Mindfulness And Somatic Tracking

This meditation starts with some grounding through the feet, seat and hands and then moves into some mindfulness practice followed by a brief period of somatic tracking. It is my hope and intention that with regular practice, you will come to see how foundational non-judgmental compassionate awareness is to the process of somatic tracking. It is the bones upon which a somatic tracking practice grows and is a skill we can learn and practice over time.

Transcript

Welcome. Thank you for joining me in practicing mindfulness and somatic tracking today. So begin by finding yourself in the present moment. You might do this with a sense of gathering your attention to the place and space that you find yourself in. And so noticing your surroundings. And might you invite an openness, A receptivity. Bringing an interest in your environment. Really taking it in and knowing this is where you are right now. And just notice what's coming in through the senses. Through the eyes, Light. Colour, Pattern What's coming in through the ears, The sounds far away, Sounds in the room. Sounds of my voice. And notice what's coming in through the language of sensation. Maybe pressure. The air or the atmosphere against your skin. The sensation of texture of clothing against your body and as you begin to draw your attention closer and closer. Could you see if you could find some points of contact? So if you're sitting in a chair it might be the sensation of your feet against the ground And just sensing that meeting point between your feet and the earth below. Sensing the connection. Rootedness, The support. The support beneath your feet. And then coming up and sensing the connection between your body and the surface that you're sitting on, Your seat. And can you relax a little into the sensation of being held? Of the support that's here. Notice if any part of you is slightly gripping. And if so, Could you just allow yourself to soften a little bit more? And making any adjustments you might need to be more comfortable. And now just dropping into your hands. Noticing how they are. Perhaps they're touching each other. Resting on your body somehow. And just gather all of your attention into your hands. Becoming aware of any sensations that arise as you meet the experience of resting in your hands. So first noticing the very basic language of sensation. They might be tingling. Pulsing. Vibration pressure. Contact temperature. Dryness or moistness. And could you stay present at the level of sensation? Resting here and noticing the unfolding world of sensation in your hands. Now whenever your mind goes time traveling away from the sensations in the hands, Which it will, That is not a problem at all. If you find that you judge yourself for that in any way just see if you can drop that. Waking up in this moment and returning to resting in the hands. Very close to the sensations that are being generated here. And going through this rhythm of lost and found we get lost in the mindscape and the moment of recognition that we're lost in the mind, That's the moment of mindfulness. Returning to the body, Returning to presence, To this moment, Resting back into the hands. And just see if you can make this a smooth journey so that when you drift off and notice, Invite a gentle and smooth return. Not being in resistance to the movement of the mind, But just working with it. And so this practice is to help us to learn and sense and feel when we're lost in abstraction versus when it is that we're in the moment, Anchored in the sensations of the body. So this mindfulness practice teaches us to discern. And there's nothing to get right. It's just a journey. A moment to moment exploration. Of sensing and feeling. And asking the question, Am I here? Not giving yourself a hard time about it, But just a gentle return and finding what anchors you in the here and now. So you could choose one of these contact points, The feet against the ground. The sensation of being held by your seat Or you could stay with the hands. Or if you'd like to, You can experiment with the breath. Following the breath in through the nostrils and out through the nostrils. For all of these the instruction is the same. Choosing an anchor into the here and now Noticing when you've drifted, Reawakening and coming back. And just staying very open. And spacious. Around the quality of mental activity. So we might have brain fog or feeling sluggish or struggle to concentrate. And no problem. That's just the way the mind is in this moment. There might be pain here that's present. And could you just let it be here? Because for now, It's here. Practicing not being in resistance to what's here. Amidst the fatigue or the pain, Here or there, Could you open to noticing moments of just connecting to the aliveness? The aliveness of the breath. The sensations in the hands or the feet, The seat. Experimenting with resting in your anchor. Or resting with the movement of the breath. And amidst the fatigue. Amidst the pain. Can you explore these moments of resting? And checking in from time to time. How is the tone of my body? Do you notice any subtle tension or bracing? Maybe in the shoulders or the jaw or the belly. And could you give yourself the invitation to keep relaxing into the practice? Relaxing into how things are. And this is the heart of mindfulness. And so as we shift from mindfulness practice into somatic tracking, Could you find some resourcing in this moment? So perhaps resting in your hands has felt nourishing or maybe neutral. Maybe there's some nature around in the space that you're in or through a window. You could take that in as a resource, As goodness, As support. Perhaps a warm texture, Something comforting. And also activating an inner dialogue, An inner conversation with yourself. So there's a part of you that's here doing the meditation, Probably with some other parts that might not want to explore what's difficult. This might be frightening. Fear may come up. And the invitation is to say, In this moment, Just this very moment, Everything's okay. And we're just going to simply explore something that feels painful or uncomfortable. So choosing somewhere in yourself that you would like to practice somatic tracking. And to begin by just acknowledging that this is a language that you're learning. It's a way of being with yourself that you're growing. So very gently gather your attention to where it is that you want to explore. And first see, Can you just breathe here with this in your awareness? So maybe sensing the area that you'd like to engage with. Bringing in the breath. And perhaps saying silently to yourself, It's okay. I'm okay in this moment. This is safe to explore. I don't need to make anything happen. I'm simply practicing what occurs when I bring this loving attention to what is difficult and to let them sit side by side. And just beginning to notice through the eyes of this kind and compassionate witness inside of you. What do you notice about this area? What is the quality of sensation that you're picking up here? And see if you can really stay with the felt scents. Is it tight? Is it sharp? Dull. Hot or cold. Achy What is the span of it? How much space does it take up as you gently explore? And if you notice that any part of you is starting to have a strong reaction to the sensations that you're exploring, Then very gently pull away and come to what feels resourcing, Perhaps finding a neutral or comforting place in the body. Perhaps it's that connection with nature or texture. Just rest there for a while, Soothing yourself. And going back and forth, Being curious. These sensations that we experience when they're chronic, We think we know them so well because they're familiar. But could you see if you could bring the quality that in the Zen tradition they call beginner's mind? So imagine you've never had this sensation before and you don't have any meaning or context or narrative story attached to it yet. And you're just experiencing the sensations. What would you pick up? As best as possible. This is just an exploration. And from time to time as we explore what feels difficult. Notice that the body can go into bracing or holding of breath. And see if you can invite yourself to soften. To invite yourself to let go of any gripping or holding. And if you come into contact with the voice of resistance, Of despair, Of anger, Then not to chase that away, But rather to make space for it in your awareness, Which can be very wide and it can hold a lot. If it does feel difficult, If there is resistance, In just this moment, Allow it to be there. Return to what feels nourishing. Take that in. And as we come to the end of the somatic tracking exploration, Thank your brain and nervous system for coming along. Just reminding yourself moment by moment, You're okay, You're safe and resourced and held. Held by the practice. Held by your intention for healing and resilience. And know that you can always return to this practice in short little bites. Knowing that in the moment we're not after a reduction of pain or symptoms. But somatic tracking is simply getting to know what it's like to be with what is difficult, With less reactivity and with compassion and care and love toward ourselves. And let's start to bring some gentle movements to the body. Having sat for a while, You might want to shrug your shoulders. Move your hands. Take a couple of belly breaths where as you breathe in the whole belly expands in all directions and then side out through the mouth. Once again, Breathing in, Opening the belly, The ribs, As full a breath as you can, Letting go and sighing it out. And once more, Inhaling and feeling the full three dimensionality of your torso. Breath moving side to side, Front to back and up and down and breathing it out Thank you so much for practicing. I send you so much warmth and support.