Hello and welcome to this meditation all about our senses.
Let's stretch or wriggle a little before we settle down.
Make sure you're warm,
Comfortable and feel safe wherever you are.
Your eyes can be closed if you're comfortable with that or relaxed and softened,
Gently unfocused to a spot in front of you.
Then sitting,
Make sure the sitting bones are connected with the chair.
Spines are straight but not stiff,
Like pebbles stacked on top of one another.
Feel your feet flat on the floor,
Connected firmly to the ground beneath you.
Relax your head on top of your spine.
Imagine a thread is keeping it upright and centred.
And now relax your jaw or rest the tip of our tongues behind our top front teeth.
At our own pace and in our own time,
We're going to take three deep long full breaths in and out.
In,
Right down into our bellies.
In and out at our own speed.
And with every out breath,
We relax just a little bit more,
Letting go of the thoughts and concerns of the day,
Or any worries for the future.
In and out.
And when you're ready,
Allow the breath to return to its normal pace.
Bring your attention now to your eyes.
Even if your eyes are closed,
What is it you can see?
How dark is it?
Notice what quality the darkness has.
Then take your attention to your ears.
Apart from my voice,
Be aware of what else you can hear.
Can you hear your own breath?
How do your ears feel?
Leaving any sound in the background now,
You can be aware of it,
But bring your attention now to your mouth.
Notice if you can taste anything.
What tastes are you experiencing?
Again,
Let those sensations fade,
And taking our attention now to your nose.
Be aware of how your nose feels and what it can smell.
Can you smell anything?
What smells are you experiencing,
If any?
Let this awareness fade,
And we'll take all of our attention to our hands.
Notice what they are feeling.
Are they resting on fabric,
Wood,
Metal,
Or something else?
Be aware of how that feels to you.
Perhaps it is pleasant or unpleasant,
Maybe just neutral.
Notice the temperature.
Allow yourself to notice without judgment of any kind.
We'll now begin to shift our attention to the feet,
The toes,
The soles of our feet,
The top of our feet,
And into the ankles.
Notice any sensations you feel as we begin very slowly to scan up the body.
Taking all of your attention now into your calves,
Shins,
And knees.
Be aware of any sensations you consider pleasant or unpleasant.
Try and notice and name those sensations without judgment of any kind.
Up to the thighs,
The buttocks,
The hips,
And the pelvis.
Pausing to feel and notice the sensations.
To the back,
The belly,
The chest and the breath,
The internal organs.
Pause and notice.
Now place your attention in your shoulders,
Your neck,
Your face,
Forehead,
The crown of your head,
The back of your head.
Pause,
Notice any sensations.
On an out breath,
Allow them to pass.
Take a moment now to notice anything else about the sensations you're experiencing right now.
Any warmth or coldness,
Any sensations outside of the body that you're conscious of.
Allow your awareness to extend beyond your body.
And gently bringing your focus back,
Your focus and your attention back into your own body.
Your head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Your back,
Chest,
Belly,
Pelvis,
Hips,
Thighs,
Knees,
Calves,
Ankles,
And feet.
Feel yourself rooted,
Grounded in your own body and in the here and now.
Slowly bringing your awareness back into the room you're sitting in.
If your eyes have been closed,
Cup your hands and bring them to rest tenderly over your eyes and open them into the darkness.
Take a long deep breath,
Stretch and wriggle a little and bring yourself back into the present moment.
