Welcome.
I'm Keziah Gibbons,
My pronouns are she and her,
And today I invite you to experiment with a couple of minutes of mindful awareness of the body.
So we're going to be using our interception,
Which is awareness of what's happening inside the body.
And proprioception,
Which is awareness of your body in space,
As an anchor to just stay in the present moment.
And if you do find your mind wandering,
That's fine,
It's perfectly normal.
And the fact that you notice it is a good sign,
Because it's a sign of awareness.
And if you do so,
Just bring yourself back to the practice.
So here we go,
Let's practice.
So I invite you to come into a position that's comfortable and supportive.
I'm seated on the floor,
Resting against the sofa.
And that's the most comfortable position for me because it supports my back and gives me somewhere to put my legs.
But you can be in a chair or even lying down.
Comfort and support are the most important factors here.
And just take a moment to sense into awareness of your body.
So you may find that there's a buzz of thoughts in the background,
That's okay,
They can exist.
But the trick is to let them exist.
Whilst deliberately bringing your attention to your body.
So you might start by noticing the feeling of your body.
Where it's supported by whatever you're resting on.
Just tuning into that sensation,
Noticing what it's like.
Not thinking about the sensation or labelling it.
Just resting awareness there with your felt sense.
If you discover your mind wandering,
Just returning your focus to your felt sense.
Those parts of your body that are supported by the surface you're resting on.
And now expanding that awareness,
So see if you can find your whole body with your felt sense.
What does it feel like?
You might notice the dimensions of your body,
How much space you occupy.
You might notice the shape of your body,
Not with your mind,
But with your felt sense,
Just feeling into it.
What shape do you feel today?
And just being with your felt sense in this moment.
Bringing your mind back if it does wander.
Letting your felt sense right this moment be the centre of your awareness.
And now there might be a part of your body that you're particularly aware of that's asking for your attention.
And allowing your felt sense to rest there.
Now often when there's a part of the body that persistently demands attention,
We develop thoughts or feelings about that and it's okay for those thoughts or feelings to exist.
But that's not what we're focusing on.
Right now.
For now,
Just stay in the felt sense of that part of the body.
Notice things like the location,
Size,
Shape.
Density of that particular place and without judgment.
If you like.
You can ask that part of your body to tell you what it needs.
In this moment.
And making any adjustments that you need to.
Mindfully.
Felt sense is your primary focus.
Letting go of the narratives for now.
And then expanding your awareness once again to the whole body,
Just having.
And perhaps even enjoy it.
The experience of physically existing.
In this moment.
And then drawing your awareness once again to those parts of you that are supported by the surface you're resting on.
Sensing into the gentle pressure.
And the sense of support rising up from the ground.
Okay,
So we've spent a few minutes in mindful awareness.
Using the anchor of felt sensation in the body to keep us coming back to this moment.
I'd encourage you to try this practice for at least a week.
To allow yourself to get used to it and just see how you get on.
Thank you for sharing your time with me.
I hope to practice with you again tomorrow and until then,
Take care.
I wish you a wonderful rest of your day.
