Inside/Outside: 10-Min Connection Practice

This gentle audio will guide you to connect with internal sensations and with your external environment. You're invited to go outside for this one, as it's an eyes-open practice that puts attention on your body's senses. You'll cultivate the practice of noticing sensations, releasing expectation, and being with what's here. The practice begins around the 2:15 mark.

Transcript

Hello, Dear ones. Welcome. Today, I invite you to be outside while you're listening to this audio. And if you've got earbuds, To only put one in so you can still hear the sounds around you. And we'll keep our eyes open. Beginning with a deep breath. In through the nose and out through the nose. In today's practice, We will connect with our bodies through sensations, And we'll connect with our environment through our senses. Will pendulate slowly from one to the other. I first learned a version of this from a somatic-experiencing practitioner, My teacher Molly Carol May, Which was a very helpful modality for my highly sensing body at the time. And in this experience, I invite you to meet each moment with no expectations. Simply notice what's here, As if you're in this human body and this particular place for the very first time. Everything is welcome. Thoughts can be here. Discomfort can be here. Heavy hearts can be here. Delight can be here. And lastly, Nothing needs to happen. We trust this inherent connection. Is reorganizing something unseen as we remember our divine connection with all life. We strengthen the practice of being present in our bodies and attuned to our environments. So let's go into our practice. Taking a few slower, Deeper breaths. In through the nose. Out through the nose. And inviting your attention inwards. Gently scan for a sensation in your body. This could be pressure, A tightness, Or constriction. Spaciousness. A temperature. A tingling, A buzzy. . . Numbness. Remembering nothing needs to change. You're simply noticing what's here. And now that we've been with this sensation, For a few breaths. Turning our attention. Outside. To our surroundings. Let's take another deep breath together in through the nose. And out through the nose, Lengthening that exhale. Inviting in a receptive state. Your eyes can relax and lean back. And gently. Very, Very slowly. Light your eyes. Wander. Your head will slowly, Slowly move to take in your surroundings visually. Go where you're drawn. But go even slower. With curiosity of what this feels like. What your eyes are soaking in. Especially if you're in a familiar place. Really let your eyes Take in a detail. You might have never. . . Noticed before. As if you're seeing this scene for the very first time. There might be movement. Or a certain light you're drawn to. Your eyes can remain softened, Soaking in this wider view. As we turn our attention. In words again. Without changing it, Can you feel yourself breathing? Notice the breath as it is. And I invite you to notice. A sensation, In the body. You can return to your first one. And see if it has shifted or comb through and see what you notice now. If anyone's having difficulty finding a sensation. Tune into wherever your body is making contact with the surface. So that could be your seat and legs if you are sitting. Perhaps your feet. Are on the ground or a hand or an arm resting somewhere. What does that contact feel like? Where is the pressure? Is there a temperature to it? All right. And once again, Feeling yourself breathe. Naturally. Noticing the inhale. In that liminal space where inhale becomes exhale. Deep breath is another inside point you can always return to. And we'll shift for the last time. Moving our attention to the outside. To our surroundings. Your eyes can stay relaxed and open. And what sounds? Are you hearing? Not necessarily to identify with labels, But can you? Distinguish what the ears are picking up. How many different sounds? Can you hear? Finally, I invite you. Gently touch your fingers. Together. With childlike curiosity. How do you know you're touching your fingers? If you're not looking down at them, What are you feeling? And now reach out and touch a texture nearby. With all of your attention on your fingertips. Fingertips as eyes, Fingertips as ears. What is that? Surface or object feel like. Not in words, But in sensations. I'm returning to the breath here and now. You can weave this practice into your days. I refer to it internally as inside-outside. Because you're slowly going back and forth. Identifying a sensation within your body. And then sensing into your environment through one of your senses. Do this for 15 minutes. Do it for 2. And as with most of the practices I share, The purpose is not an immediate change or relief. The purpose is to practice noticing what's here. To practice being with sensations and allowing what's here to be here. To connect with our environments through our senses in our physical bodies. These vibrant, Alive, Sacred vessels that can attune to inherent wisdom when we are not distracting them. And so know that weaving this practice throughout your ordinary days can be transformational to one's nervous system. 60 seconds while sitting in a car before you go into work. Or five minutes before you drive home. It was through continual practice across many years that I experienced tangible change in my physiology and beyond, Right, Beyond the measurable. So whatever feels right, I thank you for being here today, Truly. You are cultivating such an important way of being. Your curiosity, Your willingness to be with what's here, Now, Whatever is tolerable. Thank you. Thank you. May you go well and rooted into your day.