Welcome to this body awareness meditation.
Please take a moment to make yourself comfortable.
You may choose to sit in a chair or on the floor,
Whatever is easier for your body.
Get settled and begin to feel heavy and grounded in your seated posture.
Feel the chair or floor under you as you notice your breathing.
If you are holding anything in your hands,
Please place it aside for this meditation and rest your hands gently on your legs,
Either palms up or palms down.
If it feels comfortable to do so,
Go ahead and close your eyes.
If you'd rather keep them open,
Gently rest your gaze a few feet in front of you.
As you settle into your seated posture,
Begin to rest your mind.
Let go of any thoughts about where you have just been or where you might be headed next and arrive here in this moment,
In this space.
As your thoughts go to the past or jump to the future,
We are going to use body awareness to focus your attention and bring you back to this moment,
To the here and now.
Begin to notice the breath coming into your body and the breath leaving your body.
There is no right or wrong here.
No need to change or alter your breathing.
Just notice the breath coming into your body and the breath leaving your body.
Notice where the body is breathing.
Are you breathing more from your belly,
Your stomach,
Your throat?
Again,
No need to change or alter.
Just notice what is occurring as the body enters your body and the breath leaves your body.
As you focus on your breathing,
Now draw attention to where the breath is going in your body.
Notice where you might be feeling any stress,
Any pain,
Any tension.
And just let the thought about it go and just feel the experience of your body as you're breathing in to the sensation and out of the sensation.
As you breathe in and out,
I will be instructing you to focus your attention to different parts of the body.
Let go of any labeling or shenanigans.
Let go of any labeling or stories about the body and gently just place your attention to the part of the body that is called.
Begin to bring awareness to your right hand,
To your right forearm,
Your right elbow,
And your right shoulder.
Now begin to bring awareness to your left hand,
Your left forearm,
Your left elbow,
And your left shoulder.
Now bring awareness to your neck,
Your upper back,
Your middle back,
Your lower back.
Direct your awareness to your right hip,
Your right thigh,
Right knee,
Right shin,
Right ankle,
Your right foot.
See if you can feel the bottom of your right foot and bring full awareness into each toe.
Direct your awareness to your left hip,
Your left thigh,
Your right elbow,
Your left knee,
Your left shin,
Your left ankle,
Your left foot.
Can you feel the bottom of your left foot?
Can you feel the sensations of each toe on your left foot?
Now bring awareness to both of your legs at the same time and your lower back.
Bring awareness to both legs,
Your lower back,
Your upper back,
Your middle back,
Your neck,
And the top of your head.
Now bring awareness to your right knee,
Your left knee,
Your right hip,
Your left knee,
Your head.
Bring awareness to your whole spine.
Notice the breath as it follows your spine from the bottom all the way to the top.
Feel the awareness of your whole spine on each breath in and each breath out.
If your mind wanders away from the sensations of the body or tries to label them or get stuck in the story about them,
Just kindly point your attention back to the sensation you're experiencing right now in this moment and do so in silence for the next few minutes as we just rest in the sensations of the body.
Begin to bring awareness back into the chair or ground beneath you.
You may want to wiggle about a bit here.
Move your toes or your fingers as you slowly open your eyes and reach out to your right knee.
Feel the breath as it follows your spine from the bottom to the top.
Feel the breath as it follows your right knee.
Feel the breath as it follows your right knee.
Move your toes or your fingers as you slowly open your eyes and refocus your gaze.
If it feels comfortable to do so on your next inhale,
Make this the longest one yet and hold for a few counts before a nice long smooth exhale.
Thank you for sharing your practice.
