feel something or you can.
You aren't trying to create,
You're just experiencing.
And that's what's important.
Or maybe you want to feel every sensation as you gently move your attention from the top of the head to the back of the head.
And then we bring it further to the base of the neck.
Remember,
Distractions are an incredibly important part of the practice.
Maybe there's a sensation in your toes,
Your legs,
The sounds,
Thoughts.
And you're just watching as your attention diverts and just again with equanimity you bring it back.
No judgement,
No criticism.
And so from the base of the neck we're going to move out into the shoulders.
As we move out there just feeling into the collar bones if you can.
And remember sensation is sensation,
No good,
No bad,
No proper,
Improper,
Perfect,
Imperfect.
Even no sensation is important.
And then we just rest our attention and notice what's there.
And then from the shoulders we're going to move our attention down into the elbows.
And like I said you either want to move it down slowly until you get to the elbow or move the attention to that particular point and hold it at the elbow and then just expand upwards.
There's no right or wrong,
No perfect,
Imperfect.
Just interested,
Curious.
What can you feel?
And from the elbows now into the wrists.
Maybe you can notice how your mind likes to describe what it can feel.
Maybe it wants to create a visual of what you can feel.
Just letting those go.
Just feeling sensations.
And now as we move into the hand we're going to start moving into the palm.
Maybe you can feel things like warmth,
Pressure,
Weight.
And then into fingers and thumbs all the way to the tips of the fingers.
From the inside just working your way up around the fingernails and just at the tip of the fingers let's just hold our attention there just for a minute.
Just at the tips.
Next just going to inhale your breath.
One more time.
And the tops of our fingers,
Our knuckles,
Tops of our palm,
The top of the hand,
And back into the wrist again.
And then from wrists to elbows.
From elbows to shoulders.
And back into the base of our neck again,
Top of the spine.
And again we're just going to hold our attention here just for 20 seconds or so.
And remember it's all about equanimity,
It's all about meeting whatever is there and just being with it,
Sitting with it.
Noticing aversion.
And just reminding yourself,
Sensation just sensation.
Now from the base of the top of the neck,
Base of the neck,
Top of the spine,
We're going to make our way down into the mid,
Making our way along the spine onto the mid point.
So just sort of behind the heart.
Again we're just going to hold our attention here just for a moment or two.
Into the shoulder blades.
We're going to come down a little bit further down,
Just sort of behind your belly button at the back.
And where a lot of teachers talk about sort of the area of the lower belly.
Just between the navel and the spine,
That sort of area there.
Maybe you can feel the movement of the breath down that area.
Maybe there's a sense of energy through the central channel part.
Or you can feel the curvature of the spine.
Maybe you're beginning to feel a little pain in the legs and stuff and your mind's drifting down into the pain and just meeting that pain.
I remember my teacher in particular used to say,
In points of pain,
Bring compassion.
Just meeting it with that sense of all those people out there that struggle with pain in their body and you're just going to hold a little bit of that pain just for a few moments.
And it's okay.
So you can have a sense of understanding,
A sense of warmth and compassion for what they are going through.
It's just a nice tender way of meeting with equanimity,
That discomfort.
Let's go down to the base of the spine.
Sort of the sit bone area.
So if you're sitting you can feel the sit bone sort of keeping you upright,
Open.
Remember sensations,
Just sensations.
That's all we're doing.
Just exploring.
Curious.
Bringing some warmth.
We're going to guide now just along sort of the hamstring area.
Just from the sit bones all the way along that hamstring area.
Inner thigh to the underside of the knee.
Let's just hold our attention there in the underside of the knee.
Just going to hold it there just for 30 seconds.
Just gathering some of that attention,
Some of that focus,
Concentration.
Then we're going to go down through the calf to the ankles.
Into the heels.
The arches.
To the end of our foot,
Feet,
Toes.
Just that whole area from the sort of heels all the way to the tips of our toes.
And again we're just going to hold a little bit of attention there.
And we're going to go around the top of the toes,
The toenails,
And all the way up along to the ankles again.
That whole part from the tip of the toes,
The ankles,
Top of the feet.
Next the shins,
The shin bone.
Don't worry about how well or not well you're doing.
