Welcome,
Thank you for joining me for practice.
Today we're going to work with a simple,
Really short practice,
And it's one that we can use at any time to help bring ourselves into the present moment and out of whatever else we might be getting caught up in.
This practice is the basis,
The critical skill,
In learning to identify what is happening in our nervous system at any given moment.
And that's useful because so often we get wrapped up in emotions,
In reactions,
In thought patterns.
And when we can bring ourselves back into the present,
We can disrupt that cycle.
And that might help us learn eventually to be less reactive.
It might help us in that moment to feel a little less intense about whatever's happening.
And that skill,
Tracking the nervous system,
Is also called interoception,
Noticing what sensations are happening in our body.
So this can be a standalone practice,
A little mini or micro practice of noticing the sensations in the body.
It's a great way to bring ourselves into that present moment,
Out of our mental spinning or our emotional turmoil.
And taking ourselves out of that,
Even for a short time,
Really can help us bring ourselves back into balance.
So this practice is called tracking.
And find any comfortable position.
Tracking is something you can do anywhere,
Anytime,
Sitting,
Standing,
Lying down,
Or even while you're doing something like walking,
As long as it's safe.
If it feels good,
Maybe allowing the eyes to slowly close,
Or just allowing the gaze to soften,
And start by placing the palms of the two hands together,
Just noticing to start the connection between them.
Very slowly,
Very gently,
Begin to rub the palms together.
And as the palms rub together,
Notice what sensations are happening here.
Maybe noticing the temperature of the hands or of the air,
The palms of the hands versus the backs of the hands.
Noticing,
Is there any type of vibration or movement,
Trembling or quivering,
Shaking,
Twitching?
Noticing the texture,
Smooth or rough,
Is it irregular?
Noticing the pressure,
Are the palms firm against one another as they continue to rub?
Or is the pressure soft,
Light?
As they rub together,
Maybe noticing the speed,
Maybe allowing that speed to change,
A little slower or faster.
And as the speed changes,
Noticing if any of the sensations change.
Maybe noticing if there are any sensations in the rest of the hands,
In the wrists,
Forearms,
Elbows,
Maybe the shoulders.
Noticing what sensations,
What words pop into the mind first.
Noticing if words are readily available or if something feels a little hard to describe,
Just noticing maybe a sense.
Allowing this rubbing to continue just another moment or so,
Whatever speed feels right and natural.
Noticing what sensations are present,
What's really obvious.
And as we start to bring this practice to a close,
Allowing that rubbing of the palms to slow down,
Getting slower and slower and eventually coming to stillness.
Noticing here,
Without movement,
What sensations are present.
Any resonance or vibration,
Temperature,
Texture,
Pressure,
Allowing the palms to come apart from one another and letting the hands rest wherever feels natural.
And just taking a moment to notice if anything feels different from when we started.
Again,
Noticing if there's a word or a phrase or if it's just a sense.
If there's something that feels pleasant in there,
Just enjoying that pleasantness.
If the eyes have been closed,
Gently allowing them to flutter open,
Refocusing the gaze.
Thank you for taking the time to practice together today.
I'll see you next time.
