Today,
We are going to practice a loving kindness meditation directed towards our bodies.
Before we do anything,
Let's land in the present moment by taking three deep breaths together,
Wherever you are with the breath,
Letting go completely,
And taking a deep breath in through the nose,
Letting it out with a sigh through the mouth,
Second deep breath in through the nose,
Releasing with a sigh,
And third and fullest breath yet,
And releasing.
If you are currently seated,
I invite you to lie down and get comfortable.
And once you're lying down,
Just taking these first few moments here to check in with the body,
Beginning at your feet and allowing them to release and relax and fall away from the midline,
And tracing your awareness up through your legs,
Your belly,
Your chest,
Your back,
Down the length of each arm,
And letting the body soften and be held by the floor beneath you,
And then bringing your awareness all the way up through the neck to the top of the head,
Allowing the head,
The face to soften.
With your body relaxed and releasing into the floor or the bed beneath you,
Switch your awareness to the flow of the breath,
Just noticing where each inhale and each exhale moves in the body.
And while it's likely that your breath has already begun to deepen,
If it feels comfortable and not forced,
See if you can bring your breath a little deeper into the body.
With every inhale,
Noticing how the breath can move down into the belly,
How it expands in the ribs,
And even lifts gently in the collarbone.
With every exhale,
Noticing how the belly button moves back towards the spine,
The ribcage draws in,
And the body relaxes.
Full,
Deep breaths.
And each time that the mind starts to wander as it will,
Just gently,
Kindly placing your awareness back on how each breath moves in and out.
With the breath flowing smooth and deep,
Drop your awareness down to your feet,
Noticing the muscles and the bones in the feet,
Bringing your focus up through your legs,
Past the knees to the thighs,
Being aware of all the muscles and the bones that form your foundation,
Your connection to the earth.
And with your awareness firmly planted here,
Repeat to yourself internally,
May my feet and legs feel at ease.
May they be healthy.
May they feel my love and gratitude.
Now taking your awareness further up through the body,
Through the pelvis and the hips,
Taking in the entire torso and all the organs within it.
Coming up through the chest,
The ribcage,
To the shoulders,
Tracing your awareness down through the arms,
Through the elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
All the way to the tips of each finger.
Noticing the systems that keep us alive.
Notice the heartbeat in your chest,
Tuning into its rhythm.
And with your awareness firmly placed here,
Repeat to yourself,
May my entire torso and arms and all that's within feel at ease.
May they be healthy.
May they feel my love and gratitude.
Now moving your awareness to your neck,
The throat,
Going deeper into the muscles,
The cervical spine,
Coming around to the skull,
The crown of your head.
Noticing your eyes,
Your nose,
Your mouth,
Your mind.
And with your awareness placed here,
Repeat to yourself,
May my neck and head feel at ease.
May they be healthy.
May they feel my love and gratitude.
Now as we take a final few breaths here,
Taking this time to send love and gratitude to your entire body.
Repeating these words to yourself.
May my entire body feel at ease.
May my body be healthy.
May my body feel my love and gratitude.
Allowing those words to wash over you.
And then gently letting the words go.
Once again,
Anchoring your awareness in the flow of each inhale and of each exhale.
And then eventually,
Bringing your awareness back into your space.
Bringing gentle movements back into the body through the fingers,
Through the toes,
Maybe circling the wrists and the ankles.
And then eventually,
Blinking the eyes back open.
