A Simple Practice - Connect To Your Senses

This technique focuses you on each of your 5 senses in turn as an easy way to connect to the present moment. It's particularly valuable when you are feeling numb & overwhelmed (dorsal vagal state) to help you find safety and calm in the world around you.

If you enjoyed this technique, you might also find these helpful:
A Simple Practice - Noticing
A Simple Practice - Feel Your Fingerprints

Everyday Mindfulness - Less Stress, More You.

Transcript

Welcome. This is a lovely simple practice just to get you into meditation on the days when you're feeling a bit stuck or if you're new to meditation and want to explore the different ways and find what really works for you. This one is about connecting to all five of our senses. So get yourself into a comfortable position, Move around, Let your body tell you what feels good, Connect your feet to the floor and if you're comfortable close your eyes. So to start we're just going to watch our breath. Take three deep breaths in with me and we're just going to sigh them out. So take a deep breath in through the nose, Just allowing your stomach to expand, Your chest to open. Hold for a second and let it go, With a sigh letting your stomach completely decompress and push all the air out. Okay, Let's take another one. Take a deep breath in, Once again through the nose, Expanding the stomach and chest, Really filling up the lungs and let it go. And one final one now. Take a deep breath in, Really see if you can fill all of your lungs with beautiful oxygen. Hold it and let it go with a big sigh. Doesn't that feel good? Now we're going to connect to the senses. So firstly I want you to take your attention to sound. What can you hear around you right now? What is in the room around you that you can hear? What about outside of the room? Just listen for a moment and identify all the sounds you can hear. And if your mind wanders, Which it's going to do, That's okay, Just come back to the listening to the sounds. Third song, Cars driving past, Just listen to them all. Okay, Now take your attention to touch. What can you feel on your skin? Can you feel the air movement of the room you're in, The temperature, The softness of your clothes, Roughness of the floor? Connect to your sense of touch, Really explore what you can feel on and in your body. And again, When your mind wanders, It's perfectly normal, Just bring it back to that feeling of touch. Wonderful. Now for your sense of smell. What can you smell around you? Have you got candles burning and can smell the match? Perhaps it's the lingering scent of the food you cooked. Maybe it's your washing powder coming off your clothes. Spend a moment here to explore your sense of smell. And now on to taste. What flavours do you have lingering in your mouth? Just allow your mind and body to explore your sense of taste. And as your mind drifts off, Bring it back to exploring. And then lastly, When you feel ready, Open your eyes and explore your sense of sight. What's directly in front of you? What's above you? What's below you? What's to your left and to your right? What caught your attention the moment you opened your eyes? What do you normally miss when you look around you? Just explore your sense of sight. Looking up, Looking down, Looking around, Take in everything around you. Don't leave anything unexplored. Incredible. Well done. Now feel free to grab your journal and write down anything that jumped out at you. Otherwise, Have a beautiful day and I'll see you back here for another practice soon.