Welcome to this embodied practice where we will find presence through the body and orienting into the here and now.
Begin by making yourself comfortable whether you are sitting,
Lying or even standing.
And when you're ready,
Closing down the eyes or keeping a soft gaze.
As you start to turn your awareness inward,
Notice where your body feels held by the support beneath you.
Maybe you can sense the ground that meets the soles of your feet,
The chair or bed in contact with your sit bones,
Legs or back.
Simply drawing your attention to where you feel supported.
You may start to notice where you are tensing or holding and you don't have to force your body to let go.
Simply attune to where it feels held.
Let the softness of your body land here.
And affirming to yourself silently or out loud,
I am supported.
And let's start to broaden that awareness now to the inner landscape,
The life that lives within the boundary of your body.
Simply observing and you don't need to be pulled into stories about what's happening or not happening in the body.
Just notice.
Can you sense any places or parts of you that feel neutral,
Comfortable or even still?
Let your attention land there for a moment.
And expanding that awareness now to any sensations that you can notice.
Choosing curiosity over judgment.
Remember there's no right or wrong here.
And affirming to yourself there's nothing to fix here.
Allowing whatever is arising to do so.
Knowing that you're safe to meet it.
And can you broaden that attention now so you can experience both stillness and movement.
Tension and ease.
Comfort and discomfort.
Sensing that life that lives beneath the skin.
An ever-changing landscape.
Notice the rise and fall.
The duality.
The whole experience,
Whatever it may be.
Bring your awareness now to the boundary of your body.
The skin and the subtle field of sensation that shapes the boundary of self.
Can you sense or feel into this meeting place where your inner world meets the outer world?
Where you are both contained and connected.
Can you now sense the whole body and the space around your body?
And how much space you occupy in this room that you are in?
Engaging the senses by noticing the touch of clothes or material against the skin.
The temperature of the air around you.
Noticing any sounds that you can hear close by.
And any sounds you can hear in the distance.
Perhaps you can even tune into the silence between sounds.
Observing the here and now through sensation.
Touch.
Sound.
Affirming to yourself,
I am here.
And finally,
I invite you to very slowly open your eyes.
Letting them adjust to the light and visual input around you.
Take a moment to observe your surroundings.
Very slowly and gently moving your gaze with curiosity around the space.
Observing where you are in this moment.
Noticing light and shadow.
Colors and textures.
Maybe you can allow your gaze to land on something pleasant or neutral to look at for a moment.
See what you notice.
Bringing the hands to meet the body and just gently squeezing the legs,
The arms,
The joints.
Just gently feeling your way around the boundary of your body with a light pressure to let yourself know you are here in this moment.
And once again affirming to yourself,
Out loud this time,
If you can,
I am here.
Thank you for joining me for this practice and taking some time to return to yourself and this moment.
Thank you.
