Cultivating connection and meditation on touch.
At the end of this meditation we will do some reflective practice which will involve writing down your thoughts,
Feelings and ideas.
So have a pen and paper ready.
Now prepare to meditate sitting on a chair.
Have bare feet so you can feel your feet on the ground.
You will be conducting a body scan with your hands through touch,
Gently massaging your body.
Let us begin.
Skin to skin,
Heart to heart,
Hug with vigor.
Feel the connection of physical and emotional connection through touch.
Family therapist Virginia Satir once said we need four hugs a day for survival,
Eight hugs a day for maintenance and 12 hugs a day for growth.
Touch has many health benefits.
Through touch we feel safe,
Soothed and trust for others.
Touch protects us from the fallen pain like a kiss that seals the open wound.
In trust we are guided to a place of warmth and calm and belonging.
It's through tender touch that the vagus nerve is soothed as the release of oxytocin brings feelings of generosity and abundance of a compassionate heart.
Here at peace gratitude is yours.
Touch allows us to better understand our internal and our external world.
The body we inhabit is one that is charged with sensory perception of being whole.
In this way the body perceives what it means to be safe,
Satisfied,
Loved and affirmed.
Close your eyes,
Place your hands on your heart.
Well place one hand on your heart and one on your belly and tune into the sensations of touch.
Breathing in and out through the nose,
Tuning in,
Taking your attention to your feet and the connection to the ground.
Take your hands and place them on your feet.
Feel your feet.
Give gratitude for your feet.
Move your hands up from your feet to your shins and your calves.
Massaging gently,
Giving gratitude for your shins,
For your calves,
For your feet.
Move your hands up,
Massaging your legs.
Give gratitude for your legs.
Massage up to your hips.
Massage your hips.
Massage your tummy.
Give gratitude for your hips and your tummy.
Move your hands up to your solar plexus and gently massage your chest and your heart.
Giving gratitude from your heart out.
Massaging your shoulders and the back of your neck.
Crossing your arms over your chest and shoulders and down your arms.
Massaging your arms,
Giving gratitude for your arms and your palms and the sense of touch.
Bring your hands to your face.
Gently massage your face,
Your forehead where you hold a lot of tension without even realizing.
Massage that point between your eyes,
Smoothing out the brow.
Gently massage your scalp and the top of your head.
Give gratitude for the sensation of touch.
Take your hands and place them on your lap facing upwards.
Just notice how touch leaves a tingling sensation on your skin that resonates and permeates and makes you feel alive.
Sit quietly noticing and feeling the sensations of touch.
As you sit here,
Think of a time to manifest when you will give someone a hug.
Remember to always ask permission to hug another person.
When you hug,
Go heart to heart.
Go to your right and the other person's left side.
Consider how you will make more time to give hugs more freely.
Be prepared to hug more generously for your health depends upon it.
Be mindful of touch.
As you do a final body scan,
Visualize the shape of your body and using your imagination,
Take your attention so that it scans your entire body in the same way that you conducted the massage.
Now as you come out of the meditation,
Open your eyes.
Know that you are wide awake.
In what way is touch important to you?
Think of three things that are important to you about touch and name them out loud.
Is touch about affirming,
Grounding,
Reassuring?
Is it about being present and knowing this through touch?
How do you feel?
How does touch make you feel?
Do you feel happier,
Safer,
More awake,
Alert?
What does touch mean to you?
In what way does touch cultivate connection with others and knowing yourself better?
Now reflect on this and write down what you have learnt about touch.
