Welcome to the Inner Sanctuary practice.
A guided body-based meditation for steadying yourself in uncertain times.
So go ahead and find yourself in a comfortable position.
Perhaps it's seated on a chair or lying down on a couch or a bed.
Just take a moment to become as comfortable as possible.
Very good.
And let us start with the breath.
At first,
Just noticing the natural rhythm of the breath.
Noticing the breath moving in and out of your body.
Feel how far the inhale travels.
And the force in which the exhale leaves your mouth or nose.
Spend a couple moments here.
And if you find yourself wanting to move or stretch or yawn,
Just allow those things to happen naturally.
And now let's bring more intention to the breath.
For the next couple breaths,
Inhaling through the nose,
Holding it at the top of the inhale.
And then exhaling a little longer than the inhale out your mouth.
And doing that on your own.
Inhaling through the nose.
Holding it at the top.
And then exhaling a little longer than the inhale out your mouth.
Continue breathing that way.
Very good.
And now allowing your breathing to return to normal.
And just a moment,
I'm going to lead you through a body scan.
And it's your job just to notice and to be aware.
To notice areas of tension or tightness.
Areas of relaxation and calm.
Noticing areas which may have a sensation.
Or a temperature associated with it.
Whatever it is,
As we go through this body scan,
Just become aware and notice.
So we're going to start at the top of our head.
Bringing your awareness to your head.
And scanning through your head.
Checking in with your brain.
In your eyes.
In your nose.
Moving your awareness to your ears.
Your sinuses.
Your mouth.
Bringing your awareness to your jaw.
Just noticing the different sensations and feelings.
As you move your awareness to your neck.
Noticing your cervical spine and your throat.
Carrying your awareness down to your shoulders.
Feeling if there's any sensation or shift in your awareness.
As you move it down through your arms.
Past your elbow.
Into your forearms.
And all the way to your hands and the tips of your fingers.
Just noticing.
And now bringing your awareness back into your chest.
Perhaps you feel your heartbeat.
Maybe the rise and fall of your lungs.
Becoming aware of what it feels like.
Checking in with your shoulder blades and your thoracic spine.
Your rib cage.
Your diaphragm.
Moving the awareness down your abdomen.
Checking in with all of your organs and your abdomen.
Aware of what's happening there.
And then moving your awareness down into your pelvis.
Feeling your sitz bones.
Maybe they're sitting on a chair.
Or laying on the ground.
The couch.
And moving your awareness down your legs.
All the way down your quads.
Checking in with your hands.
Your hamstrings.
Moving your awareness to your knees.
Your calves and your shins.
All the way down to your feet and your toes.
Becoming aware of what's happening in the body.
And now directing your awareness from your feet all the way to your head.
Just scanning the body.
Scanning the body.
Very good.
And just taking note of all that you have felt in this body scan.
Perhaps maybe you give yourself a rating.
Ten feeling the most anxious,
Most uncomfortable.
And one feeling the most peaceful.
How would you rank your overall feeling of your body?
And so whatever that ranking was,
Just sit with it for a moment.
Thanking it for letting itself known.
And asking it if it's willing to receive.
Just in a general sense for right now.
We'll get a little more specific in just a moment.
But just check in to see if your body is open and willing to receive.
Something safe,
Something gentle.
And it's okay,
Whatever your answer is.
Just be honest.
And if your body is not willing to receive,
I invite you to either end this meditation now or just stick around.
And see what happens.
Just being curious.
Not with any expectation that your body needs to receive anything.
And if your body is willing to receive,
I invite you to open your hands.
Just open your hands in a position of receiving.
Very good.
Just put your attention on your hands.
Maybe you feel a slight tingling or buzzing.
A little sensation of hot or cold.
Just notice whatever your hands are feeling.
So I'm going to say a few words.
And as I say these words,
I want you to imagine the energy of these words.
Imagine your hands filling your hands.
And the first word is peace.
Peace.
Imagine your hands filling with peace.
And now I invite you to take those hands and place them somewhere on your body.
Could be hands on your heart.
One hand on your heart.
One on your navel.
Could be hands on your wrist.
A gentle hug.
A hand on the cheek.
Whatever feels safe and comfortable for you.
Just place your hands on your body.
And since it said it was willing to receive,
Infuse that peace into your body.
Very good.
I'm going to give you a few moments of silence to feel that peace being received.
Into your body as much as it is able.
Great.
Now you could keep your hands here if you still want to infuse the peace.
And if you're willing to receive something else,
I invite you to open your hands again.
Just noticing the sensation.
Feeling the receptivity of your hands.
And now I'm going to say the word love.
Imagine love pouring into your hands.
Pouring,
Pouring into your hands.
Your hands are receiving as much love as they are able.
Very good.
And again,
I'm going to invite you to place your hands somewhere on your body.
Whatever feels safe and supportive.
Maybe it's not even touching your body.
That's okay too.
And since your body said it's willing to receive,
Allow it to receive this love that was poured into your hands.
I'm going to give you a few moments to receive that love.
Very good.
Now you can keep your hands here.
Or you can open them one more time.
Feeling the sensation of your hands ready to receive.
And then I'm going to invite you to say your own word here.
To say the word that you would like to receive.
It could be joy.
It could be laughter.
It could be magnificence.
Or even clarity.
With your hands open,
Go ahead and say that word three times.
While feeling it pour itself into your receptive hands.
Very good.
Now again,
I invite you to place your hands on your body or just an inch away from your body.
Somewhere that feels safe and supportive.
And since your body said it's willing to receive,
Allow it to receive that special word that you have spoken from your hands into your body.
I'll give you a few moments to do that.
Excellent.
So you can keep your hands on your body or take them off.
Whatever feels right for you.
And now I'm just going to invite you to do a head to toe body scan.
Just noticing and becoming aware of how your body feels.
Very good.
Now go ahead and give yourself a rating.
One to 10,
10 being the most uncomfortable,
Most anxious,
The most intense feeling.
And one being the most peaceful,
The most calm,
The most open feeling.
Go ahead and give yourself a rating.
And now take note of what you rate it yourself in the beginning.
And what you rate yourself now.
And just notice if it stayed the same.
If your rating is lower than when you started.
Or even if it's higher.
Just notice there's no right or wrong answer.
Whatever answer we have is unique to us and part of our own journey.
Beautiful.
So now I'd just like to give you this opportunity to thank your body.
To thank your mind for creating this space.
For you to discover and explore your inner sanctuary.
For any insights you've gained.
And for just allowing yourself to be.
Give yourself some thanks and praise.
And begin to feel yourself in your body.
Feel yourself move around.
Feel yourself maybe stretch or yawn.
But you're beginning to notice not only what's going on in your body,
But your surroundings.
And just allow the present moment of what you hear and feel.
Sense.
To just bring you back present.
Gently.
And safe.
Whenever you're ready.
You can open your eyes.
