Get yourself into a comfortable position,
Either sitting down or lying down perhaps.
When you're comfortable,
Take a moment to settle in and find some stillness.
Become aware of the support beneath you,
Supporting you,
Holding you.
Notice your breath through the movement of your body,
Your chest,
Your shoulders,
Your belly.
Become aware of your whole body expanding a little with your in-breath and relaxing a little with your out-breath.
Not trying to change your breath in any way,
Its pace or depth,
Just noticing it and accepting it for how it is in this moment.
I'll ask you to widen your focus of attention now,
All around you,
Into the space you're in at the moment.
Is it quiet and calm,
Or busy and noisy?
Can you rest with whatever's there?
If you haven't already,
I'll ask you to close your eyes,
Or lower your gaze,
Just focus on a single spot.
In a moment,
I'll ask you to turn your attention towards a physical sensation or condition that's uncomfortable for you.
It could be an area of chronic pain,
An injury that hasn't healed yet,
Or a low-level ache or pain that comes and goes.
Take a moment now to allow your attention to fall onto an area you'd like to focus on.
There's no wrong choice here,
Whatever you choose will be right for this meditation.
Hold it in your awareness for a moment,
Just allowing it to be.
If the pain could have a colour,
What colour would it be?
Try not to overthink it,
Accept whatever colour comes into your mind.
Would it be one solid colour,
Or many colours or shades of colour?
Bright or muted?
Light or dark?
If it were a shape,
What shape would it take?
Would it be 2D or 3D?
Would the edges be sharp and fixed,
Or blurry and shifting?
What size would it be?
What texture would it have?
Would it be smooth or rough?
Soft,
Bumpy or spiky?
If you could change this image of your pain,
How would you change it?
What colour would you change it to?
What shape?
Would you make it smaller or bigger?
How would you change its texture?
Spend a moment with that visualisation.
Focus on your changed representation of the pain,
Having a sense of freedom and flexibility.
What might that feel like,
The changed pain?
How might it feel physically,
Mentally or emotionally?
If you can,
Allow yourself to relax into any feelings coming up with acceptance,
With kindness and with compassion towards yourself.
Let's stay there for a moment.
Shift your awareness back to your body,
Noticing how your pain feels.
Does it feel the same,
Or have there been any subtle shifts?
Widen your awareness to include your whole body,
Noticing any areas of warmth or coolness,
Tension or relaxation.
Shift your awareness to your breath,
Feeling the inhale and the exhale,
Feeling your breath in your whole body.
Begin to invite a little movement into your body,
Perhaps your feet,
Hands,
Fingers and toes,
Perhaps your neck,
Your shoulders.
You can open your eyes.
