The five minute body awareness practice.
Sitting in a posture that is comfortable,
Upright and relaxed,
Lower your gaze or close your eyes.
And I would like for you to begin by taking a few deep breaths.
Deep breathing allows us to drop into our bodies as well as activating the relaxation response and allowing for a deeper meditation.
Once you have taken several deep breaths as best you can,
Allowing your breathing to resume its natural rhythm.
And for this practice,
I would like you to rest your attention on one part of your body.
You may choose something like the way your feet feel as they make contact with the ground,
Or perhaps just noticing your hands as they rest in your lap.
Or perhaps if you prefer,
You can also rest your attention on your face and the muscles around them.
It doesn't matter which one you choose.
And actually,
If you'd like to,
You can even switch or pick something that I didn't suggest.
But the idea is that you pick some part of the body that will become the anchor for your awareness.
Resting your attention on this body part,
First noticing any external sensations that might be observable.
Is the skin making contact with anything or is it only making contact with the air?
And then,
Notice that you're not or is it only making contact with the air?
Perhaps there's a quality of temperature in this particular body part,
A coolness or a warmth.
And is that coolness or warmth specific just to that part or is it all over?
Noticing is there any boundary to the sensation that you're observing in this part of your body?
Knowing that the mind may wander and expecting that and that it's completely okay,
Your job is to just notice that the mind has wandered.
And then gently and with compassion,
Bring your attention back to that part of the body that's the anchor for your awareness.
Having an openness and a curiosity about any of the sensations that you observe,
Resisting any temptation to tell yourself a story about why something might feel a certain way.
And instead,
Almost from a third person observer perspective,
Just noticing the moment to moment sensations associated with that part of the body.
You may want to also notice any internal sensation,
Perhaps noticing if any muscles are engaged that don't need to me.
And you don't have to change anything,
You're just noticing how much sensation is observable and how much is difficult to observe.
And making note of that absence of sensation if it exists.
Coming back over and over again,
Just resting your attention on the body,
Feeling what it feels like to be inside your skin,
Observing any sensations that are observable.
Again,
With that curiosity.
And as best you can,
Allowing your awareness to remain with this body part until the final bell.
And if you care to,
Feeling free to continue to sit in meditation beyond the bell if you like.
And if you care to,
Feeling free to continue to sit in meditation beyond the bell if you like.
