Welcome here.
In this meditation we will practice proprioceptive awareness,
But we'll begin by taking some time to settle our body into the space,
Maybe taking three slow deep breaths and bringing some uprightness to your posture,
But also a relaxation of the muscles,
Softening the forehead,
The jaw,
The shoulders,
The tummy,
Any other muscles that might be clenched or contracted,
Relaxed.
And while in general it's fine to have your eyes open or closed when meditating,
For this exercise I'll invite you to close your eyes and then take your left hand and lift it slightly in the air and move it in space left to right and back and forth.
And notice how even with your eyes closed you still have a sense that your hand is moving.
You have a sense of where the hand is located in space.
You have that sense because you can feel it,
You can notice it with your awareness.
So then you can put the hand back down and in the same way you can feel the body in space.
Notice the body where it's located.
Maybe it's just some vague sense of tingling,
Buzzing,
Pressure.
Maybe your attention is drawn to specific sensations like the pressure of your sit bones on the seat,
Tension in your jaw.
Maybe it's more broad and diffuse.
But whatever it is,
There's some part of you that knows you're not floating 10 feet off the ground.
Hang out with this sense of being a body in space,
Relaxed.
Your attention resting with the sense of the body in space.
You might imagine that you're like a space alien trying on a human suit for a few minutes.
Experiencing the body as if you've never experienced it before.
What's it like?
What do you notice?
What do you feel?
What's it like?
What do you notice?
What do you feel?
Your attention with the body in space with this proprioceptive awareness.
You might get pulled into specific sensations.
You might stay with the general sense of the whole.
Maybe the body feels crystal clear,
Lucid.
Maybe it just seems really vague and diffuse and you're not sure what you're noticing.
Really nothing is right or wrong.
We're not trying to create some effect.
We're just noticing what's here.
What's it like to be in a body?
What's it like to be in a body?
It's very relaxed,
Receptive,
Gentle,
Just noticing there is a body.
And as with all of these mindfulness exercises,
You'll inevitably get pulled into thoughts.
You'll realize it and come back to the body.
Get pulled away and come back.
It's really not a problem.
It's just like this.
As many times as we return,
Ah yes,
There is a body.
Relaxed.
And we'll take just a final minute or so of this meditation.
And really prioritizing here,
Relaxing.
Relaxing.
Putting aside any straining,
Striving,
Or tension.
Allowing this last minute to be a very gentle settling into whatever's here.
The sense of the body in space,
At ease,
Receptive,
Relaxed.
