Accessible Meditation For Compassion & Presence

Welcome to today's meditation on noticing and naming and cultivating awareness of the present moment.

So I'm going to introduce the practice and you might start to get set up whilst I'm introducing it.

And remember there's really no one-size-fits-all to these kinds of practices.

You can access the meditation in a way that is available to you and that feels most supportive to you and that might change on different days or even different times of day.

So you might want to do this meditation lying down on your back or on your side,

Maybe a pillow between the knees or under the knees.

Another option could be to do the meditation in seated,

Perhaps supported by a chair or wall at the back or sitting cross-legged in the center of the room.

You might do this meditation moving in a wheelchair or walking if you don't want to be in stillness.

So I'll give you a little bit of time to feel into how you actually want to practice today whilst I'm introducing it and I'll let you know when we're gonna get started on the practice.

So meditation can be a practice of resting in awareness of your own experience.

It can really be a way to cultivate compassion,

So a sense of kindness towards yourself.

I like to think of it as holding space for yourself to be exactly as you are and really meet yourself where you're at.

Meditation isn't about stopping thinking,

So a common misconception about meditation is that the whole point is to stop thinking,

But that's really hard.

This is why many people can find themselves getting frustrated with the practice because how on earth do we completely stop thinking?

So I like to think of meditation as a way to bring awareness to what's happening in your internal experience.

You don't have to try to stop thinking.

A way that can be helpful to access a meditation practice is to pick something as your anchor,

So that could be the the sensation of the breath.

For example,

If you were to take a deep full breath in now,

Expand the lower ribs and the belly on the inhale and take a long slow steady breath out.

Sensing the physical feeling of the breath can be your anchor.

Another anchor could be honing in on the feeling of your body on the ground or the support of whatever it is that you're resting on.

So to practice that right now,

You could really think about the points of contact that your body is making with its support and with every exhale feel a sense of sinking into your support.

Another example of an anchor could be an object in the hand,

Maybe even a fidget toy,

Something that you can physically feel and sense in your hand and that can bring a little bit of movement into the hand as well.

You could be feeling what is there and maybe spinning it around if it's a fidget spinner or whatever it might be.

So you pick something as your anchor and then the thoughts or emotions or physical sensations will naturally pull your focus away from that anchor.

So what we're going to explore practicing is noticing and naming those thoughts or bodily sensations or emotions that might be pulling you away from awareness of what you've picked as your anchor.

So for example,

Maybe I'm really focusing in on the inhale and the exhale and how that feels in my body,

How the breath is spreading around when I breathe in and how the breath is pouring out when I breathe out.

Then maybe I start thinking about what I'm going to cook for dinner tonight and I'll notice it and name it and go,

Ah,

There's planning.

Maybe you start to think about something from the past and you can notice and name that and go,

Hmm,

There's remembering.

Maybe there's an emotion that you can notice and name,

Like there's some sadness.

Or it could be a physical sensation like,

Oh,

There's some tension in my shoulders,

I'm noticing that.

And each time you notice and name this thing,

You gently bring your focus back to your anchor.

So that's what we're going to be working with.

And you might notice that gradually doing this practice over and over again on different days,

Maybe you do begin to access a still place beyond or between your thoughts if only for a second.

But there's really no end goal to meditation.

You're there to observe,

To be aware and present in the here and now,

To be curious.

So I'll invite you to try that with me now I'm going to guide the process.

And like I said,

You can do this in whatever way feels supportive for you.

So begin by feeling the support beneath your body.

Can you sense the support beneath you?

Through the points of contact between your body and that support.

And in this space,

Allow the thoughts to drift in and out of your mind.

Like the clouds drift through the sky.

And the thoughts might carry your attention off in different directions,

Pulling you into the spinning wheel of the thinking mind.

Each time this happens.

Gently notice the thought and name it.

There's a memory or there's an itch.

Maybe there's a hunger in the belly.

Once you've noticed it and named it,

Guide your focus back to something that you feel you can anchor yourself with.

So that could be paying attention to the feeling of the breath,

The inhale coming into the body and the exhale gently washing out.

The anchor could be the feeling of support beneath your body.

So the points of contact between your body and what you're resting on,

Or moving on if you're doing this in a moving way.

Or whatever else your anchor might be.

So maybe it is that object in the hand,

Squeezing your fidget toy,

Or feeling the softness of the blanket on you.

Choose how you're going to anchor yourself and what is going to be your point of return each time you notice and name a thought.

After a few moments of practicing this process of gently guiding your focus away from the pull of thoughts and back to your anchor,

You might notice that the thoughts pull you back again.

So let yourself notice what you notice.

Name the thoughts.

Notice and name.

And then guide yourself gently back to the anchor.

So maybe the physical sensation of your breath,

Or the contact between your body and its support,

Or the feeling of your object in your hand,

Whatever it is.

Gently remind yourself to come back to noticing your anchor.

And what else can you sense here?

Maybe a sense of calm,

Perhaps a sense of irritation.

Maybe more planning for the day,

Maybe your thoughts are taking you to planning or to memories.

What is happening for you in this exact moment?

Notice it,

Name it.

And then bring yourself back to the feeling of your anchor.

The breath,

The support beneath the body,

Or whatever else you have chosen to focus in on as your point of return.

Then what else pulls you away from that anchor?

What else can you notice?

There's a real gentle kindness with this noticing.

A sense that you can't get it wrong.

The thoughts come and go,

And you're watching that happen.

Every now and again,

You remind yourself of your anchor and start to feel that.

Whether it's the sensation of the breath,

The support beneath the body,

An object in your hand or whatever else.

Once again,

Notice the pull of your thoughts.

Where is it taking you?

And once again,

Very gently bring that focus back to your anchor.

The expansion of the inhale,

The steady long exhale,

The support beneath your body.

Maybe something you feel with your hand.

And notice how the practice of meditation can be a practice of returning again and again and again.

I'm going to leave a little bit of space now for you to continue to take the role of the observer.

Watching your internal experience with a sense of friendliness,

Warmth,

Compassion to the person that you are in this moment at this time.

You notice the mind wondering about the place and then you gently return its focus back to your anchor.

When you're ready,

Begin to listen to the sounds the farthest away from you.

So what can you hear far away?

Maybe outside of the room if you're in a room.

And then zoom that focus inwards to what you can hear closer to you.

So just listen to the sound of my voice for one and anything else that you might be able to hear closer to you.

From there,

Start to notice the points of contact between your body and the support that your body is resting on.

And then I'll invite you to move the little bits of the body,

So maybe rocking the head side to side.

Maybe moving the fingers.

Find a way to shift and stir if that's available to you.

And you might take a few stretches or have a wiggle,

Do a little bit of movement here.

You could bat the eyes open if they're not already open.

And maybe if you like,

You could end by wrapping your arms around yourself and giving yourself a big hug.

That bit's totally optional.

Well,

It's all totally optional,

It always is.

I hope you have a beautiful day.

Thank you for practicing with me.