These are just thoughts,
Comparisons,
Superfluous.
So what we're doing is resting in sensations,
Curiosity and compassion,
A sense of equanimity.
Next to the knees again just holding our attention just at the top of the knees.
The knee caps.
Then next now from the knee caps just along the top of our thighs,
Our quads all the way to our hips.
Just seeing if you can feel into those hips,
Feel sort of where the bone meets each other,
The sense of weight that's there.
Lower equanimity,
Sensation,
Just sensation.
As we begin to come now up into the stomach,
Around to sort of the belly button area,
Navel.
Maybe you can feel the movement of breath,
Whatever it is.
As we come up further into the heart area along the front,
We're just going to hold our attention here just for 30 seconds.
Just seeing if we can hold our attention just in this area.
As we go further into the throat.
Just starting from the base of the throat,
Just gently working your way up.
It's even nice sometimes just to sort of open your mouth a little bit,
Breathe in through your mouth and feel the air passing down through the throat.
As we come to the jaw,
The chin,
The lips,
The teeth,
Mouth,
Tongue.
Coming back to the nose again,
Tip of the nose.
I'm just going to hold it here just for a minute.
You're doing amazing.
Okay.
And remembering the important part of this practice is equanimity.
Finding that space for yourself to be with whatever is there.
It's not just memory at the moment,
It's just thoughts.
Trying to get rid of them,
Not trying to change them.
It's more stability,
Balance.
At the moment just noticing the flow through our nose,
Upper lip.
The next point we're going to move to now is just at the brow.
Just above the eyes and the eye sockets,
Just the eyebrows.
And we're just going to hold our attention there.
No good,
No bad,
No important,
Less important.
It doesn't matter how much or how little you feel.
Just noticing.
And seeing how well we can just hold our attention.
And then brow to forehead.
And you can see the Association from the outside.
And forehead to the top of our head.
And again we're just going to hold our attention there just for the next minute or so.
Remembering it doesn't matter how much or how little you feel.
The point of the practice is not to try and relax the body.
We're just feeling what is here with us now with equanimity.
Then round to the back of our head.
And it doesn't matter sometimes if we want to jump directly to that sensation and then sort of begin to branch out and sort of begin to feel all the different sensations around that part of it.
And maybe you can't feel any sensation.
Just the intention,
The effort is wonderful in itself.
Doesn't matter if you can't feel something or you can.
You aren't trying to create.
You're just experiencing.
And that's what's important.
Or maybe you want to feel every sensation as you gently move your attention from the top of the head to the back of the head.
And then we bring it further to the base of the neck.
And other side.
Remember,
Distractions are an incredibly important part of the practice.
Maybe there's a sensation in your toes,
Your legs,
The sounds,
Thoughts.
And you're just watching as your attention diverts and just,
Again with equanimity you bring it back.
No judgement,
No criticism.
And so from the base of the neck we're going to move out into the shoulders.
As we move out there just feeling into the collar bones if you can.
And remember sensation is sensation.
No good,
No bad,
No proper,
Improper,
Perfect,
Imperfect.
Even no sensation is important.
And then we just rest our attention and notice what's there.
And from the shoulders we're going to move our attention down into the elbows.
And like I said you either want to move it down slowly until you get to the elbow or move the attention to that particular point and hold it at the elbow and then just expand upwards.
There's no right or wrong,
No perfect,
Imperfect.
Just interested,
Curious.
What can you feel?
And from the elbows now into the wrists.
Maybe you can notice how your mind likes to describe what it can feel.
Maybe it wants to create a visual of what you can feel.
Just letting those go.
Just feeling sensations.
And now as we move into the hand we're going to start moving into the palm.
Maybe you can feel things like warmth,
Pressure,
Weight.
And then into fingers and thumbs all the way to the tips of the fingers along the inside.
And just working your way up round the fingernails and just at the tip of the fingers let's just hold our attention there just for a minute.
Just at the tips.
Take that CH changed.
And the tops of our fingers.
Knuckles.
Tops of our palm.
Top of the hand.
And back into the wrist again.
And then from wrists to elbows.
From elbows to shoulders.
And back into the base of our neck again.
Top of the spine.
And again we're just going to hold our attention here just for 20 seconds or so.
