So making yourself comfortable.
And closing your eyes either fully or partially.
Taking a few deep breaths.
And tuning into something in your life that is a little bit stressful right now.
Maybe there's a situation,
A relationship,
Something coming up that you're feeling a bit worried about.
Maybe you find that point of stress in your mind.
Maybe you tune into your body and find a point of stress.
All human lives have points of stress.
They don't go away because we don't tend to them.
It's a beautiful act of compassion for us so to bring our awareness to a point of tension and then also to bring in some tools of compassion to tend to ourselves.
So bringing your awareness if you haven't already to the place in your body where that stress manifests,
Manifests itself.
Maybe somewhere in the midline of your body,
Your forehead,
Around your eyes,
Your throat,
Your chest,
Your diaphragm,
Your belly,
Down in your pelvic area.
It might show up as muscle tension somewhere outside of that midline.
Tense shoulder,
A sensation in the side of your face.
Your lower back.
Scanning your body.
Finding where that tension is in your body.
Sort of the kind,
Curious way you might ask a child,
Where does it hurt,
Sweetheart?
Where does it hurt?
Tell me about that.
You might like to put your hand over that place on your body.
And experiment with different ways of holding your hand over that part of your body.
Does it feel right to hold your whole hand,
Your palm and your fingers over that part of your body?
Does a gentle fist feel like something you like to hold over that part of your body?
Maybe just a couple of fingertips,
Very light touch on that part of your body.
So experimenting with different kinds of pressure,
Trying firm pressure if that feels right.
Gentle pressure.
No pressure at all,
Simply contact.
You might also try moving your hand,
Moving your fingertips over that place in your body,
Gently stroking that place in your body.
Rubbing that place in your body with your whole hand in a circular motion or back and forth.
Just experimenting with different kinds of touch.
And then bringing your awareness really closely focused in to that point of tension in your body as if you were right in there,
Very close to that part of your body,
To that stress that you're feeling in your body.
Almost as if you could be there as some little being in the midst of that tension.
Noticing what that landscape is like,
Getting a little bit curious about that landscape.
Noticing things like temperature,
Texture.
If this tension feels like an actual landscape of land,
What kind of land is it?
Is there water?
Are there trees?
Is there sky?
What objects are in this landscape?
Really getting inside this place of tension in your body,
Very intimate with it.
Remembering to bring some curiosity as well as some kindness to this experience.
Are there any characters in this landscape or in this place in your body where you're holding tension?
Anyone you might bring curiosity to?
Maybe this is a familiar character.
Maybe there's someone new.
What's showing up in this place of tension for you?
If you do find someone or something in that experience of tension,
Maybe just letting them know that you intend to come back.
You intend to come and visit with them again to get to know them some more.
Not right now,
But just connect,
Connect with any characters around that tension in your experience.
Being very respectful of any characters in your internal landscape.
Then starting to expand your awareness out,
So going from being very intimate with this place of tension in your body,
The landscape,
The characters,
The qualities.
And slowly,
Gently moving your awareness as if you are moving out and above and away,
You're getting larger and larger,
Moving your awareness further and further from this exact point of tension.
Getting a sense of the broader landscape.
You might even feel as if you're moving up into the sky,
Gradually seeing the landscape getting smaller and smaller.
You might have a sense of yourself as getting larger and larger.
It's okay to leave that intimate connection down in that space where you feel the tension in your body.
It's not disrespectful to get some perspective.
Allowing yourself to move up and away from that exact point of tension.
You might even see yourself moving through the layers of your body until you're aware of the external part of your body.
And then even a broader awareness to the outside,
To your external environment.
And broadening your awareness further and further away,
Still viewing this place of tension,
But from a broader and broader perspective.
Noticing how it feels as you do this.
You feel as if you're abandoning your experience.
Know that you're still holding your experience.
You're just getting a broader perspective on your experience.
You're actually getting more information about this experience,
About this tension.
You're seeing it in a broader perspective.
You can keep broadening your perspective for as far as you like.
You might find your perspective is out to places in space.
Out to the level of the galaxy even.
Noticing how it is to still be holding this stress,
This tension,
But from a very wide perspective.
And as you do that,
You might even notice all of the other beings,
People,
Animals,
Who also have a place of tension in their body.
You might notice just how many beings there are in that broader perspective,
Sharing your experience,
Having a similar experience of stress and tension.
Maybe even seeing the ways that we are connected,
Each in our own stress and tension,
But each having a very similar experience.
There is nothing wrong with any of our experiences.
Our body doesn't lie.
Our body only knows how to tell the truth.
Now bringing your awareness back in again,
Doing this slowly,
Transitioning slowly,
Bringing it simply to your body as it is now.
The whole of your body,
The entirety of your body,
Taking your time,
Transitioning back to your body at a pace that feels respectful and compassionate.
Simply being aware of the very physical nature of this body.
Noticing the pressure of your bottom,
Your back,
Your shoulders,
On the chair or the floor,
The couch,
Whatever it is you're resting on.
Feeling your clothes against your skin,
Maybe even rubbing your body,
Getting in touch with that sense of touch,
The physicality of your body,
Starting to move your body,
Having a bit of a stretch when you're ready,
Opening your eyes,
Starting to look around the room,
Really locating yourself in this physical space,
Grounding yourself in this present moment in this physical space,
Having a sip of your drink.
