Hello and welcome to this somatic tracking practice.
Now when we have the experience of difficult sensation in the body it is completely normal and human to over time develop a certain kind of relationship to that sensation and naturally a part of that relationship becomes fear and often avoidance.
So because it's uncomfortable because it's difficult to be with we have a natural orientation to move away from it.
And so what this practice is going to do is in a really safe and supported way help us to gently begin to become curious about the sensation to gently turn towards it and as a result begin to teach our brain that perhaps the sensation isn't as dangerous as we once thought and that can allow opportunity for that sensation to perhaps change in some way or at least our relationship to it changes.
So whether you're coming experiencing pain or fatigue or any other difficult sensation in the body we're not looking to necessarily change it in this time together now but just gently explore it together and see where it takes us.
So you can do this practice however suits you and your body today.
You know you want to be nice and comfortable so whether that's seated or lying down or somewhere in between all is welcome and okay.
So find yourself that spot we're going to be here for around 10 minutes or so and begin to just settle in and land and take a moment to appreciate that you've come to this practice and you've taken this time for yourself and you can do this practice with your eyes open or closed.
Having them closed may allow you to tap into your body a little more deeply but that might not be necessarily accessible for you or what you want in this moment so the choice is yours.
And before we begin to explore what's present for you in your body today we want to have a an anchor or a safe place that we come back to during this meditation.
So I encourage you now just to notice what feels supportive or pleasant to you in this moment.
So that might be the feeling of what's beneath you whatever's supporting you,
Feeling your body being held,
It might be the grounding sensation of your feet on the ground if you're seated,
It might be the flow of your breath,
Or it might be a part of your body that you can tune into that is pretty neutral or even feels good.
So you know for me that might be my feet and my hands they're pretty neutral,
Pretty comfortable.
So just feeling into that anchor,
Choosing yours for the practice today or a combination and this is going to be our sort of home base for the meditation.
Any time things feel too challenging perhaps this is where we come back to.
So just spend the next few seconds becoming familiar and just leaning into that feeling or support or sensation of safety.
And from here I would like to encourage you just to settle on a sensation in your body that is feeling a little challenging or is present in this moment.
Now we want to choose something that is challenging but not too intense in this moment.
We want it to be accessible and moderate enough that we can be curious about it.
So just find that sensation in your body perhaps the sensation that you came to this meditation for and just begin to get a little curious about it.
It's almost like you're discovering its personality in this moment.
Maybe getting a sense of if it's moving or if it's still.
If it has a texture to it,
If it has a temperature.
And noticing if it's in a very specific point or place or whether it moves around perhaps or if it's kind of fuzzy around the edges and difficult to locate precisely.
So just as though you're kind of watching it through a window,
Observing it,
Getting to know it and there's no judgment there just curiosity as you feel into it.
And noticing as you observe if anything is shifting or changing just by being there,
Just being present,
Just being by its side,
Just noticing.
Maybe nothing at all is happening or maybe some element is shifting or moving.
Sensations can often flow and evolve as we watch.
And then switching your focus now back to your support,
Your anchor.
So maybe what's beneath you,
Your breath or that part of your body that feels neutral and comfortable.
And we'll just settle back here for a moment.
Reminding yourself that any time you can come back here.
So feeling into the support,
Knowing you're safe,
Grounding and appreciating that both these things exist,
The difficult place and this place.
And you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to.
But if you're ready for some more,
What I'd like to encourage you to do is just return back to that other sensation again.
Say hello again.
Get curious once more.
Really bring your attention to it.
And perhaps it's a little different from the first time you visited it,
Or perhaps not.
But this time I want you to have some,
I guess,
Some fun with it,
To play with it a little bit.
So if this sensation is in a particular area,
Maybe just become curious about the area around it.
Noticing how that area feels that's just around the edges of the sensation.
Noticing that contrast between the two.
And then beginning to see if you can almost soften those edges.
Almost like the two are melting together.
A blurring of that line that was there perhaps.
Almost like you're softening around the difficult sensation.
Just allowing it to kind of melt and flow.
And allow it to notice that there's lots of other places in your body for it to spread out and relax into.
And again,
Just observing with no judgment what's happening,
Any changes or not.
And then using your breath and noticing your breath,
Just expanding that perspective even more.
It's almost like you're zooming out and allowing your breath to move and flow around the sensation.
And begin to notice as you do that you have this whole body there.
You have the difficult sensation and you have that anchor.
But you also have everything in between.
And so whilst observing that flow with your breath,
Feeling into that space in your body.
Seeing if that breath and that space can allow those lines to blend together.
That sense that you're one body full of different points and feelings and cells.
See how that feels.
That flow of air all the way up through your body and back down.
And then just coming back now to where we started,
To the safe place,
The anchor.
Letting go of any attention on what you came for.
Just taking a moment to feel that support,
Feel that sense of safety.
We really want to help you.
End this practice and this meditation feeling grounded and comfortable or as much as we can.
You might want to open your eyes to support with this if you like to orient to the room.
Perhaps find something that you like to look at if that feels easier than something in your body.
Maybe a nice house plant,
Maybe it's a picture,
Maybe it's something out the window.
Something that brings you back into the here and now.
And so before we end this practice I just wanted to remind you that there's no right or wrong way to experience this.
We're not really looking for an outcome but it's just a practice of becoming more curious and more friendly towards those challenging sensations in the body that over time when practice can help turn down that danger signal that our brain is associating with it.
And so I'd encourage you to revisit this practice as much as you feel drawn to and I hope that it provides a really safe space for you to explore the challenging things you're experiencing but also find a nice comfortable anchor that you can take with you and use day to day as well.
So I really hope you enjoyed the practice.
If you did I would really love to hear from you so please do feel free to leave any feedback in the rating and reviews and I will really look forward to sharing another practice with you all soon.
All right,
Take care.
