Beginners Guide To Meditation 8: Guided Vipassana Meditation

In this episode, we get to put into practice the meditation we have just learnt about. Finding insight by focusing on the present moment and our body. Using them as an anchor to keep us in the present.

Transcript

Now let's try a Vipassana Meditation together. Now Vipassana Meditation is all about insight. It's all about observing what's happening right here and right now. One of the easiest ways to do that is through the body. So that's what we're going to practice now. The body scan. We start this meditation the same way we start all of our meditations. That's right, By finding yourself in a comfortable seat. So take it all time, Get comfortable, Settle in. Now let's focus on the posture. Sitting up nice and tall, Dignified, Proud, But not rigid. Relaxed, But not slouched. Emulating in our body this feeling of effort and ease. Bring the hands somewhere out of the way, Either in the lap, Maybe on the thighs, Maybe the sides of your body. Bring the eyes to close if that's comfortable for you. Or simply bring a soft gaze to something unmoving. Begin to sit and know you're sitting. Begin to breathe and know you're breathing. We can start this observation in this moment by focusing on what it feels like to sit here. What are some of the physical feedbacks you're getting from the environment around you? Can you feel the chair underneath you? Can you feel the ground underneath your feet? To make this process a little bit easier, We'll go through the body systematically. Keep in mind that each inhale we use for awareness and each exhale we use for relaxation. As you inhale now, Think about inhaling right in to each foot. See if you can actually direct the breath all the way down into the feet. Remembering that each inhale is going to bring a level of awareness to the area we ascended. And each exhale is going to bring a level of relaxation to that same area. So as you inhale into the feet, You may notice the feeling of the floor pressing into your feet and your feet pressing back. You may notice the socks you're wearing and how it feels on the skin, The sole of the foot or even on the toenails. You may even notice some tingling in each toe or maybe you notice the heat or the coolness that is apparent on the feet right now. Whatever's going on, Just give it your attention. Remembering that as you exhale, We're looking to relax. So just as we're restricting our awareness to this area, We want to also restrict this relaxation to this area. So as you exhale for the next time, Think about the feet relaxing. Think about the muscles relaxing. Think about the tendons relaxing. Even think about the skin relaxing. There's an overall softening of the entire area. Inhale brings in this awareness. Exhale brings in this relaxation. Good job. Let's move our attention up the legs into the calves, The shins, The ankles and the knees. This time as you inhale, You look for awareness in this area of the body. Once again, Looking for any sensations that come up. As long as they're happening right here and right now, They are completely valid. I'm looking for pressure, Temperature, Tingling, Anything at all. What can you observe in this area with that inhale? With the exhale, Again we're looking to relax. Now the feet are already softened, So we keep them like so. But can we soften this new area of the body as we have done with the feet? As you continue to inhale, Can you notice a difference in this body part as you consciously focus on softening and relaxing? Excellent work. You're getting the hang of this. We move that awareness now to the thighs, The hamstrings, Even into the hips, The glutes. Once again, Our inhale brings in that awareness as our consciousness shifts into this new area of the body. We feel the thighs and the hamstrings. Maybe we can feel the bum pressing into the seat below us. Maybe we can feel the tightness or looseness in these muscles. Of course as we exhale, We see if we can soften, If we can literally get heavier in this area. Each inhale awareness, Each exhale relaxation. Great work. Now your legs at this stage should be feeling totally relaxed. The entire area from your toes all the way up to your hips should be just this blissful place of relaxation. Let's move now into the torso. Breathing in to your trunk first, This section between your hips and the bottom of your chest. All the way around your body, Including the sides and the back. Noticing any sensations here with that inhale. You have the added bonus that there's some movement now with your breath. Your belly will be rising and falling. Can you pay attention to that with the inhale? Again with the exhale, Can you relax? Can you let go? Can you soften? Will it this relaxing feeling enter its way in to the upper half of our body? The next in-breath takes our consciousness and our attention into the chest, The upper back, Upper ribs. And we notice what's happening here. Again, Any movement, Any tingling, Any vibration, Any warmth. Any sensation at all that is happening in the present. And as you exhale, Let go. Soften, Relax. Breathing now down both arms into the fingertips. Starting this process into the hands and the fingers. Inhaling awareness. Paying attention to sensation. And exhale. Relaxing, Softening. Moving our way up as we inhale into the forearms. Awareness. Exhale, Relaxation. Moving further up into the upper arms, Into the shoulders. Inhaling awareness. Exhaling, Relaxation. The arms feeling now like heavy weights dangling from the shoulders. The shoulders feeling like heavy weights dangling from the neck. Lastly, Breathe into the neck, The head and the face. Get curious about any sensations here. And with this area, Sometimes we have to focus a little bit harder. There's a myriad of things going on in this area, But we don't always notice them. This is a way of helping. Can you notice what it feels like to have your eyes closed? Can you notice what it feels like to have your mouth closed? Can you notice what it's like to breathe in and out through the nostrils? Can you notice any air touching the skin on your face, On your neck, Or even on your head? Can you feel the lines of your clothing around your neckline? And as you exhale, Can you soften all of that? Excellent work. Inhale now into the entire body as one unit. Open to any awareness of any sensations you can feel. And as you exhale, Can you relax everything? Great job. Once again, Become aware of the room you're in. Sit and know you're sitting. Slowly bring your hands together, Rub those hands together. Generate that heat between the hands. Place those hands over the eyes. Open up those eyes behind the hands. And then take those hands away as you thank yourself for this practice. Namaste.

Reviews

I usually don't like body scans but this was very good