Loving Awareness Of Our Physical Self

Hi everyone and welcome to part two of our series of meditations on self-love.

This meditation focuses on our physical self and I'd like you to find that comfortable position whether it's lying down or coming into a supported seat or non supported seat.

Hips are elevated.

If you're lying down,

Shoulders tuck under,

Toes fall out.

As you find that position bringing your body to stillness.

Doing one last check to make sure that you are supported here and your body won't be distracting you over the next few minutes.

Take a moment to notice the space that you're in by looking around and if the position that you're in allows even turning to look behind you either side.

If you notice something in particular that catches your eye just resting your gaze there and turning back to center and choosing to either close your eyes or just focus out in front.

Moving your awareness to the breath remembering if you have congestion and breathing in and out through the mouth otherwise let's take a deep breath in through the nose slow it down expand the belly as you breathe in and letting go through the mouth.

Slow down the breath as long as it's comfortable inhale belly expands and when you're ready breathing out.

Last one breathing in exhaling when you're ready.

Moving awareness to the breath at the nostrils and we're returning to our practice of noticing stepping into the position of observing the coming and the going of the breath watching without judgment the air as it moves in to your body and downwards and outwards and moving back up and out into the space that you're in.

As you breathe in repeat to yourself inhaling as you breathe out repeating silently to yourself exhaling and two more like that.

Beautiful work.

Now letting go of controlling the breath and moving your awareness to your hands bringing the palms to face upwards.

The next time you take a breath in I'd like you to clench your fists so squeezing your fingers in towards the center of your palm breathing in exhale release the hands inhale clench your fists this is the feeling of tension of holding on release the hands and exhale and that's the feeling of letting go choosing to soften.

One more time breathing in clench the fists exhaling to release awareness moving to the tips of your toes now I'd like you to scan upwards from this point take your time and notice your body internally and externally and I say noticing because we're not looking for anything in particular we're just seeing what arises as we scan our awareness upwards and outwards.

There may be sensations of warmth,

Coolness,

Maybe numbness,

Tingling,

Tension,

Softness,

Maybe a feeling of rigidity maybe a sharp pain if you have an injury.

Again there's no right or wrong way to be no right or wrong sensation to notice or you may not experience it as a sensation.

Exactly as you observe the breath practice observing the body and as you do this notice the support beneath you surrender to it.

I'll give you a few moments to slowly scan your awareness up to the tips of your fingers the tip of your tongue and the top of your head and remembering that everything that I say and suggest is only an invitation you're in complete control of this process it's your meditation.

So if there was a particular point in the body that drew your awareness more than any other point I'd like you to move your awareness there now and if you're not sure about that or there wasn't anything that popped up for you in particular and just take a guess just pick any part of the body and move it there now and in that space in the body observe what is arising in that space for you now knowing that this isn't a wrong sensation and it's not a right sensation it just exists and we're observing it and now the option is to just as we did with the hands clench or contract the muscles in that area if it's possible as you inhale or you can do this without the contraction so with your awareness in that space can you imagine that you're breathing into it inhale slowly and contract around it exhale to soften and let go again breathing in in your own time slow down the breath contracting or not that's your choice and exhaling to let go this time as you breathe and imagine that there's a really bright white light moving in through the mouth or the nose as you breathe and coming into that space in the body that you're really focusing on and this time I invite you to hold the breath as long as it feels comfortable stay soft in the body notice that light expanding around that space and then exhale softening around it one more time like that inhale imagine that you're breathing in a bright white light breathing into that space expanding the light from that space through the body option to hold the breath with softness and ease and slowly let go beautiful work so this is the practice that you could continue on moving awareness around the body or just focusing on that space until you feel like it's complete I'd like you to become aware of your body as a whole now instead of focusing on just one point see if as I repeat these words you can get a feeling of your of your body as a whole so becoming aware of the whole body the whole body the whole body and again we'll imagine that we're breathing light this time into the heart space slowing down the breath and as you exhale the light expands through the body imagining this light as a loving light a light filled with gratitude and thanks we'll take two more breaths like that inhale into the heart space breathing in gratitude for the body and exhaling to let go inhaling breathe in exhaling the light expands outside of the body observing this sensation of breathing into spaces of imagining that we're breathing in gratitude for the body and then I have one question for you today in this meditation and notice what arises when I ask you what is one way in which your body allowed you to experience joy in the last week or so it may have been laughing at a TV show talking with friends or reading an amazing book all of these things require so many intricate interconnected processes your body is on your side it has allowed you to have these moments or this moment of joy notice that sensation of recognition for the capability of your body to support you in those moments to facilitate those moments invite you to spend a little longer resting here staying in the light of gratitude and the feeling of love and maybe appreciation for the capability of your body and sincerely thank yourself for going on this explorative meditation with me again if you did it last week as well and when you're ready just gently blinking the eyes open and I wish you a beautiful day afternoon or evening thank you