Hello and welcome everyone.
This is Laura of Approachable Asana.
Thank you so much for joining today's meditation,
Giving us a chance to explore our senses.
We can't know or experience anything at all without our senses.
Our eyes give us sight,
Our hearing gives us sound,
And so on.
The Buddhists introduce an additional level of this idea and include the mind as a sense.
Without the mind,
You wouldn't have any idea that you're hearing or tasting or seeing something.
Using our senses can give us a way of connecting,
Connecting to the present moment so that we can fully live our lives and not miss a second of it.
Let's begin today's practice by finding a comfortable seat.
If you're sitting in a chair,
Place your feet on the floor and allow your hands to rest on your thighs or lap sitting upright.
If it feels safe and available,
Allow your eyes to close or your gaze to soften.
Let's begin by taking three breaths together.
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling with a sigh.
Two more times at the pace of your breath.
Begin to tune into your body.
Notice any physical sensations that you may have.
You might notice your contact point with the chair if you're seated.
You might notice your feet on the floor.
What other physical senses can you become aware of?
Notice the temperature of your skin.
Notice the sense of your clothing.
Notice your breath.
How does your body change with the inhale and with the exhale?
Really tune in to what is happening inside your body.
Are there any areas of tension or tightness?
Are there sensations that come and go?
Allow yourself a few moments to scan your body from head to toe.
Now expand your attention towards your sense of sound.
What do you notice?
Are there sounds that are immediate to your surroundings?
Do you hear someone talking?
Movement within your home?
The sound of appliances?
What can you hear in the distance?
The sound of a car going by?
The song of birds?
What else can you notice?
Listen to any sounds that your body may be making.
The sounds of your breath.
The sounds of digestion.
The sounds of the sounds within and the sounds surrounding you.
Now allow your attention to shift towards your sense of smell.
What do you smell in your surrounding area?
Maybe you don't smell anything at all.
As your mind has started to settle,
Can you notice that you've shifted into a more attuned state?
Noticing the details that we typically miss throughout our day.
Next,
Turn your attention to your sense of taste.
Notice if you taste anything.
Remnants of a meal or beverage.
Maybe there's no taste at all.
As you move throughout your day,
Bring an awareness to your sense of taste.
Bring a mindful quality for you to notice taste when you are actually eating and drinking.
Now bring your attention to your sense of sight.
If your eyes were closed,
Flutter them open and let the light in.
Take a moment to notice what's happening in front of you.
Notice your wide vision,
The colors,
The textures.
Any movement or lack thereof.
What's happening in your peripheral vision?
And what can you notice on the sides of you?
Things that you're not really looking at,
But you sense.
Move your focus a bit closer,
Noticing more colors,
Textures,
Light.
Just take it all in and notice your sense of sight.
Once again,
Slowly close your eyes or turn your gaze downward.
Notice where your thoughts are going.
Without judgment,
Just notice them.
They could be big or small,
Happy or not,
But just notice these thoughts.
Notice how they come and go,
Just like our senses.
As you move throughout your day,
Bring an awareness to your senses,
How your body is feeling,
What you smell,
What you taste,
What you hear,
Your sight and your thoughts.
When you're ready,
Begin to invite some gentle movement into your fingers and toes.
Letting your eyes open and take a moment to just notice.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Take care and be well.
