Awareness Of The Body Meditation

11:22

11:22

Awareness Of The Body Meditation

by Beth Monaghan

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

2

This meditation is a practice for turning gently inward and listening to the body with curiosity rather than judgment. Before there are words and stories, there's sensation — and the body is often the first place experience arrives. This meditation invites you to notice what's present, what's tight, what's asking for attention, without needing to fix or explain it. A quiet form of coming home.

Body Awareness Meditation Body Scan Sensory Awareness Emotional Awareness Gratitude Poetry Anchoring Gratitude Practice Poetry Integration

Meet your Teacher

Boston, MA, USA

Meet your Teacher

Boston, MA, USA

Transcript

This is a brief meditation for awareness of the body. So finding a comfortable position for meditation. You might be lying down, Sitting or standing. You want a position that feels alert and also relaxed. To come into stillness, You might move in a way that feels supportive for your body, Maybe rolling your neck, Stretching your arms, Breathing into those spaces. If it feels comfortable, You might close your eyes and feel into your own presence here. You can also do that with your eyes open, With a soft gaze, A short distance in front of you. Taking a few full breaths and then allowing your breath to become natural. Just feeling your body settling into your space. Sensing its weight, Making contact with the chair or the floor, And welcoming all of the parts of yourself here, The alive parts, The stuck or tight parts, The overlooked parts, Letting them all arrive with you. So for this meditation, We'll use an anchor as a settling place, Somewhere to rest our attention before we move into the body. This anchor might be your breath, Sensing the cool air at your nostrils when you breathe in. It could also be the rise and fall of your chest or belly. You might use sound as your anchor instead, Letting the sounds from near and far come and go on their own, Or bodily sensations, Perhaps the tingling or warmth in your fingertips. So choosing the breath, Sound, Or sensation. We'll stay here for a minute or so, And as your attention drifts, As it always does, As you notice it coming back to the anchor. And now with a relaxed and interested attention, We might begin scanning the body. Starting with your head and slowly working your way down through your neck, Your shoulders, Your back, Down through your stomach, And all the way down through your legs and into your ankles and feet. You might scan up and down a few times or simply travel slowly from head to foot. Notice any areas that are calling for your attention, Tension or tiredness, Parts that have worked hard recently or throughout your life. This body carries us through our lives, And we're feeling it from the inside out. When you find an area that's calling to you, You can pause there. You can let your anchor recede into the background and bring your attention to what you find in the body. You might begin by noticing what the actual sensations feel like. Are they warm or cool? Is there tingling or aching? Maybe there's twisting or tightness or pressure or areas of vibration or pulsing. We're looking for a soft, Open awareness, Not trying to change what's happening, But to experience it. You might ask yourself if these sensations are pleasant, Neutral, Or unpleasant. What do they actually feel like? And as you fully attend to this area, Do the sensations become more intense? Do they shift or dissipate? If you're finding it difficult to stay with strong sensations, You could try breathing with them instead, Imagining fresh air coming into them on the in-breath and allowing them to soften just a bit on the out-breath. You might also imagine them floating in your awareness, Held lightly rather than gripped. You can also shift your attention to a more neutral part of your body at any time. I tend to like to go with my earlobe, But you can choose whatever works for you. If you're sticking with the sensation, It can also help to name what you're feeling. Soreness or tightness, Heat, Pressure. You might repeat it softly to yourself, Letting it stay a little bit in the background while the experience itself remains in the foreground. You might ask yourself, What is happening inside me right now? And can I be with this? As the sensations become less strong or when you feel your attention begin to drift, You can always return to your anchor, Your home base. And you can practice in this way for as long as you'd like. But as we close this sitting, You might imagine stepping back from yourself and becoming the witness to your body's experience. If it feels helpful, You might offer gratitude for the work it does to carry you through the world and compassion for the ways it has struggled and suffered. The Navajo poet Lucy Tapahonso wrote, The body is my land, My home, My first and last destination. May we all hold ourselves gently and in compassion. And in a few minutes, I will ring the bell to end the sitting.