Hi there,
My name is Katie Chosett and I will be guiding you on this short practice through the five senses.
So allow yourself to settle in to a posture that you can maintain.
It doesn't matter if you're seated or lying down.
You could even be walking outside in nature.
It's really good for a five sense meditation to be outdoors.
So however you wish to practice today will work.
And go ahead and find that posture and just allow yourself to settle into the moment,
To welcome yourself.
Noticing how you've positioned yourself.
If you're seated,
Notice the chair against your back and your feet on the floor.
In contact with the earth beneath you.
If you're out walking,
Notice your steps as the foot makes contact with the ground one after the other.
And then settle into this posture as much as you can by softening,
Starting at the top of the head,
Seeing if you can release any tension.
Release the need to grip or hold on with the muscles,
The forehead and the brow,
Softening with each inhale and exhale.
The cheekbones,
The jaw,
Even the tongue.
Softening and exhaling and softening the face.
Softening the muscles in the neck,
The shoulders,
Allowing those shoulders to drop back and down away from the ears.
Opening up your heart space.
Breathing into the center of your heart.
Exhaling,
Letting go.
Softening your chest.
Softening your belly.
Softening from the shoulders all the way through the upper back,
Middle back and lower back.
Taking a nice big inhale and exhale and softening through the hips,
The pelvic area.
And then releasing any need to grip in those big thigh muscles all the way down past the knees,
The shins and the calves,
Ankles and feet into each toe.
Breathing into the feet and releasing.
Allowing the body to become calm and soft.
And allowing your breathing and your body to sort of fade into the background as we begin to connect with our five senses.
Starting with your eyesight.
So whether you have chosen to be outside walking or seated with your eyes closed,
Just notice what you have in front of you.
If you're out looking,
Paying attention to the details of the leaves,
The trees,
The grass,
The sky.
And if you're indoors and seated,
Noticing what you find behind closed eyes.
There are lots of shades of gray and red.
There's some motion or movement behind those closed eyelids.
So just taking a moment to notice your sense of sight.
And then allowing the attention to fade from your sense of sight and move into your sense of taste.
So simply noticing what's on the lips,
Remnants of a meal,
Noticing moisture or is the mouth dry today.
Just connecting with your sense of taste.
And then allowing the sense of taste to fade into the background with your sense of sight.
And bringing your awareness to your sense of smell.
Wherever you are connecting with the smells around you,
Both near you and maybe a little farther from another room or from far away outside.
Without labeling the smells as good or bad,
Just observing what comes to you.
Making that connection between your sense of smell and your sense of taste.
Perhaps a delicious smell coming from the next room activates your salivary glands.
Just noticing.
And bringing your awareness now to your sense of touch.
So again,
Noticing where your body is making contact.
You might notice the air against your skin.
You might notice clothing up against your skin.
Just noticing without labeling,
Allowing the sensations of touch to come to you and then to fade just as easily as they come.
So you're not getting caught up if something is less than ideal.
If there's an itch or something irritating your skin,
You're just noticing.
You're just observing and then bringing your attention on to the next sense.
And the last sense we'll bring our awareness to is our sense of hearing.
So noticing sounds both near and far.
You may notice sounds in your own body.
You may notice sounds from another person or pet in the house in another room.
Or you may be able to hear in the distance a car,
A bird.
Just allowing the sounds to wash over you,
To come and go.
Not getting fixated if there's an annoying sound or one you might label as bad.
See if you can let go of that judgment and just hear the sound for what it is.
It is just a sound coming and going.
It doesn't need to disturb your practice.
It can be used as part of your practice,
Keeping your attention right here in this moment.
Not getting disturbed or distracted or upset by any sounds coming.
So then bringing your awareness to each of the sensations.
Letting the senses come and go.
Bringing your attention back to your breathing and your body.
Noticing if the body has tightened in any places and allowing yourself to relax once again.
Softening starting at the brow,
Working your way throughout the body.
Just noticing where your muscles are clenched or tensed.
Allowing the softening to take over the body,
A sense of ease before you bring your attention back to your location in this room or outside,
Wherever you are.
Just kind of come back to your current state.
Allow your awareness to expand.
If you're seated or lying down and you've been still,
You may choose to wiggle the fingers and toes before opening the eyes and coming back to the rest of your day with this new sense of ease,
This new sense of relaxation.
I invite you to open up the eyes and go back into the rest of your day.
Thank you for joining me and I look forward to seeing you next time.
