If your body was a child you love and care for,
What would change about your relationship with your body?
Normally when we think about our body,
We're often thinking about what they look like.
Unless there's pain,
Then we focus on that.
Sometimes we think about our health,
Especially when there's a threat like COVID-19 or an abrupt change in our health.
Our relationship with our body has a big impact on our enjoyment of life.
And it has a big impact on the comfort we have in our body and our breath,
And certainly on the thoughts in our mind.
It has a big impact on our enjoyment of life,
The comfort we have in our body and our breath.
When we're getting settled for our relaxation practice,
Sometimes we don't notice that our body could be more comfortable.
So see if you could adjust yourself a little bit so that you're more comfortable.
Your body has a bit more room to breathe.
Our bodies really take a lot of abuse.
It's not necessarily that we're harming our body with what we're doing or not doing.
Sometimes it's more of a neglect or we don't tune into our body.
When we are emotionally stressed,
We have tightness in our body.
We might be clenching our teeth and our teeth start to hurt.
We might have our shoulders up around the ears or we're hardly breathing.
Right now if you were to hunch your shoulders,
Really tighten them up.
Bring them up towards your ears and then breathe out and let them release.
When our muscles are tight,
There's limited blood flow.
It's hard on our body.
We don't notice what's going on in our body because we're mostly focused on thoughts in our mind.
We also try to avoid our body because of trauma that's stored in our body.
It doesn't really feel comfortable to be paying attention.
When we attune to our body,
We really get to know ourselves.
What do you feel like right now?
What's going on in your body?
What's your normal breath pattern?
What are the kinds of thoughts that are in your mind and what's the energy of your mind?
Are you often anxious?
Is there catastrophic thinking that kind of pulls you into a trance?
What's going on in your system?
We get to know ourselves when we pay attention in this way.
I think one of the most important parts of practice is that we're paying attention to ourselves.
That's a powerful message.
Our body is alive in a way we might not experience when we're not attuned.
Notice right now the whole of your body from head to toes.
What are the sensations in the space your body is occupying?
Notice the flow of air in your nostrils,
The cooler sensation as you breathe in and the warmth as you breathe out.
Do a body scan,
Starting at the forehead and eyebrows.
Soften your forehead as you breathe out.
Notice your mouth and jaw.
If you're clenching your teeth,
Put a bit of space between your upper jaw and lower jaw so your teeth aren't touching.
Then bring your attention down through the throat to your vocal cords,
Down to your collarbones,
The sides of your neck from your ears,
Down through to the shoulders.
And then let your attention flow down into your arms,
Hands,
Fingers,
Fingertips.
Notice your neck from the skull down through the back of your neck,
The large muscles that cover your upper back.
Notice muscles,
Skin sensations.
There's almost always a softening that can deepen.
From your upper back,
Come down through your mid and lower back into the back of your legs,
Back of your thighs,
Calves,
Down to your feet and the soles of your feet,
Through your toes.
Let your legs be at rest.
Come up to your lower belly and notice the movement of your body with your breath.
Bring your attention up into your chest,
Back into your face and then to your whole entire body again.
Notice everything that's going on in the space your body is occupying.
And now notice your level of friendliness with your body,
Goodwill.
Maybe a part of your body doesn't function as well as you'd like it to.
Notice your relationship with that.
Especially when there's fear involved,
Our thoughts can get really sticky.
Our body can tighten up.
If your body was someone you loved and that you're caring for,
They might be kind of confused.
What's going on?
How would you explain your clenched jaw to a child?
Come back into this intimate witnessing.
What's going on in your body?
When you pay attention to your body from a thought level,
What kind of thoughts are usually there?
Sometimes there would be an image of your body or maybe something that you don't like about your body or that you do like.
Notice your relationship with your body and then bring up a mental image or picture of your body.
What kind of words come to mind?
Are these words you would use for someone that you love?
How might you soften those words?
Be kinder to yourself.
It's interesting to explore our relationship with our body through our images and words,
Through our thoughts.
A lot of that has to do with the past and future.
A lot of it has to do with our cultural conditioning.
We're conditioned to believe that a certain size of body is better,
Certain ages,
Appearances.
Yet this is my body.
This is where I live.
See if you could be kinder and on your own side,
No matter what your body does or looks like or feels like.
Could you be on your own side?
For most of us,
Our body gets put to the end of the priority list because we're trying to have emotional comfort.
We're trying to get away from something that feels powerless or uncomfortable or painful.
We could actually be an advocate for our body,
Like a health advocate when you see the doctor.
We give our body a voice.
Even if we feel we've let ourselves down,
We could have a fresh start right now.
Notice our intention to be more present,
Patient,
Kind,
Welcoming.
From now on,
I'll be an advocate for my body,
For my body's health.
Now let all the words go.
Just focus on the space your body is occupying and what's coming and going in that space.
For the next several breaths,
Let yourself rest.
Assimilate.
See what comes forward and focus on softening your body and your breath.
And before you open your eyes,
Move your hands around on your body.
You could put a hand on your heart,
Touch your face,
Your arms,
Your legs.
Take a few deep breaths and open your eyes.