And remember it's all about equanimity.
It's all about meeting whatever is there and just being with it,
Sitting with it.
Noticing aversion.
And just reminding yourself sensation just sensation.
Now from the base of the spine,
We're going to make our way down into the mid,
Making our way along the spine onto the midpoint.
So just sort of behind the heart.
Again we're just going to hold our attention here just for a moment or two.
And the shoulder blades.
We're going to come down a little bit further down,
Just sort of behind your belly button at the back where a lot of teachers talk about the area of the lower belly.
Just between the navel and the spine,
That sort of area there.
Maybe you can feel the movement of the breath down that area.
Maybe there's a sense of energy through the central channel part where you can feel the curvature of the spine.
Maybe you're beginning to feel a little pain in the legs and stuff in your mind drifting down into the pain and just meeting that pain.
I remember my teacher in particular used to say in points of pain,
Bring compassion.
Just meeting it with that sense of all those people out there that struggle with pain in their body and you're just going to hold a little bit of that pain just for a few moments.
And it's okay.
So you can have a sense of understanding,
A sense of warmth and compassion for what they are going through.
It's just a nice tender way of meeting with equanimity,
That discomfort.
Let's go down to the base of the spine,
Sort of the sit bone area.
So if you're sitting you can feel the sit bone sort of keeping you upright,
Open.
And remember sensation is just sensation,
That's all we're doing,
Just exploring,
Curious,
Bringing some warmth.
We're going to guide now just along sort of the hamstring area,
Just from the sit bones all the way along that hamstring area,
Inner thigh to the underside of the knee.
Let's just hold our attention there in the underside of the knee.
Just going to hold it there just for 30 seconds,
Just gathering some of that attention,
Some of that focus,
Concentration.
Then we're going to go down through the calf to the ankles.
To the heels.
The arches.
To the end of our foot,
Feet,
Toes.
Just that whole area from the sort of heels all the way to the tips of our toes.
And again we're just going to hold a little bit of attention there.
And we're going to go around the top of the toes,
The toenails,
And all the way up along to the ankles again,
So that sort of that whole part from the tip of the toes to the ankles,
Top of the feet.
Next the shins,
The shin bone.
Don't worry about how well or not well you're doing,
These are just thoughts,
Comparisons,
Superfluous.
So what we're doing is resting in sensations,
The curiosity and compassion,
A sense of equanimity.
Next to the knees again,
Just holding our attention just at the top of the knees.
The kneecaps.
And then next now from the kneecaps just along the top of our thighs,
Our quads all the way into our hips.
And just seeing if you can feel into those hips,
Feel sort of where the bone meets each other,
The sense of weight that's there.
And remember equanimity,
Sensation,
Just sensation.
As we begin to come now up into the stomach,
Around to sort of the belly button area,
Navel.
Feel the movement of breath,
Whatever it is.
As we come up further into the heart area,
Along the front.
Just hold our attention here,
Just for 30 seconds,
Just seeing if we can hold our attention just in this area.
As we go further into the throat,
Just starting from the base of the throat,
Just gently working your way up.
It's even nice sometimes just to sort of open your mouth a little bit,
Breathe in through your mouth and feel the air passing down through the throat.
As we come to the jaw,
The chin,
The lips,
The teeth,
Mouth,
Tongue.
And then back to the nose again,
Tip of the nose.
So we're just going to hold it here just for a minute.
Okay.
Okay.
And the last thing we're going to do is just finish by just doing a little dedication.
Dedicating this practice to maybe all those struggling with pain.
Maybe that your ability to sit with your own discomfort,
Your own struggle,
Your own aversion,
May ultimately help all people.
And you're just going to hear the sound of the bell now.
And if you're wanting to,
You're going to allow your eyes to open.
And as you're opening your eyes again,
I just invite you just to continue to hold some of that attention just at the end of the nose.
And the last thing we do,
Just as you're hearing the bell,
Just feeling your entire body as one from head all the way down to your toes,
Just feeling it as one whole body.
4.9 (93)
Recent Reviews
Katie
November 9, 2021
Outstanding. My favorite type of practice. Long thorough body scan, calming voice. So very nice. Thank you Dan. ☮💖🙏