by Jo Willers
This practice brings you through an exploration of physical sensations in the body and an awareness of your perception of those sensations. You'll be guided but also left to see for yourself what comes up when you begin to pay attention.
Meet your Teacher
Melbourne VIC, Australia
Transcript
Okay, So make yourself comfortable in your position of choice. If you're laying down, Make sure there's a bolster underneath your knees. If you're in a seat, Ensure you can sit up nice and comfortable. Tall, Feeling alert. And if you're laying down, Arms can be by your sides or resting to the front of your body. If you're in a seat, Hands can be to your lap, Palms down or palms up. Just follow what feels right, What feels comfortable. And then gently close down your eyes, Or you can always drop your gaze down the tip of your nose and just allow your gaze to blur slightly. And then take a deep breath in through your nose. Through your mouth, Exhale, Let it go. Again, Like that, Big breath in. Let it go. One more like that, Deep inhale. And sigh it out if you like. And then seal your lips and allow your breath to move easily on its own. And now for a few moments, Bring all of your awareness to your ears, To your sense of hearing. Allow your sense of hearing to really open up and welcome in any and all sounds that you can discover right now. Noticing sounds that are off in the distance. Those that are closer towards you. And perhaps taking a moment to acknowledge how all of these sounds. Have the nature to come and go. The nature of impermanence. And having acknowledged all of those sounds, Just gather them all up and allow them to drift off into the background as you now bring your awareness to your breathing. A one-pointed focus on breath to begin with, Either at your nostrils or at your belly. Sensing the air moving in and out through your nose, Or the gentle rising and falling of your abdomen. One pointed focus. And if it helps you to really hone in on your breath, You can also label your breathing now as breathing in, Breathing out. Or as rising, Falling. So in this moment, We're really creating a motivation, A fiery motivation to find focus. Make the effort for everything else to fall away as you focus just on breath. And now from that focused awareness on breath, Expand your awareness to take in your whole body now. Getting to really notice the physical presence of your body in this space. Perhaps noticing the weight of your body. Areas of warmth or coolness. A touch of air on your skin. And the texture of your clothing or blankets. And as you. Sense your whole body. Could you check in and notice how it feels to be aware of your body right now? And then gently begin to gather your awareness up to the crown of your head. Concentrating awareness at the crown of your head. You might find that a visual aid is helpful. Warm golden light. Or perhaps just the sensation of noticing the crown of your head is most engaging right now. And then gently and gradually moving awareness. Notice now your whole scalp. And sense now your ears. Noticing the physical sensation of your ears. Now to your temples. Full, Wholehearted awareness of your temples. Your forehead. And as you bring awareness to each part of your body, You might find that you feel naturally inclined to soften that area. And that's totally fine. You can do that. Just notice the sensation that you feel from that act of softening. Sense the space between your eyebrows. Notice now your right eye. Your left eye. Sense now your nose. Your cheeks. Notice now your jaw. And if you discover tension here. Do take a moment to send a conscious message to soften, Softening your jaw. Sense now your lips. Your chin. The front of your throat. Deep inside your throat. Can you feel the air moving in and out gently through your throat? Noticing now your whole neck. And then across the top of your right shoulder and to your right shoulder joint, Sensing your right shoulder. Sense now your right upper arm. Fill this area with awareness and notice how it feels. Your right elbow. Your right forearm. Your right wrist. Your right hand. Specifically the palm of your hand. The back of your hand. The fingers and thumb of your right hand. Now sense your whole right hand. And then expand awareness upward through your arm until you're sensing your whole right arm from your shoulder to the tips of your fingers. Fill this area of your body with awareness and notice how it feels. And then letting go of your right arm, Guide your awareness across the top of your left shoulder and to your left shoulder joint. Gathering awareness here. Allowing everything else to fall away but your left shoulder joint. Your left upper arm. Fully aware. Your left elbow. Your left forearm. Your left wrist. Your left hand. And then honing in on the palm of your hand. The back of your hand. Fingers and thumb of your left hand. Now fill your whole left hand with awareness. And begin to expand awareness upward through your arm to your shoulder so that you can sense your whole left arm as one. Noticing how it feels. And then letting that go, Gather awareness across the top of your chest, Around your collarbones. And then guide awareness down the front of your chest to sense the front of your chest as well as inside your ribcage. So can you sense the movement of your lungs? Perhaps even sense the beating of your heart. Guiding awareness down to your upper abdomen. And down into your lower abdomen. Can you sense your whole abdomen now? Perhaps aware of gentle movement in your digestive system, Or again, The gentle movement from your breathing. And letting go of your abdomen, Come to your upper back. Your upper spine, Your shoulder blades. This whole region across your upper back. And then guide your awareness down to your middle back. Fully aware. And down to your lower back. And then shift awareness to your whole pelvis. Sense the weight of your pelvis resting into the ground or your bolster. And then guide awareness over to your right hip, Gathering awareness at your right hip. And then to your upper right leg, Your thigh. Sensing from the skin in all the way deep towards the bone, Even maybe sensing the bone. Awareness to your right knee. Your lower right leg, Shin and calf. And down to your right ankle. And then to your whole right foot. Sensing your right foot as a whole. And then along with your right foot. Expand your awareness upward through your leg towards your hip until you are sensing your whole right leg. Noticing how it feels, Perhaps noticing the weight of your leg. Areas of warmth or coolness. Curiously aware of your whole right leg. And then letting go of your right leg, Gather your awareness to your left hip now. With your full focus, Sense your left hip. And then your left thigh, Your whole left thigh. To your left knee. Your lower left leg. Alive with awareness. Your left ankle. And your left foot. Sensing your left foot with full awareness. Now continuing to be aware of your left foot. Expand your awareness now upward through your leg until you are sensing your whole left leg. Fully aware of your whole left leg. And then letting that go, Come back to awareness of your pelvis. Sensing your pelvis. And now expand awareness down through both legs. Sense both legs. Fully aware of your legs. Then shift awareness up to your whole torso. Your abdomen, Your back, Your chest. Fully aware of your whole torso. And now shift awareness to both arms. Fully aware of both arms and hands. And now bring your awareness to your neck and head, Including your face. Sensing your whole neck, Head, And face. And now like a gentle wave moving downward through your body, Expand your awareness from your head downward to now take in your whole body. Sensing your whole body as a whole. And as you sense your whole body, Could you notice how it feels? How it feels to fill your body with awareness. And as you continue to sense your whole body. Could you share with your body the sense of an inner smile? Perhaps even allowing the corners of your mouth to lift up a little. As you share the energy of a smile with every cell of your body. And now gently letting that go. Bring your awareness back to just breath. A sense of your breath moving in your body. And gradually bring your awareness back to the room around you. Perhaps welcoming the ambient sounds once again. Perhaps imagining the room before opening your eyes. And please do take your time when you feel ready. You can gently blink open your eyes and move around however you need.
