So we're going to look at six different ways we can be aware of the body and the first element,
The first way of being more mindful of the body is to feel all the parts of the body that are in contact with something You may want to start with your feet and slowly work your way up the body but at each part of the body that is in contact with something really feel that sensation of connection maybe a feeling of warmth or pressure and notice how the different points of contact will feel different so not all these points of contact will feel exactly the same so spend a few moments just exploring all the different sensations of connection across the body where the body is in contact with something I find this is a really useful way to start any meditation it really literally brings you in touch with the body and with the present moment the body is always in contact with something and you can only feel that connection in the present moment so really bringing yourself to arrive in the body and feeling the connection through the body and don't forget the contact with clothing so having a scan through the body,
Noting all the different sensations of connection with all the bits and parts of the body and the skin that are in contact with clothing this really begins to make us more sensitive to the body really helps bring us into an alert presence of course it's very simple just connecting to the body really the simplest way but having that attitude of exploring,
Investigating really wanting to feel all the subtle differences in sensations in different parts of the body so check you're not just thinking about these points of contact but you're really feeling the physical sensation at each point and finally this first aspect,
This first element of body awareness see if you can feel the air on the skin so maybe your hands or feet or face so this could just be a feeling of slight calmness but it's still contact with the body,
With the air and of course the air as it enters through the nose or mouth is also something coming into contact with the body okay so the second dimension of body awareness the second element or aspect that we will explore is feeling the weight of the body so this is a subtle shift from being aware of different parts of the body that are in contact to getting a sense of the overall weight of the whole body and feeling that weight you may feel this as heaviness or lightness it may be that some parts of your body feel heavier or lighter than others and as we feel the weight of the body we're actually feeling the force of gravity pulling on the body so the mass of the earth gently pulling on the mass of your body creating that force that we feel as weight so this is a good way to really ground ourselves and connect to the earth by directly literally and tangibly feeling the earth full on our body right now and we can begin to get a sense that the body is being held and supported by the ground by the earth so as we feel the weight of the body we can feel that that weight is being supported it is being held so we can allow our body to be held supported and beginning to let go of the body just as if someone was holding you you can ease the tension of the body release tension in the body and let go and allow yourself to be held and in this case it's the earth that's holding us and we can feel that gentle inner hug from the earth as the gravity of the earth gently pulls on the body and we feel that as the weight of the body to allow that pull of the earth and feel that sensation of the earth on your body and relax into that feeling allowing your body to be held and supported so the body is never alone never in isolation it's always in connection with something and it's always being held by the earth we can always feel that sensation of contact and that sensation of weight as the body begins to relax as we begin to let go of the muscles sometimes you imagine or feel like any tension falls away from the body and leaves the body through those points of contact through those points of connection so it's as if that sensation of connection is drawing any tension out of the body so allowing the tension to drain out of the body into the ground into the earth so the ground being like a conductor absorbing the tension through those contact points sometimes it can feel a bit like two magnets so there's the body one magnet and the earth is another magnet and we're being attracted together and in contact and held together this gentle magnetic attraction of gravity and weight as we go through these six elements you may become a little more absorbed in one rather than another it may not feel like leaving one particular element so that's fine as i move on to the next one if you want to stay where you are and you can do that and just go through these elements in your own time and it feels right to move on okay so the next element we can look at the third element of body awareness is emotion so becoming aware of how you feel your emotional state right now you don't have to necessarily pinpoint any particular emotion but just getting a sense of how you're feeling and see if you can locate that feeling that emotion in the body connected to a sensation or an energy within the body so just to give a couple of the more obvious examples if you're feeling a lot of anxiety you may feel that in the stomach if you're feeling a lot of love you may feel that around the heart you may feel blocks in the throat area but just notice how you're feeling right now it might not be anything that specific it could just be a general feeling in a general sensation and then just connect that with the energy and sensations in the body I find this can be really useful for positive or negative emotions so it can help ground positive emotions can help you fully express positive emotions through the body and for negative emotions it can help move away from the fear or the suppression of negative emotions and allow those emotions to work themselves out unravel themselves and integrate themselves so you can feel more whole and complete no longer cutting off the part of yourself and feeling it as a neutral energy or sensation in the body can really help it's facing and allowing these emotions into our experience so it's important to always check you're still breathing nice and freely and fully when experiencing these emotions that helps keep the process going so you don't feel stuck it helps integrate and express more fully the positive emotions and helps you move through the negative emotions so especially for this element of body awareness it's important to stay