Today,
I will walk you through a mindfulness practice that I call the back-body practice.
You can use it when you are faced with challenging situations that create discomfort or require strength and courage to sustain,
Such as standing next to someone who's suffering,
Or you can simply use it when you need stability and centeredness.
Find a comfortable seated position,
Keep your back erect,
And let your eyes to rest.
If necessary,
Close them or cast them down,
Depending on what feels right in your body.
It is a three-part practice in which you focus your attention to the front of your body,
Then to its core,
And finally to its back.
Because the body is shaped like a sandwich,
It has its own front,
Middle and back.
If you need to yawn or shift around a little while practicing,
Please do so without stiffening your body and instead allow it to relax.
Now take a few deep breaths and begin focusing on the front of your body.
Allow the eyes to wander and let the eye sockets to drop back like little pools of water,
Releasing your face,
Particularly your jaw.
Release contractions and stiffness as you notice them.
Breathe deeply now,
Encouraging your throat and chest to relax,
And then move down to the remainder of your chest,
To your belly,
To tune into your entire front,
And by softening you allow all types of tensions to dissolve.
Feel your organs relax and if you have a tendency to hold your belly,
Know that you can now release it completely,
And then the softness continues into the pelvic and pelvic floor.
Then move your attention to the front thighs and down to your feet.
As a result,
The entire front area of the body becomes receptive,
Open and at ease.
There's nothing else to do or face but relax.
When you notice tension,
Listen to it with interest,
Connect with it,
As if you could talk to it,
And attempt to ask if it can relax now,
So you are able to do your practice.
Continue to release the entire front of the body,
Paying specific attention to the eyes,
Face,
Chest and abdomen.
Now that you have opened the front body,
Turn your focus to the inner body,
Which you may visualize as a stem,
As an ancient channel,
An energetic channel,
Or even a channel of light.
It is quite ephemeral,
Soft and spacious.
It runs anterior to the spine,
Behind all the layers and organs,
Literally like a center axis of your body,
Connecting you with the crown of your head all the way down to the base of your perineum,
Your pelvic floor,
And it's like connecting you with the earth underneath and the sky above.
Breathe slowly.
Now try to focus on the front part,
Make sure it's still soft,
And then explore the central,
Spacious channel.
Try to focus on both of these parts at the same time.
It's as if your breathing goes up and down in a wide tunnel.
The emphasis is on both your front and inner body.
When you inhale,
The air rises from your perineum to the top of your head.
When you exhale,
The air flows down from the top of your head down to the pelvic floor.
Do it calmly,
With steady breaths,
Each cycle a little slower and wider,
As fluid as a vertical wave.
Reconnect again with the front of the body,
Verify that it is still open and flexible,
And then travel to your center,
And feel its spaciousness and lightness as it carries this sinuous energy flowing freely.
Now I'd like you to pay attention to the back of the body,
From the top of the head down to the heels,
And I invite you to make a tiny downward movement of the coccyx,
As if to stretch the back body slightly,
Sensing a better sensation of grounding.
We are talking about millimeters,
A little movement.
At the same time,
Increase the verticality and height of the back,
By gently stretching all of the back muscles upwards,
To the top of the head.
The goal is to engage the entire back,
While also creating a sense of relaxation and ease.
Stay here in the back,
Learn to know it better,
And feel your back getting more and more engaged,
While your front body remains soft,
Your middle body fluid.
Feel these three parts all at once.
The front body is open,
The inner body is fluid and spacious,
And the back body feels activated and expanded.
And as you retain your focus on all these three parts at the same time,
Notice what is going on in your being right now,
As you inhabit the back body.
What it means to you to inhabit the back body?
What is it to breathe into it,
To expand it beyond the bone structure?
Continue keeping track of the three layers at the same time,
Noting any changes or contractions.
The front body is open,
The inner body is fluid and spacious,
And the back body feels activated and expanded.
Now,
Imagine for a moment that you are confronted with a challenging situation,
Right in front of you.
Something happening in your personal reality,
Or in your community,
Or in the world.
Something disturbing you.
How do you feel?
What changes do you see in your three layers?
What changes in your posture?
How is your breathing?
Continue to notice this as you reawaken the three bodies in sequence,
Front body,
Inner body and back body,
And focus on the expansion of your back body in particular.
What has changed?
How do you feel as you look at the situation with your activated and extended back body?
What resources do you perceive expanding within you?
What becomes available to you when you remain in your back body and observe the challenges at the same time?
What qualities emerge?
How's your posture and breathing right now?
Now,
Let go of this image,
Check in with yourself,
And feel all three bodies at the same time.
The front body is open,
The inner body is fluid and spacious,
And the back body feels activated and expanded.
The back body practice can be cultivated through this meditation,
And then,
As you gain experience,
You can use it at any moment,
In any scenario,
Simply by invoking the concept of inhabiting and activating the back body,
Supported by the other two bodies.
All of this allows you to be calmer,
More grounded,
And more emotionally prepared to respond to whatever problem is arising in front of you,
As if you could tap into your own inner resources.
Slowly,
Open your eyes and explore your surroundings.
Reconnect with the various objects in your room.
Observe the walls,
The ceiling,
The floor.
Observe the sensation of your feet touching the floor,
The sensation of your hands supported by your lap,
The sensation of touch with your chair,
The sensation of touch with your clothes,
And then slowly begin to stretch with gentle movements.
When you are ready,
You can then complete the practice.
