Welcome to this somatic meditation and mind-body practice.
My name is Sarah and I'll guide you through this meditation.
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down where you can be uninterrupted.
Move around and get out any adjustments,
Wiggles,
Stretches,
And just allow yourself to sink down into the surface that supports you.
Begin to let go of any tension that you no longer need.
This is a time to allow yourself to relax and simply be present in your body.
Now,
Take a deep breath in through your nose and a sigh out through your mouth.
Letting go of anything that came before this.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and a slow sigh out through your mouth.
Letting go of anything that is to come after this.
And take a breath in through your nose and out through your mouth,
Slowly releasing.
To arrive here and now,
In this moment,
Drawing your attention down and in to your own body.
If you would like to close your eyes,
Allow your eyes to grow heavy or find a soft focus on an object in front of you.
Tune in to your own sensations within your body.
If your mind gets busy at any point in time,
You can reopen your eyes and close them.
And continue to follow the suggestions as I walk you through this meditation.
Now begin to feel the entirety of your body,
The gravity and the weight of your body.
And let your body become heavy.
Feel the presence or the energy of your body now.
This might arrive as the beating of your heart,
A gentle thrum or throb of your body.
Just take notice of how you feel the presence of energy and how the energy subtly animates your body and your sensations and gives it life,
Prana,
Your life force.
See if you can divide your attention between your physical body and this energy,
Sensing the entire backside of your body and where it's touching the surface that is holding you.
Which places in your body feel the most gravity,
The heaviest?
Maybe as points of pressure on the floor or the surface beneath you.
And which parts of your body feel lightest?
Maybe the parts of you that curve upward away from the surface.
Continue to scan the back of your body and begin to notice any textures,
The clothing or the objects beneath you that are touching your skin.
And observe their qualities,
If they're soft,
Hard,
Rough or smooth.
Notice if there is a temperature in certain parts of your body that varies from these textures or the sense of touch.
Be curious about the back of your body in the space that you're practicing,
Feeling the sense that you are held and supported during this time of rest.
Now attune to your breath.
Feel its natural rhythm in this moment without trying to change it,
Fix it,
Manipulate it.
Kind of like you are a naturalist and you're observing this creature in the wild.
You're not trying to adjust anything or make it go away.
You're just watching as an observer with a quiet,
Curious gaze.
And bringing that curiosity to the sensations that you feel in your breath right now in your body.
How does the breath feel on the inside of you?
You might sense that there is a flow of air through the nasal flares.
And there might be a temperature to your breath.
You might sense a rise and fall of your chest.
Or your ribs.
Or your belly.
There might even be a sound to your breath.
And as you practice this somatic meditation,
Thoughts might arise as the brain is inevitably thinking and generating thoughts.
And if that happens,
That's okay.
Allow the thoughts to pass by like clouds in the sky.
There's no reason to try and control your thoughts or change them.
You simply watch them flow by and return again to the sensations that you feel in your body right now.
Now as you watch the waves of your breath in and out,
Can you still feel the back of your body simultaneously with your breath?
You are holding the two points of focus.
The curvatures at the back of your body and the sensations there.
And your breath.
And this practice is calming and soothing to your nervous system.
It tells our brain,
I'm paying attention.
I'm safe right now.
And it's okay to be in my body,
Aware.
Now I'd like you to bring your attention to the most prominent sensation that you feel in your body.
It could be a sense of pressure,
Heavier than others in your body.
It could be discomfort,
An ache or a pain.
It could be the sense of digestion in your stomach.
It might feel purely physical.
Or it could be even an emotional sensation.
Maybe an emotion of anger,
Boredom,
Fear,
Sadness.
Or even a sense of contentment.
It doesn't matter what words arise or come to your mind now.
Simply choose a point of focus in your body.
A place that feels safe to look at.
And bring your mind's attention to that part of your body.
Notice any quality of that sensation,
If it feels heavy or buzzing or has a temperature.
With gentle curiosity,
You are feeling and sensing it and remaining with it in your mind.
It may come to you as a color or a shape.
What are the characteristics of what you are noticing in your body?
And describe it as if you've never felt it before.
It may be localized or it might be spreading.
It might be pulsing,
Throbbing.
It might be warm or cool.
And if the mind starts to label this sensation in your body as scary or bad,
Gently notice that thought and return to the physical sensation itself.
That this is just a piece of data.
A signal from your nervous system.
Remind yourself,
I am safe in this moment.
These sensations are real,
But they are benign.
They are just simply information and interpretation from my nervous system.
And words may arise as you notice qualities about the sensation in your body.
Words like aching,
Burning,
Tingling or numbness.
Allow the sensations to arise and be there without resisting them,
Ignoring them,
Pushing them away.
And as we lower the fear around the sensation that we feel and remain with it,
The volume of the signal can naturally begin to turn down.
This is the felt experience of being alive and aware of your body.
As you focus on your back of your body and the sensations that you feel,
If the sensation moves,
Allow your mind to move with it.
If it stays the same,
That's okay too.
We're not trying to make anything happen or change anything.
We are just noticing,
Staying present in the body.
This simple act of lovingly paying attention tells your nervous system,
I'm okay.
It is rewiring your brain by communicating that everything you feel is not necessarily a reason to escape.
Everything is safe.
What you are feeling is just sensation and it can't hurt you.
It's not damaging you.
It is actually healthy to feel these sensations.
So check in and notice if the sensation is moving.
If it is getting more or less intense.
There is no right or wrong.
Now let that go and return to your breath and see if it's shifted for you.
How does it feel when the air rises and falls in your inner space,
Within your body,
Just like an ocean tide?
The wave rises in and goes out.
Now can you feel the back of your body as you notice your breathing?
Which parts touch the surface that's holding you up as you surrender in relaxation?
Can you notice what it's like to feel grounded and held?
You can continue this practice even longer if you would like.
Remembering that you're in the space.
Gradually bring your awareness back into the room.
The sounds that you hear.
Letting your eyes begin to open if they've been closed.
And as you open your eyes,
Begin to gently look around you.
Knowing,
Seeing,
Feeling the space that you're in.
And the objects around you.
You might choose to yawn or move or stretch your body after being still.
Knowing that you've done something for your body,
For your healing and for yourself.
And you can return to these practices whenever you need to relax your nervous system.
Thank you for listening.
