Finding Your Ground

Using the breath as a point of focus doesn't work for everyone. In this meditation, you can explore other places in the body as an anchor for your attention - the feet, the contact between the body and the surface supporting you, the hands as well as the movements and sensations of the breath in the body. Practicing resting your attention on a single point of focus helps develop your concentration and provides an anchor to the present moment, a way of finding your ground. (The magpies outside my door wanted to find their ground as well!)
(Based on meditation in 'Deeper Mindfulness' by Mark Williams and Danny Penman)

Transcript

Hi it's Mandy here. Welcome to the finding your ground practice. So you can do this meditation sitting or lying or standing it's up to you whatever posture is going to suit you today and your body to bring a sense of alertness. So settling into that posture if you're lying just having your legs outstretched in your arms gently resting beside you or on your belly and if you're seated just trying to have your feet placed on the floor legs uncrossed and your back upright and just taking a few moments to arrive perhaps checking in with how you're feeling right now any sensations that are here in the body any emotions that are present or thoughts that are bubbling up I invite you to check in with yourself as you would with a friend just really inquiring with curiosity and interest how are you right now and sometimes as we do with a friend we might say come on how are you really they're just taking a few moments to listen to the answer for yourself right now and whether you notice discomfort in the body or a sense of ease whether you notice frustration or excitement or joy whatever it is you find that's the perfect place for you to begin this practice giving yourself full permission to be just as you are so to begin I invite you to call your attention down to the soles of your feet whether they're in contact with the floor or whether you can just feel them from your lying position just checking in with the sensations that you notice in the soles of your feet there may be tingling or throbbing a sense of weight or pressure not trying to make anything happen just sensing in to what is here right now in the soles of the feet and expanding that attention to take in the whole foot the toes the top of the filt just allowing your attention to settle here and when the mind drifts off as it will just gently calling it back to reside in the feet grounding yourself in this part of the body perhaps taking a few deeper breaths and on the out breath just letting go of the feet from your attention bringing your attention now to the place in which your body is in contact with the surface beneath you so if you're sitting that might be the bottom if you're lying down the different parts of the back of the body that are in contact with the surface beneath you and just noticing the sensations that are here in that part of the body exploring the shifting and changing sensations in the seat or the back of the body and anytime the mind wanders just reminding yourself to come back to this point of focus the seat or the back of the body just resting here noticing the sensations of pressure or movement just the contact with the surface beneath you just resting back in that sensation of feeling fully supported when you're ready releasing this point of focus from your mind with a deep breath I'm calling your attention now to your hands whether they're in contact with your body or the floor just noticing all the different sensations that can be sensed in the hands and the fingers the hands have lots of nerve endings so I can often be a place in the body that's a little bit easier to notice sensations just checking out if that's the case for you allowing your attention to rest and settle in the sensations of the hands taking a deep breath and releasing the hands from your attention now and allowing your awareness to gather around the movements and sensations of breathing wherever you feel them most strongly that might be at the tip of the nostrils as the air comes in and out of the body it might be in the chest as the lungs fill and empty it's noticing the expansion in the ribs or it might be in the belly as the belly rises and falls moment by moment just becoming aware of the inhale and the exhale noting the pause between breaths and if your mind wanders away to thoughts of planning remembering fantasizing that's okay that's normal that's what our minds do that's actually part of the practice every time the mind wanders just gently call it back and so for the next few moments of this practice we'll enter into a little bit of silence and you can check out for yourself which part of the body might be best suited for maintaining a sense of your attention so you might like to rest your attention in the feet in the seat or in the back of the body if you're lying down in the hands or in the movement of the breath in the body so just choosing which place you'd like to rest your attention now and settling for the next few moments of silence remembering that at any time you can call your attention back and just rest in this place of focus as best you can and as we begin to bring this practice to a close just remembering that at any time throughout the day you can take a moment to pause and connect with one of these places finding your ground as a way to anchor yourself to the present moment a pause to ground yourself to just gain a little bit more access to ease and connection and choice thanks see you next time