This practice is called mindfulness of the soles of the feet.
Taking some time to find a place to sit,
If that's possible.
You can also do this exercise,
This practice standing up if that feels right for you.
So wherever you are right now,
First of all,
Just tuning in to the contact that your body is making with the floor and the chair.
Noticing contact,
Noticing weight,
Noticing the floor and the chair or even just the floor.
And if it feels right for you,
Just noticing in your body where you might be holding extra tension.
Noticing your posture that might be contracted or closed or tense,
Holding the tension and the strains of today.
And seeing if it's possible to adjust slightly,
Anywhere that is amenable to being adjusted right now.
So perhaps allowing your shoulders to drop slightly,
Allowing your face to adopt a neutral expression if you notice any tension in your jaw or your forehead.
If it feels okay for you,
Just noticing your breath.
But if breath doesn't feel a safe place for you to be with right now,
Just letting go of this part of the practice.
If breath is okay for you,
Just noticing your in breath and your out breath.
And on the out breath,
Just having a sense of letting go,
Softening.
On the in breath,
Breathing into any extra tense areas right now.
So whether you're with your own body right now or with your breath,
Just seeing if it's possible to direct your attention to your feet,
The soles of your feet.
Noticing the sensations in your feet right now,
The contact that they're making with the ground,
With your shoes,
With your socks,
With your socks.
Noticing temperature,
Perhaps exploring each part of each foot.
So noticing toes,
Noticing the balls of your feet,
Noticing where your arches are,
Noticing heels.
Exploring any movement that might be happening in your feet right now.
Movement associated with pulsing or even just movement associated with your legs being perhaps restless.
If stillness or steadiness are here in your feet,
Noticing that.
Noticing perhaps the ground under your feet being steady,
Being still.
And as we sit here with the intention of exploring,
Noticing,
Attending to the soles of our feet,
Undoubtedly what we will notice is our minds will wander away from the feet wherever they go to,
Whether that's to thoughts,
Feelings,
Sounds,
Distractions,
Wherever.
The task here is simply to return your attention back to your feet whenever you notice it going away.
If you can,
And it feels right for you,
You can use the breath to guide your attention back to your feet.
So connect with the breath and on the in-breath,
Breathing down into your feet and coming back to attend to the soles of your feet.
Again,
If the breath isn't a place that's okay for you to be with right now,
Then just simply as best you can bring your attention back to your feet on the floor.
Again and again,
Bring your attention back to your feet,
Noticing sensations,
Exploring,
Attending to.
Then again,
Bring your attention back to your feet,
Perhaps making a decision to sweep your attention from the tips of the toes on one foot,
Maybe your left foot,
All the way to your heel and then back to your toes.
And then doing it with the other foot,
Noticing toes,
Noticing the ball of your foot,
Noticing the arch of your foot,
Noticing the heel and then going back to the ball of your foot and then to the toes.
You might notice some questions about what you're doing right now and what it might seem like,
What it feels like to be sitting here,
Stepping out of doing.
Think if it's possible to let go of those questions right now,
Bringing an openness to this process,
An intention to bring awareness to this part of your body without knowing right now what it might be for.
Letting go of any expectations for feelings to be any different than they are right now,
For things to be different than they are right now.
Bring your attention back to your feet on the floor.
And as we finish this practice,
Think if it's possible today as you go about the busyness and whatever it is that your day holds for you,
Think if there are opportunities to steady your attention,
To focus on your feet on the floor,
Whether it's the brief moments that you have alone or the long moments that you have alone,
The moments where you're around other people,
Standing,
Sitting,
Walking.
Take a moment,
A brief pause and just check in the sensations of your feet on the floor.
Take a breath.
Redirect your attention away from wherever it is and just notice an opportunity to reconnect with yourself.
Letting go of any expectations for feelings to be any different than they are right now,
