Arriving in the Body - A Field of Sensations

With much of our days spent up in our minds - thinking, analysing, calculating, processing - there is something special that happens when we return to the body. In this meditation we awaken the sensations of the body and bring our attention back to the field of sensations taking place across the body. By becoming more acutely aware of the sensations of the body, we start to not only let go of the stress and tension held in the 'thinking' mind and create space for the 'feeling' of this moment as it is.

Transcript

So just beginning by finding a nice and comfortable posture,

Whether it's sitting or laying down,

Any posture that allows you to just settle in and relax without needing to hold any tension or trying too hard.

So just feel free to make any micro adjustments.

And then when you've found a nice comfortable posture,

Just gently closing down the eyelids and just taking your attention inwards.

And spend a little bit of time with the inner landscape,

The inner environment.

So just quickly becoming aware of the body and just any obvious tension in the body,

Maybe starting with the shoulders,

Working your way down the spine.

As we go through,

Just again making any micro adjustments,

Going down to the pelvis and the sit bones.

And down to the knees and then the ankles and the feet.

And so now that we're comfortable and relaxed in our posture,

Just bring your attention to the breath.

Not needing to deepen it or change it or slow it down.

Just notice where it is.

And as you pay attention to the breath,

Just start to notice what you're bringing with you to this meditation.

Any remnants of conversations from earlier on,

Any thoughts of things to come later on.

Just notice everything that you brought with you.

And if you can,

Just give yourself permission to leave that just by your side.

Knowing that you can always pick it up afterwards if you still feel like you need to.

It's quite a courageous act to take time out to sit in stillness,

In silence,

To observe and try to come to know oneself.

And so just making sure that we make ourselves available by leaving everything else just by our side.

And it's always good to set a little motivation or intention before we meditate or do any of these practices of building self-awareness.

So just starting to ask yourself what it was that brought you to this meditation.

Is it that you're seeking or needing?

Or just simply what was the feeling that had you say,

Yes,

I need to take time?

We live in a time and a world that we think expects.

So much of us.

So we spend much of our time up in thought trying to meet all these needs,

Tick all these boxes and keep everyone else's and our own ideas of ourselves happy.

And that's heavy.

The heavy experience of carrying these stories and expectations around stops us from really being able to feel the sensations of our lives.

And so for the next little while,

Invite you to allow yourself to return to the senses,

To return to the body and feel the feeling of lightness and contentment.

When after a while,

The stories and the mental clutter cease to take precedence.

And the feeling of each moment starts to take over.

And so just start to bring your attention to the space just between the upper lip and the nostrils.

And just refining your attention as much as you can just to this space between the upper lip and the nostrils.

Feeling any subtle sensations,

Any large or gross sensations.

Maybe you can notice the air as it comes in and out of the nose.

And can you notice any difference in temperature between your inhale and exhale?

So we're becoming acutely aware of the physical senses,

The sensations of being in our bodies.

And just bringing your attention up to the space between the eyebrows.

And again,

Noticing any subtle or gross sensations.

And see if you can notice all that's there as it is.

Rather than trying to find all the good sensations,

The pleasurable sensations.

Just practicing noticing things as they are,

Not as we'd like them to be.

And on your exhale,

Let your attention drop into your right shoulder.

As if you're just intimately trying to get to know your own body.

Just exploring the right shoulder.

Outside of the shoulder on the surface,

The inside.

Maybe it's just the brushing of your clothes on the surface of your skin.

Feeling an attitude of curiosity.

And on your next exhale,

Let your attention drop into your right elbow.

And then drop into your right wrist.

Inhaling up to your right shoulder again.

And on your exhale,

Just let your attention flood your whole right arm.

So you're just very aware of sensations all the way down and up your right arm.

And then inhaling,

Take them across to your left shoulder.

Maybe you notice a difference between your left and right.

And then exhaling,

Take them across to your left shoulder.

And exhaling,

Your attention down to your left elbow.

And then down to the left wrist.

And then inhaling all the way up to your left shoulder.

And then exhaling to flood your whole left arm.

It's just a field of awareness down your left arm.

And then coming up to the back of the neck.

And just feeling what's there.

And again,

Just trying to notice the very,

Very subtle sensations.

Across the whole body,

There's constantly change taking place.

And when there's change,

There's sensation.

And this big change tends to lead to pain.

But there's forever change taking place across the body.

So just see if you can really focus in your attention and become aware of the very,

Very subtle sensations.

And so you're just going to slowly make your way down the spine,

Starting at the back of the neck all the way down to the base of the spine.

So just very slowly making your way down,

Noticing and feeling anything that's there on the way.

We're just going to bellevue now.

And just coming to the base of the spine.

Coming across to the right hip.

Down to the right knee.

Sailing down to the right foot.

And inhaling back up to the left hip.

Exhaling down to the left knee.

And down to the left foot.

And this time inhale back up to the space between the eyebrows.

And on your exhale just let your attention flood your whole body.

Down both arms,

Down the spine,

Down the legs.

The whole feel,

The sensation across the body.

Just feeling the aliveness of the body.

All this sensation,

All this change.

Body is this organism that's constantly functioning and working for us.

And so maybe this also brings a sense of gratitude for your body.

By taking the time to intimately connect with the senses and the sensations of the body.

Feel more at home in the body that we get to journey with through this life.

And so just know that these sensations,

This body,

This field of aliveness and life is always here for us to reconnect with,

To anchor us back to this moment.

And so by simply taking your attention back to the body you can slowly discover that there is this pool of wisdom and freedom always with you as you move through the world.

So when you're ready to start to come back to the breath,

To breathe life and air back into the body.

And just make any movements that you need.

And then when you're ready,

Just gently blinking open your eyes.

And you're back to the wild and wonderful world.

Reviews

I found this really effective for calming my mind, my mood, and feeling more aware and present. thank you!

Beautiful depth created by your words and your gentle voice. 🙏

Thank you 🙏🏻 for a beautiful start to the day of the wild and wonderful world

Very calming meditation, just sometimes the calming voice is fading and it gets difficult to hear🙏🏼

Fantastic way to start my day. Thank you!

Another lovely meditation, amazing how out of touch I was with my physical body until I focussed on each part. Thank you!

Powerful way of dropping into the body with the breath ✨ Beautiful guidance!

Relaxing body scan. Namaste. 🙌🏽🙏🏽

Nicely paced, quieting and grounding. Thank you.

Nicely done. Just what I needed today. 😊

Lovely works well for me.

Wonderful body scan and awareness meditation! Thank you!

Lovely simple gentle body scan. Room for a more detailed longer one. Thanks for not telling us what should feel and leaving it open

Words, spaces between words , and music were excellent and really promoted relaxation. It really got me into my body. The voice was perfect.This will be one of my very favorites. A lovely yoga nidra.

Namaste 🕉 💜 💚 💙 💛 🕉

Wonderful meditation, thank you so much!

Excellent guided imagery.

Love the combination of breath focus and body scan.

What a beautiful meditation that Connects us to our ever-changing body ❤️

Effective voice, pace, instruction to guide you toward just being with your body. I'm a teacher and am forever planning in my head and forever formulating my communication strategy to reach my various students. This meditation provided a much needed time out. Thank you to the instructor. Bookmarking.