Just bringing awareness to the present moment experience of the body.
And as we do this,
We may notice that there's some activity in the mind.
Letting go of this activity,
In particular any judgmental thoughts that may arise,
And just feel what you feel in the body,
In these three areas of the body,
The belly,
The heart,
And the head,
As we move through each of these areas.
So the practice is to simply notice what's arising with non-judgmental awareness.
So we're just accepting what's arising,
What's there,
What's seen,
And even feeling nothing is okay.
We're noticing all the sensations,
Even if they're uncomfortable.
And in many ways,
Particularly if they're unpleasant,
It's important to put the welcome mat out for all sensations and rest in an open-hearted and non-reactive awareness.
So just attending to what arises moment by moment.
I'm not saying this is easy.
It's letting go of the tendency for things to be different than they are,
And allowing things to be exactly as you find them is challenging.
So we'll begin just by bringing our awareness to the entire body,
Noticing any points of contact with the chair,
The floor,
The feet,
Noticing any tension in the body and just allowing it to soften or release.
And as you sit here,
You might notice that you're breathing,
Bringing attention to the breath for a few moments,
Feeling the breath,
And not changing it in any way,
But simply noticing the physical sensations of breathing.
You may find it as the sensations as the belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale,
Or the chest rising and falling.
Just noticing any sensations that are present as a result of breathing.
And if there are no sensations,
That's fine too.
It's not about what the sensation is,
But rather the directing of our attention.
And next we'll be shifting the focus of our attention to the belly or the stomach region.
So taking your awareness and moving it away from the breath and down to the belly region,
Being interested and curious to whatever sensations are present there.
Again,
What you discover is not important.
Simply feeling the stomach exactly as it is.
Perhaps you're noticing the rise and fall of the belly with the breath.
Perhaps the touch of clothing on the skin,
Perhaps some internal sensations arising from digestion or the need for food,
Whatever they might be,
Just tuning into what's present there in the region of the belly.
And if you begin to notice that the mind has wandered off from the present moment sensations in the belly,
Thinking about the past or the future or other thoughts about this practice,
Know that this is perfectly normal.
This is what minds do.
And perhaps briefly noting what took your attention away and gently but firmly guiding your awareness back to the sensations in the belly.
Just gently being curious about the sensations that are present here and becoming aware of whatever is present.
Even nothing is all right.
Now,
Letting go of the belly area and moving your attention up into the chest area and feeling the sensations that are present there.
Just acknowledging whatever you find there,
Not judging them or worrying about them,
Not worrying about what the heart area should feel like.
Just allowing it to be exactly as it is right now.
Noticing any sensations at all,
Being as precise as you can about what you're experiencing.
Is it warmth or tingling,
Heaviness or lightness,
Blood flow,
Beating,
The heart beating,
Or whatever.
Just sensing into your experience of physical sensations in this area of the body.
It might be deep sensations or surface sensations.
Might be feeling the movements of the diaphragms in the chest as they expand on the in-breath and contract on the out-breath.
It might be the rhythmic beating of the heart.
Might be sensations,
The skin,
The touch of clothing,
Or the ribs,
The muscles deeper within.
Sensing into your experience in this moment of the chest area.
And we'll letting go of awareness in that area and now letting the focus of your attention move to the head area.
Just feeling the jaw and the cheeks,
The eyes and the area around the eyes,
The forehead,
The top of the head and the back of the head,
The ears,
Right down to the neck,
The neck and the throat.
Perhaps noticing the sensations as you swallow or sensations in the mouth from saliva or breathing.
Just being present for whatever physical sensations you find in this region.
The deeper interior sensations and the surface sensations.
Now allowing your awareness to expand to all three regions of the body,
The head area,
The heart area,
And the belly area.
Being present with the all three areas,
Resting in this awareness,
The head,
The heart,
And the belly.
And breathing with this awareness.
Being awake to your experience,
Knowing the language of the body,
The language of sensations in the body.
Acknowledging your ability to attend to your moment to moment experience in the body.
Perhaps noticing,
Imagining the breath flowing through those three regions,
The head to the heart,
Down into the belly as you inhale and back out through the belly,
The heart and the head area as you exhale.
And just breathing with awareness of the sensations in those three areas.
Just resting in the awareness that is present in the body for the final few minutes of the meditation.
