Making Friends With Your Body

This meditation is offered as a self-compassion practice with the intention of tending to the body, especially if you have a troubled or conflicted relationship to your body. This is an invitation to be caring toward your body as a daily practice.

Transcript

Welcome.

I'm Tara Kuzno.

This meditation is offered as a self-compassion practice with the intention of tending to the body,

Especially if you have a troubled or conflicted relationship to your body,

As so many people do.

This is an invitation to be caring toward your body as a daily practice.

What we practice grows stronger,

So the quality of our attitudes and our thoughts really matter,

Including how we feel about or treat our body.

Taking a few moments daily,

Even five or ten minutes,

Serves as a way to build a positive self-care habit and perhaps to appreciate your body as it is right now.

Let this be a self-compassion break in the hustle and bustle of your day,

Especially in transition times,

Upon waking at work during a lunch break,

Waiting in a carpool line,

On the commuter train,

Or before bed.

After all,

Your body is always with you,

So be kind to it.

Let's begin.

Please find a comfortable position,

Resting on your back or sitting with your back supported,

Allowing your hands to rest along your sides or gently in your lap.

You may also consider placing one or two hands over your heart or another soothing place.

It might be folding your arms gently across your chest or resting your chin on your hand and simply doing this as a reminder to bring kindfulness or loving awareness to your body and allowing the touch of your hands to generate some warmth,

Beginning to release the hormone oxytocin in your brain,

Sometimes called the cuddle hormone.

Take several slow inhales and exhales and then returning your hands and arms to your sides or lap if you prefer.

In this meditation,

We will be inclining toward our body with tenderness and kindness as we might towards a young child or a beloved pet and evoking a caring attitude.

See if you can sense your whole being with care,

Accepting attention from head to toe in a gentle sweep,

Up and down,

Back and forth.

And know that if you feel a sense of ease and calm in a particular area,

Simply have some appreciation and gratitude for that part of your body.

Or if you notice tension and are having judgment or feel uncomfortable emotions toward the body part,

As we all have our hang ups,

See if you can allow yourself to soften toward that part of your body.

Even placing a hand there as a gesture of compassion or kindness.

And if any area of your body feels too charged to linger on,

Simply move your attention to somewhere else that is physically neutral,

Allowing this meditation to be as comfortable as possible.

Starting with your toes on both feet,

Just beginning to notice if there's any sensation in your toes on the balls of your feet or your ankles.

Our feet hold us up so much throughout the day.

Noticing if you are sensing any discomfort or pain or perhaps nothing at all and letting each sensation be just as it is.

You may even want to wiggle your toes and offer a smile of appreciation.

And gradually moving your attention from your feet up to your knees,

To your thighs.

Again,

Noticing whatever body sensations may be present.

Try sending some appreciation to the areas that feel fine and sending any tenderness if there is any discomfort.

And when you've noticed that your mind has wandered as it will,

Just returning to the sensations in the part of your body that you were attending to.

Simply allowing this process to be gentle or even playful,

Perhaps using the sounds of oo or ah.

And now moving on to your hips,

To your seat,

Making room for whatever you may be sensing or feeling.

We often spend so many hours sitting or being sedentary as we work or drive.

And now just allowing whatever sensations to be there.

As you are bringing awareness to your pelvic area,

Perhaps being mindful of the strong bones that support your legs.

Also the soft tissue in your pelvic area,

Maybe appreciating the large muscles that help you get up and down the stairs and also allow you to sit softly.

And perhaps noticing how the abdominal area is such a complicated part of the body with so many organs and bodily functions.

The gut is often referred to as the second brain with so many nerve endings and cellular information being transmitted and received.

Perhaps really acknowledging this area that processes nutrients.

Gives life,

Experiences pleasure and sending some gratitude to this vulnerable area.

Just allowing this area to relax,

Which can sometimes be challenging or maybe an area you have judgments about.

Be kind and gentle,

Even using an encouragement mantra or a self kindness phrase.

I am enough.

Feel as well in this moment.

And now directing your attention to your lower back.

So much stress is stored in the lower back with muscle compression and tension.

If you notice any discomfort you might simply imagine your muscles relaxing,

Softening with warmth and directing kind awareness.

Or perhaps simply appreciating the sacral area,

The seat of the spine.

And now moving to your chest and upper back.

Perhaps imagining the strength and courage emanating from this area,

Which holds the oscillating organs of the heart and lungs and pumps energy,

The ebb and flow of the life force.

Giving rise to our internal rhythms as we breathe and syncs with the sounds of lullabies and songs.

Imagining a strong back and an open heart and appreciating our exquisite emotional radar system from head to heart that seeks to find balance and homeostasis.

And also appreciating how this area signals to you when feeling threatened and provides such important information.

And now proceeding towards the head,

Beginning with the neck and even touching your neck and shoulders with your hands if you like.

Remembering how the neck supports your head throughout the day and how it's a conduit for blood to the brain and to the body.

And how the vagus nerve runs down the neck and spine into the peripheral nervous system,

Like the roots from the tree of life nourishing the branches of the nervous system.

Offering appreciation and kindness to your neck if it feels good or sending any compassion if there is tension or discomfort there.

Moving on to your head,

Perhaps noticing your jaw,

The back of your head,

Temples.

Using your ears that allow you to perceive so much about your world and allowing appreciation to arise.

And offering the same kind of awareness to other organs of perception.

Your eyes,

Your nose,

Your lips.

And finally to your forehead and the crown of your head and all the areas underneath your skull.

The complexity of your brain,

The prefrontal cortex,

The hemispheres,

The limbic system and the billions of nerves and neural networks that communicate with each other all the time and help you to make sense of the world.

And perhaps with gratitude to your brain and body,

Giving a final sweep of appreciation,

Caring,

Respect and compassion.

You may release this meditation and gently open your eyes.

Take gentle care.

Reviews

This helped me see how to work with my body, not against it. While I'm struggling in ED recovery, I am doing my best, and chose to be gentle today, chose to love myself and not judge, not my body nor my mind. Thank you. 🥹🫶🏻

Namaste 🙏

I’m so thankful for this meditation! I listened to it in the morning after zu sleepless night and now I’m am completely relaxed and so thankful for my body. 🙏

I was recently diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy and for a few minutes during this meditation I wasn't even aware of the numbness and tingling that I usually feel in my feet.
Thank you. 🙏

Thank you so much for such a beautiful way to start my day 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