Hi,
This is Jonathan.
Thank you for joining me for this meditation aimed at creating a still and steady body so that we can more easily steady the mind.
Let's get started.
I invite you first to find a comfortable position.
Either sitting or lying down and just relax the body.
Relax the legs and the arms and the stomach and the shoulders and the muscles of the face.
And we'll begin by taking two deep breaths through the nose.
And now gently close your eyes.
Before we begin,
I would like to ask that you make a commitment to yourself to maintain complete physical stillness for the duration of this practice.
Decide that even if you feel discomfort or itching or any impulse to move,
You will resist and remain still.
And tell yourself,
I will not move any part of my body until the end of this practice.
Let's begin.
Visualize your body as if you are seeing it in a full length mirror.
Starting at your feet,
Scan your body from the bottom up towards your head.
Observe every detail,
Shape,
And position of your feet,
Legs,
Hips,
Spine,
Belly,
And chest.
See the shape of your hands,
Arms,
Shoulders.
See the shape of your lips,
Your nose,
Your ears,
Your eyes,
And your forehead.
Now see your whole body from the front,
From the back,
From the right side,
From the left side,
And from the top.
Now bring your awareness to any physical sensations in your body.
Become aware of your posture and the various sensations that can be felt and observed.
Hot or cold,
Tension or relaxation,
Heaviness or lightness,
Pain or comfort.
Observe your whole body for these sensations.
And now we will still the body.
Direct your awareness to your feet and become aware of your feet.
Feel any sensations in your feet.
The pressure against the floor,
Air on the surface of the skin,
And visualize the shape and position of your feet.
And observe the complete stillness of your feet.
Shift your awareness to your lower legs and feel any sensations in your calves and shins.
And visualize them in detail.
See their shape and position.
Observe the complete stillness of your lower legs.
And shift your awareness now to your knees and feel any sensations in your knees and visualize them in detail.
See their shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your knees.
Now shift your awareness to your thighs and feel any sensations in your thighs.
Visualize them in detail.
See their shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your thighs.
Now shift your awareness to your pelvis.
Feel any sensations in this part of the body.
Visualize this area in detail.
See its shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your pelvis.
Bring your awareness to your abdomen and feel any sensations in your abdomen.
Maybe the rising and falling of the breath.
See it in detail.
See its shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness in your abdomen.
Shift your awareness to your chest and feel any sensations in your chest.
See its shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your chest.
Now shift your awareness to the whole of your back and feel any sensations there.
Visualize your back in detail.
See its position and shape.
And observe the complete stillness of your back.
Shift your awareness to your arms and feel any sensations in your upper arms and lower arms.
See them in detail.
See their shape and see their position.
And observe the complete stillness of your arms.
Shift your awareness to your hands.
Observe your hands in detail and feel any sensations in your hands.
See their shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your hands.
Shift your awareness to your shoulders.
Feel any sensations in your shoulders.
See them in detail.
See their shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your shoulders.
Now move your awareness to your neck.
And feel any sensations in your neck.
See its shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness of your neck.
Now shift your awareness to the head and the face.
Feel any sensations in this area.
See its shape and position.
And observe the complete stillness in the head and the face.
Now become aware of your body in its sitting posture.
Your body is perfectly still and steady.
Become aware of how solid and still your whole body is.
Feel it compact.
And feel this locked position of your body.
And with the body completely steady and still,
Shift your attention to your breath.
Become aware of your natural breathing,
Without interfering or changing it in any way.
Simply observe the breath as it moves in and out of the body.
Watch its rhythmic flow with your complete awareness.
And if the mind wanders,
Or you are distracted in any way,
Become aware of the distraction and return your focus to your breath.
And stay with this breath awareness in silence and stillness for the next minute.
Now bring your attention back to the body,
To the stillness and the steadiness you find there.
Feel the body in its posture and its position in space.
Feel its weight and the sense of gravity,
And the pressure below you on the floor or the mat.
And feel this in the entire body.
Now bring a little movement to the body,
By moving your toes and feet and fingers and hands and shoulders and neck,
And the muscles of the face.
And when you're ready,
Take a few deep breaths and gently open your eyes.
Thank you.
