This is a meditation to increase self-awareness and practice grounding our attention in the body.
Begin by either lying down or sitting up straight in a chair.
Make sure your back is straight and your spine is up tall.
Ground your feet flat on the floor.
Make sure your heels are grounded into the floor.
We're going to start by taking some long deep breaths.
We're going to breathe in through our nose and into our stomach and then out slowly through pursed lips.
We'll do three breaths together just to ground us in the moment.
Breathe in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten.
Begin to turn your attention inwards away from distractions and the environment around you and bring the attention into your body.
Bring your focus onto your breathing.
We're going to start by bringing our attention down to our feet.
You might want to wiggle your toes a little and just notice any sensations in the feet.
You can turn your ankles a little if you want to.
Notice if there's any pressure between the bottom of your feet and the floor beneath you.
When we breathe,
The whole body moves with the breath all the way from the tip of our head down to our toes.
So I want you to imagine you're breathing all the way down your body and feel how it changes even in your feet.
Notice if you have socks or shoes restricting the feet or if there's cold air on them,
If they're exposed.
Remember to breathe deeply.
Now,
When you're ready,
We're going to move our attention to the legs.
Again,
Feel the breath going all the way down to the legs and notice any sensations in your muscles,
Thighs,
Knees,
Calves.
Just observe any sensations that you notice.
If you don't notice any sensations,
That's okay too.
You can always come back to the breath if we need to.
Now we're going to move our attention to the lower back.
Become curious and aware of any sensations or contact you have with the seat,
Bed,
Sofa behind you.
If there's any pain or discomfort,
Again,
We're not going to judge that.
We're just going to come back to our breath if we need to.
Imagine that with every breath,
We're getting into a deeper relaxation.
Watch your posture as you slowly turn your attention up the back to your shoulders,
Your neck.
Remember to sit up nice and straight or make sure your head is rested.
We want to make sure the spine is nice and long and supported.
And when we breathe,
With every exhale,
We're going to relax the shoulders and the neck a little bit more.
Just notice if there's any tension there.
And continue to breathe into it.
It's really important that we're aware of any sensations we have in the neck and shoulders during meditation and throughout the day.
We don't want to hold our stress there.
So just breathe into it and relax.
On the next breath,
We're going to move our focus to our arms.
Notice your hands and how many sensations you can feel in your fingertips.
You might want to wiggle your fingers or rub your fingers together slightly.
Maybe give your hands a little stretch.
Notice how that feels.
Notice if you're clenching or carrying any tension there.
Give them a wiggle to release.
Again,
The hands are a great place throughout the day to just notice.
Notice how you hold your hands,
How they feel,
If they're clenched.
Again,
We're not judging that.
If we do carry tension there,
That's great.
We're noticing it.
It's good to be in tune with where our tension does lie.
Now we're going to direct our attention to the chest.
Can you feel the breath falling and rising?
We're going to really focus on our core here.
The part of our body which contains so many of our internal organs.
The heart and chest area,
The stomach and diaphragm.
How does our body move with the breath?
Where is your breath located?
Can you feel more movement in the upper chest or in the heart?
Or can you feel a more deep diaphragmatic breath?
Further down,
Can you feel your stomach push away from the spine as you breathe out?
Again,
It's great to know where our breath is localized and how it feels.
Can you feel any digestive movement in your stomach?
It's really great to be aware of how the stomach is working.
The body is all connected.
Every breath shifts.
Every sensation in every part of the body flows in and out.
No sensation is permanent.
It's constantly moving,
Constantly flowing.
And we're building awareness of that flow.
Now we're going to experience the entire body as a whole.
From the head all the way down to the toes.
Feel it like a wave coming in with the breath and out again with the breath.
Where is your attention moving to?
Is it the breath and the diaphragm?
Is it a certain area where you have sensation,
Maybe you have pain or discomfort?
That's okay,
We're not trying to think about it or label it or judge it.
Just notice what is going on for us in our bodies at any given time.
Breathe into it,
Soften the tension,
Relax.
We're going to take one full,
Big,
Deep breath.
The biggest breath you have taken in today.
All of the energy and then we're going to release it all out through pursed lips until the breath has completely emptied the lungs.
Notice how you feel,
Be completely still.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes and become aware of how you feel.
Today we have begun to increase awareness of our body.
Remember the body and mind is all connected.
