Somatic Body Awareness Meditation

Gently and compassionately explore the landscape of your body. During the meditation, you will be guided to become aware of the sensations and insights your body is giving you. After the body scan there is time to simply be with your body and tend to it without guidance, followed by some closing support. You may like to journal and nourish your body after this meditation.

Transcript

This meditation is to support you to come into a deeper relationship with your body and the messages that it's sending you.

Putting you in touch with what it means to be human.

This is a time for you to really honour your body.

During the meditation,

Allow yourself to feel empowered to make it work for you.

All the guidance provided is simply an offering for you to take or leave.

Remember to trust your instincts,

Be gentle with resistance and allow yourself to embrace with compassion whatever it is that might show up today.

Now taking some time to come into a comfortable position however that looks for you.

And know that at any time during the meditation you can change your body to ensure that you feel more supported and more comfortable.

So you might start sitting and then choose to lie down.

You might feel at some point you may even want to stand up.

Really do what feels right for you.

This is your practice.

When you're ready gently closing down your eyes or choosing to have a soft gaze to the floor and start to check in with yourself.

Noticing with tenderness how you're arriving.

Emotionally,

Physically,

Mentally,

Spiritually.

Reconnecting with your body right now.

As you do this you may feel the need to change your position or support yourself in a different way.

So take some time to do that shifting,

Adjusting,

Sighing,

Stretching,

Nurturing yourself.

And then relaxing into an openness,

An openness to receive and to come into a deeper relationship with your body.

If you've closed your eyes you can gently open them again and start to take in the space that surrounds you.

And allowing your gaze to eventually rest on something that looks visually pleasing and supportive to you.

Using its colour,

Its shape,

The texture.

Letting this object anchor you visually into the room and also be a place of refuge should you need to support yourself or come back into the present moment.

In your own time closing down your eyes again or continuing to keep them open if that's what feels right for you.

Beginning to tune into the sounds that surround you.

Noticing the sounds that are loud,

Those that are more subtle.

Each sound providing an opportunity to come into this moment.

And feeling what is caressing and holding your body.

Sensing the clothing moving as you breathe in and out.

The chair or the cushion or maybe the floor that's holding and supporting you.

Allowing your body to ground down into this surface.

Moving into the place that you're sitting or lying.

In your own time gently guiding your awareness to your breath.

Feeling your breath flow into your body,

Your nostrils,

Your lungs,

Maybe your belly.

Understanding how your breath feels in this moment.

What qualities of the breath do you sense?

Perhaps it's deep,

Shallow,

Slow,

Fast.

You might feel the breath more present in your chest or your belly.

Allowing your breath to just be as it is.

Letting your body guide you.

Each breath you take an invitation to come deeper into this moment,

Into your body and your practice.

Beginning to traverse the landscape of energy,

Sensation,

Feelings and thoughts.

And doing so with compassion and kindness.

Being tender with what you find as you begin to explore your body.

Guiding your awareness down to your feet.

Feeling into your toes the soles of your feet.

Your arches and heels.

What sensations do you find here?

Warm,

Cold,

Tingling,

Tiredness.

Maybe your left foot feels a little different from your right foot.

Perhaps the feet feel distant,

Hard to connect with.

Compassionately noticing whatever is there and the insights that it provides you.

Moving your awareness up both your legs,

Ankles,

Calves,

Shins,

Knees,

Thighs.

Enjoying each part of your legs with loving kindness.

How do your legs feel?

Perhaps there's places of contraction or places of ease.

Places that feel tired and heavy.

You might choose to linger in places of pleasure or bear witness to the places of discomfort.

Gently receiving the messages that are here for you.

Slowly guiding your attention now to your genitals,

Your bottom,

Hips and pelvic area.

Resting with an open awareness here.

Noticing if there's places you're immediately drawn to or places you might be avoiding as well.

Seeing the wisdom of your pelvic region.

Now moving up to your belly,

Sensing your organs and the muscles and the skin of the belly.

What is it you experience here?

Perhaps you're sitting here with strong emotions that are present in the belly.

If so,

Gently noticing that,

Bringing that kindness as you do.

Maybe your belly feels soft,

Might feel tight or empty.

Becoming curious about what it is that you sense and going lightly and gently with what it is that you find.

Moving your awareness up your spine.

Noticing your whole back,

Its position,

The curves.

What qualities are present here?

If there's pain,

What does that pain feel like?

Is it dull,

Sharp or throbbing?

If there's pleasure,

What does that pleasure feel like?

Does it feel open and expansive and light?

Watching this field of sensations in your back as they shift and change.

Then shifting your attention to your shoulders and down your arms.

Taking your time as you explore every inch,

All the way down into your hands and your fingers.

Feeling your arms from the inside out,

The bone,

The muscle,

The skin.

If there's tension in the shoulders,

How deep does that tension go?

What wisdom is lying here within your shoulders and your arms for you to uncover?

Simply moving up your neck,

Your jaw and into your face.

Seeing the flow of energy in your throat.

Does it feel open,

Locked or heavy?

Seeing where the tension and ease may sit in your face.

Coming into a loving presence with your face,

Welcoming all that lies here.

And slowly coming down to your heart space,

Feeling your chest as it rises and falls with each breath you take.

How does your heart feel in this moment?

Noticing the energy that's present here.

It might feel supportive to place your hands on your heart as you connect in.

If your heart had a voice,

What would it say to you?

What does it want you to know?

Listening with a loving awareness.

When you're ready,

Allowing this loving awareness to spread throughout your body.

Keeping your body in a warm and deeply compassionate embrace.

In the next few minutes,

Allow yourself to bask in the presence of your body.

Witnessing listening.

Giving yourself permission to tend to your body as it needs during this time.

You may find that emotions come up to be released.

Allow them to be released.

You may find that your body wants to move.

Allow your body to move.

Or you may find that your body needs stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Rest in the stillness.

Allowing the sounds to welcome you into the room.

Sensing your breath as it moves in and out of your body.

Feeling your body and its connection to the surface that is holding you.

Placing your hands on your heart.

Taking a moment to whisper some words of gratitude to your body.

Might be as simple as a thank you,

Thank you,

Thank you.

In your own time inviting the movement back to your body.

Wriggling fingers,

Wriggling toes.

And slowly beginning to open your eyes.

You may find it supportive to do some journaling after this practice.

Or continue to nourish and look after your body.

Do what feels nice and joyful.

Reviews

Loved this practice with soft guidance. Thank you.

Beautiful , calming meditation and a lovely way to start my day.🙏

Beautiful, thank you ✨💓

Could have stayed in that meditation for longer. Wonderful, soothing language. Thank you.

🙏🏻