Soften Meditation

This short meditation invites you to soften areas of tension in your body. Once you feel comfortable with this practice, it's a great one to have in your back pocket to use any time, throughout the day. Perfect for developing an embodied writing practice.

Transcript

Wherever you find yourself today,

Give yourself permission to just be here for the next 10 minutes or so.

Arriving in this moment,

In this space,

Letting your worries,

Your to-do list,

Anything else that's filling up your mind and your life,

Just leaving it at the door.

It's still there,

But you're offering yourself an opportunity to tune in,

To be with the body today.

I call this the soften meditation,

And it's a practice I created for myself because I noticed that my body was filled with tension,

Chronic tension,

And I wanted to notice it and begin healing it.

So what we'll be doing for the next few minutes is just noticing the tension in our bodies and offering it to release.

This is a practice that you can keep in your back pocket and do anywhere,

But today we're going to do it with real intention,

Not flying by the seat of our pants.

So finding a comfortable position,

Laying down,

Standing up,

Sitting in a chair,

In a cushion,

Whatever,

Giving yourself permission to sink in.

So maybe taking a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

As you breathe in,

We're going to do this two more times,

Just breathing in all the concerns and cares,

And breathing out,

Release.

Breathing in the worries,

The looping thoughts,

The rumination,

Breathing that in,

And breathing out,

Rest.

And just noticing the body right now,

Noticing any shifts,

Adjusting position as you need to and really beginning to recognize your body against this chair or the bed or the floor.

Or noticing those points of contact and inviting your body to deepen that contact,

To sink in a little bit more,

To root into the earth.

And as you do this,

Just notice where the body is tensing,

Is bracing.

Where does it feel hard to root in to space,

To really arrive?

What parts of your body are still kind of halfway out the door?

I'm just noticing the body today,

Noticing pain,

Noticing anything that feels good.

Maybe there are areas in your body that are unexpectedly expansive or not hurting.

Just taking a moment to show some appreciation to this body for carrying you through the world and all of its imperfections.

We have complicated relationships with our bodies and with our emotions and thoughts and spirit and the way all of this interacts with the rest of the world.

So just really taking a moment to just appreciate in whatever way feels right to you.

It could be a hand on your heart,

It could be just a whispered thank you.

You're still here,

You're still kicking,

You're still alive.

Taking in a deep breath in through the nose,

Out through the mouth.

And if your eyes aren't closed now,

I invite you to close them or maybe invite a soft daydreaming gaze and we'll move into the very simple practice of softening.

Again,

This is something you can do on the spot at any moment.

Doing a quick scan of the body and just noticing where you feel tension.

Where's the first place that feels tight and constricted,

The muscles are straining?

Drawing your attention to that spot,

Noticing the shape,

The feel,

The texture of that tension.

Could be your forehead,

Your jaw,

Between the eyes,

The shoulders,

Clenching your fingers or your toes,

These kind of chronic places where we try to stave off whatever might be coming our way.

Just bringing your attention to that place and very quietly in your mind,

As your attention is focused on that muscle that's contracted,

Whispering,

Soften.

It's not a command,

It's an invitation.

You don't have to hold this,

You can take a knee,

Soften.

Just noticing how that part of your body responds.

You might need to whisper that invitation a few more times.

The tension might not completely dissolve,

But just noticing that difference.

That bringing your awareness to your body with intention.

Letting that go and then doing another scan of the body.

Where's the next place that you feel tension?

What's the next place that needs some softening?

Drawing your attention to that spot and with kindness and compassion and gentleness for this body that is trying so hard to keep you safe.

Whispering soften,

Giving it permission to rest,

To have some ease,

To not hold up the sky,

Even just for a few moments,

Soften.

Noticing how that softening might cast a wider net.

Do you notice a shift in other parts of your body as you soften that tension?

Are you noticing something happening emotionally?

Is the edge taken off just a little bit?

Letting that go and now looking internally if you have an illness or chronic pain or you're not feeling great today,

Maybe you have a headache or your stomach hurts.

Some place that's internal that can be very difficult to bring our awareness to that.

But if you're feeling like you've got some juice in the tank,

See if you can direct your attention to that internal spot.

No expectation here,

Just letting that area know,

Hey,

I'm here,

I know you're holding a lot,

Soften.

This might increase pain because you're placing your attention here and if it does,

Just noticing,

You know,

What is it like to not push it away but to be with that discomfort and if it's too tough,

Back away,

Back away,

It's okay.

Maybe find another place in the body,

The shoulder,

The jaw,

Offering that some release and ease through softening.

Just noticing how the whole system reacts to this invitation to soften.

And letting that go and taking in a deep breath in and out,

Releasing the practice,

Maybe shifting your body a bit,

Stretching,

Rolling the neck,

Shaking can feel really good.

That's what animals do when they're stressed.

And maybe taking the palms of your hands together and rubbing them.

And then before you go on with the rest of your day,

Just placing a hand on your heart and your belly or maybe just resting them by your sides but just taking a moment to show yourself,

Show your body some gratitude and then casting forward for a moment and thinking about how might you soften into your day,

How might you soften into your creativity,

How might you soften into fears that the inner critic is whispering into your mind,

How might you soften into your ideas and trust in your imagination,

How might you soften into feeling empowered,

Feeling permission and ownership of the stories you want to tell,

Of the work you want to put into the world,

How might you soften your ambition and your perfectionism,

How might you soften the voice that is telling you you're just not good enough.

So widening that net of softening,

Taking this word and putting it in your back pocket,

Using it in and out of the writer's seat,

Using it at any time,

Whether you're noticing the tension or not,

Drawing your awareness to your system,

Whether it's physical,

Mental,

Emotional,

Soften.

Alright friend,

Be good to yourself today.

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