Mindfulness Of The Body

In this session, we introduce the practice of 'Mindfulness Of The Body', followed by 10 minutes of mindfulness.
To practice, simply turn your attention towards the sensations from a part of your body; if your mind wanders, gently bring it back. We are training awareness and attention.
Try to feel the sensations without labeling them. Without moving towards or away from them. Just feeling the parts as they are, in this moment.

Transcript

And welcome to the session. Invite to take a seat. Or lie down. And get yourself comfortable. You can close down the eyes if you wish. Just begin by slowing down the breath. Breathing in through the nose blow into the belly. And slow. Today we're going to be practicing mindfulness meditation. Traditionally, We would focus upon the breath at the nose. But today we're going to move. Into some semantics. Mind-body connection. So I encourage you to scan your body briefly. And find a part of your body then. There's a lot of things going on. Maybe tension. Maybe pain. Maybe pleasure. Maybe movement. Maybe there's a part. Maybe there's some sort of energy held in this spot of the body perhaps an old injury. Part of the body. It is. Not neutral. Where there are feelings coming from. Turn your attention to this part of the body. Using the sensations there as the anchor for our meditation. At any time your mind wanders Practice gently. Of Ingli. Return your focus back to those sensations. Really feeling those sensations deeply. Capturing them all. Approaching and accepting what arises. Compassionate curiosity. And calm confidence. Doing your best not to label these sensations. You may notice pain. Pleasure. Tension. Movement. A sharpness or dullness. Temperature. But if you can. Go beyond those labels. And simply feel. Heal this part of the body. As if it was a gift. As if you'd just woken up to it. Discovered this part of the body exists. Exploring the sensations. Feeling them deeply. Accepting them all. If you notice your mind wandering. Getting lost in thought. Sensation, Memory. That's okay. Lovingly. Or turn your focus back. The sensations in this part of the body. Is their movement. Stagnation. Softness. Or hardness. Of the sensations arising. The surface of the body. Internally. Just feeling it all. Just accepting it all. Just returning your mind. And back. And back. This part of the body. In other practices we explore the mind space. Communicate. And connect to these parts of the body. But today we're just going to simply feel feeling the sensations arising in this part of the body. Tempting to see them with fresh eyes. Without the labels. Tension. All of it can be broken down into component parts. And explored with curiosity. Felt. And experienced. As it is. For what it is. Right now. The added overlays those labels imply. A lot of pain is overwhelming. Because we fear that it will last forever. A lot of pleasure is intoxicating. Because we want it to last forever. But all sensations pass. Shift. Move. Some fully and significantly and some subtly. Really feeling these sensations in the body. The beginner's mind. If it was the first time you were ever feeling these things. Nothing needs to be done. Will change. Or just feeling. Focusing our attention on our chosen part of the body. Feeling it deeply. At any time you notice yourself labeling these sensations. As good. Painful. Pleasurable. Notice yourself labelling attempt to feel the component parts. What are those sensations made up of? Where are they located? What else is being activated? Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from purposely paying non-judgmental attention. The present moment. In this case. We are paying attention to the sensations in the chosen part of our body. Non-judgmentally. Just accepting them. Allowing them. When it is seen them. In a moment. We're going to sit together in silence for 10 minutes. And simply feel the sensations arising. In this part of the body. Not moving towards or away Noticing any labeling? Attempting to feel. What is actually happening in our body in this moment. If we notice ourselves labeling it. Moving towards or away from. Getting lost in thought or memory. Mood or other things. Gently. Lovingly. Return our focus back to those sensations. Beginning again. Let's begin. Okay. So if you'd like to maintain the meditation. You are more than welcome to do so. Everyone else just gently returning. Back to their bodies Back to the session. Back to their day. Today we practiced mindfulness meditation. But chose to focus on a part of our body. As the anchor of attention. Mind wanders, We bring it back. Attempting to feel the sensations in a chosen part of our body deeply. In a way that is beyond the labels. They might be. Painful feelings in the body. Pleasurable feelings in the body. But either way we approach it the same. Feeling the component parts. Approaching and accepting it all. Compassionate curiosity. And calm confidence. This is the nature of our body in this moment and if we can remove the labels. We can see or feel our body with a beginner's mind. As it is. For what it is right now. Who may discover that there are shifts and movements and changes. We may see the feelings for what they are. Beyond the mental label that we prescribe. They're profound. Implications of such insights. Encourage you to explore this practice further. Sit in silence. Feeling a part of your body. If you notice yourself labelling. Moving towards or away. In again. With love. With compassion. Simply return your focus back to the sensations. And feel once more. Thank you for joining me and I'll see you in the next session