Hello there,
This is Stirra Manus recording from the London Buddhist Centre.
So today's meditation is going to focus on noticing habitual tensions and how we hold them in the body.
So one of the first obstacles that we face in trying to work with our mind is having a body that is sort of tight and wound up.
And there are certain areas in our body,
You might have some favourites,
Where we're particularly prone to holding on to tension.
So I'll guide us through some of those and we can begin to approach how to notice that and let go of it.
So first of all,
Just get yourself set up as you have done before,
Somewhere undistracted where you can sit upright and comfortably.
So we'll take a moment and then we'll start.
So you can begin by just noticing the weight of your body on the seat.
Feeling the weight of gravity and the support of the seat.
Just seeing if you can just give in to gravity and let your weight sink down,
Let your body be heavy.
And you might just notice your body breathing.
Now you can just bring your awareness into the area of your face.
Just see if you can notice as you do that,
Just how you're holding your face,
The expression you're wearing.
You don't need to try and change that to begin with.
Just notice it,
Notice what it feels like.
Very often we're slightly squeezing around the eyes.
As if we're looking intently at something,
But with our eyes closed we really don't need to do that.
You might be slightly furrowing your brow.
Or holding onto your jaw.
So as you notice any tension,
Any holding on,
Rather than trying to change that,
Just try and bring your awareness closer up to it.
The muscles around your mouth.
Your tongue.
And your chin.
Without thinking about it,
Just investigating the feeling of holding on.
The mask of tension that we usually wear on our face.
And as you really notice any tension,
You may be able to start to let it go.
Becoming aware of your neck.
And the space of your throat.
And if you try to apply any effort or any force in making yourself let go of the tension,
You'll see that that doesn't work.
All that we can do is just become more and more deeply aware of it and allow it to let go of its own accord.
And bringing your awareness into your shoulders.
We're almost always holding our shoulders much higher than they need to be.
Not trying to move them into the right position.
Just becoming more intimate with what it's like to hold your shoulders in the way that you normally do.
We're starting to see a lot of activities happening across the body,
As an individual.
Noticing all the space underneath the shoulder blades down the back.
What exactly does it feel like,
That tendency to hold on?
What are the qualities of that sensation?
Not thinking,
Just feeling your way to an answer.
And bringing your awareness down into your belly.
Another area we're so usually just clutching on.
Noticing that tension.
And noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
Noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
Noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
Where is it in the belly that we're holding on from?
Noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
And bringing your awareness down into the large space,
The large muscles of the thighs and the buttocks.
So used to supporting the weight of your body.
And just notice if you can any subtle bracing in that area.
Noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
Noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
Particularly noticing at the point where the muscles join the hips and the knees.
Allowing yourself to let go more deeply.
And expanding your awareness now to include the whole of your body.
Your face.
Noticing any tension that you've picked back up in your face.
Your neck and your throat.
Your shoulders and down your back.
Your belly.
Your thighs and your buttocks.
And the whole of the space of your body.
Just keeping an eye out for tension in the whole area of the body.
And seeing if you can let it go more completely.
Noticing any relief that comes from realizing that we don't need to squeeze on in our bellies like that.
And taking another moment.
As we bring the meditation to a close.
Opening your eyes and pausing for a moment before you carry on with your day.
