Noticing & Allowing

Join me in a relaxing sitting together as we explore the body, the emotions, and the breath in a mindfulness practice without judgment. We will enjoy the practice of observing these anchors without the need to change anything at all.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

I am so honored to be sharing this practice with you today.

Thank you for joining me.

Allow yourself to come into the present moment.

That means letting go of everything that came before this moment,

All the rushing,

The planning.

And that means letting go of everything that will come after this moment.

Worrying about the things you have to do later this afternoon or evening.

Just being present right here in this carved out space of time.

And that is exactly what mindfulness meditation is.

It is paying attention to the present moment on purpose and without judgment.

So today,

Together,

As we sit in posture,

We're going to try to tune into our present moment awareness without judgment.

So begin to find a posture that you can hold for the next few moments.

A nice straight spine,

Tipping your chin slightly,

Letting your eyelids gently flutter closed if that feels comfortable.

And then just becoming aware of the body as it sits in this moment in time.

Noticing how you've chosen to position yourself.

Notice where your body is making contact with the chair or the bed,

The cushion beneath you,

And just looking for those points of contact.

Noticing what it feels like to have the chair underneath your bottom or your lower back supported.

Noticing what it feels like to have your feet making contact with the floor.

And just paying attention,

Tuning into that pressure or sensation of contact.

And then allowing your awareness to travel throughout the body,

Other areas that perhaps aren't making contact with your support.

And just noticing how the rest of the body is feeling supported.

So notice the arms by the sides of the body,

Where you're resting your hands.

You might notice the shoulders,

If they're up close to your ears,

Let them drop down and away.

Noticing your facial features.

If the face feels tight or scrunched up,

Can you soften and just allow your awareness to be present in the body right here in this moment without judgment.

So if there is a part of the body that is tense or uncomfortable,

See if you can sit with it and just allow it to be as it is without pushing back or resisting or wishing it was any different.

Can you allow yourself just to rest in that moment?

Noticing the body from head to toe,

Just sort of allowing your awareness to drift from the right side of the body to the left side of the body.

From the front of the body,

Head,

Face,

Chest,

Belly,

Pelvic region down the front of the legs,

And then let your awareness travel down the back of the body.

Noticing any sensations or tension,

Just noticing without labeling,

Without judgment.

The back of the skull,

The neck,

The shoulder blades,

And the spine,

All the way down into your lower back and your sits bones,

And then down each of the backs of the legs,

And the calves,

And the ankles.

Just noticing,

Letting whatever comes into your awareness be there,

Be present without getting taken along on a story.

Don't let any one part of the body take over,

Just notice and allow,

And then gently drift back to another area,

And another area,

And another area,

Without judgment.

Letting your body be in this moment exactly as it is.

And just tuning in to the sensations of the body.

One of those sensations might be the sensation of breathing.

So go ahead and allow your awareness to gently drift towards the body breathing and the body emptying each breath in time.

You're not rushing to grasp the next breath,

You're not pushing away any breath that comes and stays and lingers.

You're just noticing and observing one breath,

And then the next breath.

And you might connect those breaths with the body.

Maybe you're feeling the breath in the front of the body,

The belly,

The chest,

Tips of the nostrils.

Maybe you're feeling the breath in the back of the body,

Around the back of the skull or the neck,

The shoulders.

Wherever you're feeling it,

Let your attention rest there.

No need to change or wish it was different.

You're just allowing whatever comes to you in moment to moment awareness to be just as it is,

Just as it wants to be.

There's no need for you to guide or direct or change or wish it was different.

Just observe.

That's all we're going to do today.

The body and the breath.

Maybe take a moment or two to check in with any emotions that are present.

Not allowing the emotions to take over the practice and not judging yourself for having those emotions,

Just letting them be there,

Noticing just like you did with the body.

Just like you did with the breath.

Ah,

That's what it feels like to feel this way.

Maybe connecting that emotion with the body.

Where are you feeling it?

Is the emotion present in the physical body?

Can you feel it in your heart space?

Or your facial features?

Your belly?

Keeping in mind that there's still no judgment.

So if you're not able to tie the emotion to the body,

That's perfectly okay.

All we're doing here is trying to investigate,

Trying to notice,

Letting ourselves tune in to the finer details of the body and the landscape that is right here in this moment.

And if you are able to feel that emotion and feel the connection to the body and the breath,

Can you just sit there,

Allowing each of these things to come in and out of your awareness together or separately?

You might play around with changing the facial features,

Letting the lips move towards a smile and see if that changes any of the emotions.

Maybe turning the lips into a frown and seeing how that impacts the body.

Just noticing and allowing,

Noticing and allowing.

Once again,

Bringing your awareness back to your breathing.

Feeling the breath once again in the belly and the heart and the tip of the nostrils.

And maybe if it feels right,

Placing a hand over your heart space as you feel the body breathe and offering yourself a little compassion.

Just allowing yourself to feel into this human experience of breathing in a physical body with human emotions.

Without pushing anything away,

Just feeling the contact of the hand on the heart space,

Noticing its warmth.

Noticing how that feels,

How the hand on the heart might change the emotion,

Might change the breathing.

You might notice that it changes the physical body.

Maybe just by placing a hand over your heart,

The body softens,

The body relaxes.

Can you be right here in this non-judgmental space,

Observing,

Paying attention to the present moment on purpose and without judgment?

Letting one breath lead to the next breath,

Feeling both the inhale and the exhale.

Feeling it with a hand on your heart space,

The chest expands and the chest falls back in and relaxes.

One breath after the next,

Your hand isn't pushing into the chest,

It's just ever so gently touching in a loving and kind way.

Offering yourself this moment of reflection,

This moment of being gentle with yourself,

Allowing all of the physical ailments to be present.

Allowing all of the emotions,

Whatever they are,

To be present and allowing the breath to be exactly as it is in this moment in time.

Just offering yourself this space without any distractions,

Without any judgment,

Without any expectation from yourself or others.

Just resting in this moment right here and now.

And before we make our way back to the rest of our day,

Evening,

I invite you to,

If you have your hand on your heart,

Lower your hand back into your lap.

Become aware once again of your body in this space,

In this posture.

Feeling where the body is making contact with the chair or the cushion beneath you.

Feeling your feet grounded on the floor,

Just inviting yourself back into the physical body,

Into the physical space that you are in.

And you might allow yourself to rock gently back and forth,

Side to side,

Maybe rolling the neck from side to side,

Still with the eyes closed.

You might roll the wrists or the ankles,

Coming back into the physical body before opening the eyes and taking back in your sense of sight.

And I send you off today with the definition of mindfulness one more time,

Which is to be present in this moment on purpose and without judgment.

And I offer you that as you go about the rest of your day and leave your posture,

Feeling a sense of connection,

Peace.

And once again,

I thank you for sharing the practice with me.

And I look forward to seeing you right back here on Insight Timer.

Thank you.