with it as long as you feel the need to so you feel everything's resolved and worked through also if you feel at all uncomfortable it can be an element you can move quickly through move on to the next element or drop back down to that sense of security and safety of connection with the earth that stability and contact and presence and feeling grounded so you can move up and down these elements don't feel you have to artificially stay longer in one than you want to so these meditations are about going through the elements so you're familiar with them and then in your own meditations you can select and choose which ones are most appropriate for how you're feeling at that time and for you to experiment providing a few more tools for your meditation okay so we're halfway through so the fourth element of body awareness is to really feel that sense of aliveness in the body to really appreciate this living organism you know that the body's made up of the same stuff as all the inanimate objects around us and yet we can feel this body is alive a living body so this is a wonderful opportunity to take some time to really feel that sense of being alive in the body again as with the emotions this can often connect quite naturally with the breath as well as it is the oxygen that we breathe that gives this body life to feel the life entering the body feel the breath sustaining the life of the body connecting it to the first element you can really feel that contrast between your living body and the non-living objects that you're in connection with so enjoying this most fundamental experience of the body feeling the aliveness of the body feeling what it is to be alive in this moment okay so two more elements to go the next one is very similar to the aliveness it's a subtle difference and it's about feeling your presence the physical presence of the body and it's about really bringing your awareness in your consciousness fully into the body if you'd like bringing soul and body mind and matter together so you may for example feel your awareness filling the body or radiating through the body so allowing your conscious aware self to fully inhabit fully enter into the body so your awareness your consciousness and the experience of your physicality are one bringing soul and body together for those who like to visualize you can imagine your body being a body of light to the light of awareness filling radiating within and through your body your body is shining light and awareness you're fully conscious of your body really feeling at home coming home to the body okay so let's move on to the final element of body awareness that's the element of spatial awareness so most simply just initially getting a sense of the location of your body a sense of the space within which your body is sitting or lying right now in a way this is the first time our attention is going outside the body not just sensing what's happening within or through the body allowing our awareness to open and widen and broaden and noticing what is around the body so we we could look and see what's around the body we could listen and hear what's around the body but for this particular exercise it's about feeling sensing the space around the body so for this dimension this element particularly useful for me to have the eyes closed so i feel like i'm sensing the space around me you can do this with or without visualizing the space you can just feel and sense the space so i'm aware of the space in front of me from the front of the body to the window and the wall in front of me and the space behind me to the wall and just below where i'm sitting the space down to the floor to the ground and the space above me above my head up to the ceiling and space to the left and to the right just feeling the presence of your body the location of your body in this immediate space of wherever you're sitting or lying right now opening up your awareness to that space around the body surrounding the body and allow yourself your body to have a real presence in that space allow your body to be the most important the most attractive thing in the room so your physical presence filling that space of the room and just with a thought and intention we can open our awareness feather be aware of the space that's around you right now outside of the room outside of the building you're in or if you're outside just extending that awareness feather so getting of the space sense of the space outside again above below and in all directions around you and again if you like to visualize you could imagine or see the horizon it's a huge circle all around you just becoming aware of that space that's surrounding you as far as the eye could see and above you being aware of the space right up into the sky that limit we're enjoying that freedom that openness of feeling that empty space that's all around you right now if you want to go even further out to the stars beyond the earth getting a sense physical sense of that unlimited space below above and around you out into the stars that space is here and present with us right there and we can be aware and sense that open space unlimited space and the body resting simply being in the center of this unlimited open space okay so we'll begin to bring the meditation to a close by just briefly coming back down through those six elements of body awareness so the awareness of the location of the body surrounded by this open space feeling the presence of the body allowing your awareness to fill the body be one with the body being fully conscious and present within the body perhaps making a note of which of these felt more effective for you so you can practice them again and again feeling the aliveness of the body the living organism of the physical body and feeling the emotions the feelings sensations the energy of the body so feeling the weight of the body that pull of the earth of gravity gently pulling on the body so and feeling again finally where we started all those points of contact that feeling of connection or the parts of the body that are in contact with something so as we complete the meditation take a moment to notice how you're feeling notice any change to how you felt at the beginning and thank yourself show yourself that gratitude for giving yourself and your body this time and this space to really explore these different ways of being present with the body and your immediate physical environment and the sometimes profound experiences that can come from really simplicity simple awareness and contact with the body okay so we're finished there so so so so so so so so so
