Sound Bath Sessions 177: Rainbow Kwok

As soon as I heard her voice, I knew I had to record it. I met Rainbow at a wellness convention at the Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong 2024. She guided an hour-long sound performance meditation with other HK sound practitioners. 6 months later, we were on a beach in Cheng Chau Island recording her first meditation.

Rainbow guides us through a 'Body Scan Meditation' where the listener follows her guidance to connect with different parts of the body. It made me realize that I usually thought of my body as one balanced object. I took for granted that each part was a part of a whole, and paid attention only to what was out of balance. For the first time, I focused on each part testing the extents of the perception of my own body.

Our spot was on the beach opposite from the ferry port with a view of the towers of Pok Fu Lam across the water. The mono track emphasized her voice over the turbulent ocean waves which helped to contain my attention and eliminate all thought.

Transcript

Hello there. My name is Rainbow. Today I would love to invite you to do a body scan meditation with me. Start in a seated position or lying down if you wish. I will guide you through different parts of the body. All you have to do is relax and shift the awareness following my lead. Body scan meditation allows us to connect with our body, To connect with the moment. Take a few deep breaths to settle your body and your mind. We begin. Take a deep breath in, Feeling the air flowing in through the nose. Slow breath out, Air flowing out through the nose. Deep breath in again, And exhale. As we come back to our breathing, We come back to the present moment, Here and now. Feeling the flow of the air as you breathe. Feeling the contact inside of the nose with the air. The touch of the flow. Finding that connection with the air, With the space that you're in. Slowly guide your awareness to the top crown of your head. Relax the head. Relax the mind. By relaxing the mind, It doesn't mean that we don't think anymore. It simply means that we hold no judgment, No expectation. We observe our thoughts. We allow them to flow in. We allow them to flow out. Just like the water in the river. Flowing in, Flowing out. Slowly shift the awareness to your eyes. With your eyes closed, Feel the weights of your eyelids. Allow our eyes to rest. Slowly shifting the awareness to the ears, The left ear, The right ear. How many layers of sound can you hear in this space? Without any labels, Without any judgment. Listen to the sound as it is. Now slowly guide your awareness to your nose, The left nostril, The right nostril. Take a deep breath in through the nose. Slow breath out through the nose. A few more deep breaths here. Connect with this flow of air as you breathe. Feeling that change of temperature as you inhale and exhale. Now gently guide your awareness to your mouth. Relax your lips, Your gums, Your tongue. Relax the jaw. Allow the muscles on your face to soften. Allow your mind to soften. Slowly guide your awareness to your throat. Relax the throat. Often time when we can't express our feelings, When we can't speak the truth, We feel tension in this area. Take a moment here to soften the throat. Allow it to open. Relaxing the muscles on your neck, Left side. The right side. Soften the neck. Shifting the awareness to your shoulders, The left shoulder, The right shoulder. For this moment, Let go of all the responsibilities that we hold. Allow the shoulders to soften. Allow our body to soften. Shifting the awareness to the chest, The center of your heart. This beautiful part of the body, A portal to our emotions, To our feelings. Allow our heart to soften. Allow it to open. How are you feeling today? Notice if there's any tension, Any stress that we hold. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, Let them go. The more that we learn to open our heart, The more that we embrace, We welcome our emotions and our feelings with love. Soften the heart. Slowly moving down to your belly. Take a deep breath in here. Feel the belly rising up towards the sky. Exhale, Soften, Release. Feeling this subtle movement of the belly as you breathe. When was the last time you connect with your breath? Pay attention to all this little movement, All this little beautiful evidence of life. The movement of the belly aligns with the cycle of our breath. Breathing in, Expansion. Breathing out, Softening. Inhale, We rise. Exhale, We surrender. Relaxing your arms, The upper arms, Elbows, Forearms. Relaxing the wrists, The hands, And all your fingers. Feeling the weight of your arms, Your hands, Melting all the way down towards the ground, Towards the earth. Slowly shifting the awareness to your hips. Relax the hips. Another area where usually we hold on to a lot of tensions, A lot of stress. It's another portal to the emotions that we hold within. For this moment, Allow it to soften, Allow it to open. Relaxing the thighs, The inner thighs, The back of the thighs. Softening the knees, The back of the knees. Relaxing the calves, The shins, The ankles, The feet, And the toes. Relaxing the whole lower body. Feeling the contact of your body with the ground, The connection with the earth. With each exhalation, Relax a little bit more. Surrender a little bit more to the earth. Let's take a moment here to observe the body, The sensations, The feelings, The thoughts. No judgment, No expectation, Simply observe. The power of observing without judgment allow us to gain clarity. We don't see the world as it is. We see the world as we are. Slowly bring your awareness back into the breathing. As you inhale, Feel the air flowing in through the nostrils. Exhale, Air flowing out through the nostrils. Deep breath in again. Feel the expansion in the belly, In the body. Slow breath out, Softening the ground. When we start to pay attention to our breath, Slowly we connect to the cycle of life. Every inhale, Expansion. Every exhale, Grounding, Surrendering. In and out. Up and down. In and out. Effort. Surrender. This beautiful dance of being soft and strong. Just like the waves in the ocean. It comes and goes. Slowly wiggle your fingers. Wiggle your toes. Guiding the awareness back into the physical body. Take one more deep breath in here. Exhale through the mouth. In and out. Releasing one more time. Deeply let go. You can take all the time you need. Whenever you're ready, You can open your eyes. Welcome back.

Reviews

Rather enjoyed that one. Ideal pacing and cadence from Rainbow—and the immersive environment’s sounds. Pleasantly effective. Appreciated that we are encouraged to allow the flotsam and jetsam of the inexorable thinking part of the mind to ebb and flow, coming in, and then out, much like the ocean waves that we hear, such that letting go of our mental debris is found to be easier in this particular exercise. 🙏🏼Many thanks and lasting peace to both creators.☮️