Hello and welcome!
My name is Nat and I'm here to guide you through a tool called focusing.
Focusing is a gentle inward practice that helps you connect with what's alive in your body,
Your felt sense,
Rather than trying to solve problems with your mind alone.
What we're doing with this exercise is really flipping.
Instead of a top-down approach,
We're looking at a bottom-up approach,
Starting with the body.
Sometimes when we face difficult situations,
Our first instinct is to analyze,
To plan,
To push ourselves to fix things.
But there is a pause to tune into the subtle bodily sensations of a situation and allow insight and clarity to emerge naturally.
Your felt sense is like a quiet inner knowing.
It might feel like tightness,
A heaviness,
A swirl of sensations,
Or even a vague sense that something isn't right.
It doesn't need to make logical sense.
You don't need to figure anything out or label it.
Simply noticing,
Giving it your attention,
And offering it curiosity with kindness is a great step towards understanding yourself more deeply.
Focusing is a practice of listening,
Befriending,
And responding gently to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.
It's not about forcing solutions.
It's not about judging yourself for whatever comes up.
It's about being present,
Cultivating patience,
And allowing your inner wisdom to unfold from within.
As you settle into this meditation,
Remind yourself it's okay if words,
Images,
Or clarity don't appear right away.
Simply focus on giving yourself the time and space to connect with your inner experience.
That enough is valuable.
Find yourself in a comfortable position,
Seated or laying down,
And connect in with the points of your body that are touching the earth.
Perhaps it's feet or heels,
Sits bones or hips,
Shoulders or head.
Just allow each point of you that connects with the earth to feel held,
Grounded in place.
If it feels comfortable to do so,
I invite you to close your eyes or soften your gaze and just gently connect with your breath,
Noticing as you breathe in and noticing as you breathe out.
As you continue to breathe naturally and slowly,
Bring to mind a situation,
A question,
An issue that feels unresolved.
Don't think about it too hard,
Just gently sense it.
What's bothering you?
As you invite this discomfort back in,
Where do you feel it in the body?
Chest?
Stomach?
Shoulders?
Throat?
Hips?
Somewhere else?
Simply begin to notice it.
Get really curious about this sensation.
Is there a shape to it?
Could you describe a texture,
Fluid or rough,
Hard or soft?
And what about a weight?
Is it heavy or maybe light?
Is there movement of this felt sense?
Is it locked in place or malleable?
There's no need to fix it.
Simply observe what's alive in your body.
What do you feel?
Invite curiosity by silently saying,
I'm here with you.
To this felt sense sensation,
I'm here with you.
You're not alone.
We can feel this together.
Notice what arises when you begin to soothe it,
To hold it,
To let it know that this is okay.
It's okay to feel this way.
Perhaps those physical sensations,
They begin to shift.
Perhaps emotions arise.
They ebb and flow.
Could you allow them in?
You may sense images or words,
Or it could just be a subtle bodily knowing.
All of this is okay.
This is not about changing anything.
It's about listening,
Allowing yourself to be present with whatever it is.
After a few breaths,
See if your felt sense has a word or phrase,
An image,
Something that fits it,
Something that resonates with how it feels.
It could be a word like tight or heavy,
Longing or uneasy.
It could even be a phrase like I need support or I feel overwhelmed.
Just allow it to be named.
Ask it,
Ask it what it needs.
Acknowledging whatever comes up without judgment,
Simply giving it your gentle attention.
As you focus on this sensation in your body,
Gently ask it,
Is there something you want me to know?
Remain quietly listening,
Perhaps receiving words,
Images,
Sensation,
Or even silence.
Simply trust whatever arises,
Part of the process.
Is there something you want me to know?
Gently placing a hand on the part of you that you've been witnessing,
The belly,
The heart,
The chest,
The throat,
Whatever part of you you've been listening to,
Gently place a hand there now.
And in the mind's eye,
Repeat,
Thank you body.
I'm listening now.
I'm here with you.
Thank you body.
As we gently prepare to end our practice together,
Let the body know that you'll be back.
Let the body know that you will pause again soon and focus your awareness on the sensations present,
The wisdom within those sensations when we pause long enough to listen.
And if you feel ready to do so,
You can allow your hands to drop away from your body.
You can welcome your breath back into your practice,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Slowly opening the eyes,
Allowing your surroundings to come back into your awareness.
Still noticing sensations,
But also gently re-entering the world.
It is from here that I share my deep gratitude for you.
Thank you for choosing to practice with me today.
