This meditation is a body scan,
Allowing yourself to find points of connection,
To get embodied,
To get grounded,
More present,
More connected to yourself and the external world.
We'll be making a gentle commitment here.
Let go of thoughts,
Including the judgemental ones that only serve to take you away from this practice.
Just for a moment,
You might like to imagine the air from your in-breath filling up a part of your body.
Each time it comes in,
Filling up a part of your body.
Be gentle,
Allow it to happen on its own accord.
Simple attention to the breath.
Now allow this experience to fade away.
Take awareness and tune in to the bottom of the left foot by noticing what it is making contact with.
Include your toes,
The top of your left foot and up into the ankle.
Take a moment to be with the range of experiences here before moving on.
Move your awareness to the lower left leg,
Sensing into the calf and shin,
Taking a curious look at these sensations and feeling the connection to the left knee.
And on your next out-breath,
Allow this experience to be left as it is as we continue.
Let your awareness rise to the thigh,
Feeling the connection above and into the hip,
Noticing the sensations here,
Maybe even from within the bones.
Take attention to your body as a whole for just one moment.
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sounds and sensations are the reality of this moment.
Let go of trying to change,
Influence or remove them.
And on your next out-breath,
Gently refocus upon a specific area of your body again.
Guide your awareness to the bottom of your right foot and how it makes contact with where it is resting.
Include your toes,
The top of your right foot and up into the ankle.
Be with these sensations for a moment longer before moving your awareness up to the lower right leg,
Sensing into the calf and shin,
Exploring this region of your body and the connections to the right knee.
And on your next out-breath,
Allow this experience to be left as it is as we continue.
Let your awareness rise to the thigh,
Feeling the connection above and into the right hip,
Notice the different sensations within this area and tune in to any one that captures your focus,
Expanding your focus of concentration to your body as a whole for just one moment.
Release any distractions from your mind and come back to this experience of open awareness.
There is nothing else to do right now apart from experience the felt sense of your body in this moment.
Be aware of the space around all of your experiences.
There are my sensations,
There are my thoughts and here I am.
And once more on your next out-breath,
Allow this experience to fade away as we gently refocus upon specific areas of the body once again.
Moving your awareness into your buttocks and pelvis,
Becoming aware of both hips as they are.
Become aware of both hips as they rest in your awareness.
And on your next out-breath,
Allow this experience to fade away as you gently raise your awareness further into your stomach.
Being aware of any feeling or lack of feeling that may be here.
No need for thinking about this area,
Just being with it,
However it is.
And what are you feeling right now?
Take a moment to honour the spectrum of emotional experiences that you are carrying right now.
Experiencing these feelings simply as feelings.
Even if your thoughts are relating to your feelings right now,
Notice these as patterns of thought.
Relate them from this experience.
Sensing into what you are feeling without the need for buying into judgements about this.
And if this happens,
Know that these are just thoughts.
Being open to any resistance to the acceptance of this.
Making space for everything.
Sense included,
It's perfectly normal.
Take a curious look,
Turn towards,
Be the observer of this.
If you wish to spend a few moments of doing nothing but being with this experience,
You can.
Or,
You can use the breath as a point of focus.
As it comes into your body,
Notice your belly gently expand.
And as it moves out of your body,
Notice how your belly deflates.
Accepting what is here as it is.
Be aware of passing thoughts without reacting to them.
Now continuing our journey with specific points of focus.
Move your awareness into your chest,
Feeling the sensations within the ribcage.
See if you can breathe into this part of your body.
On the in-breath,
Notice if there's any tension or tightness.
And if there is,
You may like to ask this area to soften.
And from the stillness of observation,
Being the observer of your experiences,
Tuning into the rhythmic beat of your heart.
Feeling the lungs inflating and deflating on either side of your heart.
Simply feeling the energy within this region of your body.
Let your judgements come and go,
Whatever you experience is as it is.
This is mindfulness.
And on your next out-breath,
Allow your awareness to move on.
Focus your attention onto the lower,
Middle and upper back.
If you notice any tension,
Allow this to release with each out-breath.
And on your next out-breath,
Allow this experience to be left as it is,
As we continue to relax yet remain gently focused,
Feeling sensations just for what they are.
Placing attention into the fingers of your left hand,
And bring some awareness to your palm.
Let your hand be relaxed yet full of awareness.
Now let go of this experience as it fades away as you gently guide your awareness into the forearm,
Elbow and upper left arm.
Relax this region of your body,
And then feel it from the inside.
When distracted,
Acknowledge these thoughts and gently return each time.
Focus your attention into the fingers of your right hand,
And bring some awareness to the palm.
Let your hand be relaxed yet full of awareness.
Rising into the forearm,
Elbow and upper right arm.
Now let go of this experience as it fades away as you gently guide your awareness into your shoulders.
Notice the different sensations between each shoulder blade.
Explore them with curiosity.
Notice where sensations start and where they end.
Notice too how deep they may go.
If you notice any tension,
Bring some relaxation to this.
If this isn't possible,
Notice the space around your shoulders.
Noticing sensations in this area for what they are,
Purely an experience.
Now sensing into the area of your neck and throat,
What can you sense?
Are there any parts of this area that are warmer than others?
Where are the contrasts in temperature?
Let this area relax and fade away as you guide your awareness into your jaw,
Mouth and lips.
There's nothing else to do right now.
Focus your attention upon your forehead and,
If possible,
Release any tension that you may have.
On the in-breath,
Noticing if there is any tension or tightness,
And if there is,
Asking this area to relax.
Release this with your out-breath into stillness and relaxation once more.
Observe the ever-changing nature of these experiences as they rise and fall,
Fade in,
Fade out,
Appear and disappear.
There are my thoughts,
Feelings and sensations,
And here I am.
You may find that as your awareness deepens,
You become increasingly aware of sensations that went unnoticed a few moments ago.
And just taking a moment in this mindfulness meditation to ask yourself,
What place or places of my body may be asking for healing?
Or,
What place or places have the simple request for awareness?
You might like to name these softly.
Notice any energies as they open,
Close or change as they will.
If you become aware of any resistance or a particularly obvious sensation,
See if you can breathe into it.
Notice the shapes,
Then notice the space around these shapes.
If you wish to,
You can alternate between the experience of your breathing and the awareness of these energies.
And moving into a final phase of complete body awareness,
You may like to imagine each in-breath as it floods every part of your body with consciousness.
No,
This is just a practice.
Practices can never be perfected.
Experiencing yourself as complete right now,
Beyond the limitations of thought,
Beyond the tendencies of the mind to control,
There are my sensations,
There are my thoughts,
And here I am.
As you are now drawing to an end,
Take a moment to thank yourself.
Know that by taking part in this,
You are making a difference in your life and in the world of other beings that are important to you.
