Hello,
And welcome.
My name is Cheryl Bailey from Grit and Grace Meditation,
And today I am leading you through a meditation that connects you to your five senses.
Please find yourself in a comfortably seated position.
You can take a seat in a chair or on the floor.
I invite you to sit with a tall spine,
Resting your hands in your lap or gently at your side,
Floating your eyes closed,
And then beginning to find your breath as it anchors you into this present moment.
We'll start by taking a few deep breaths in through the nose,
Filling up completely,
And then exhaling fully.
Doing that two more times.
Deep breath in.
See your belly rise.
Exhale it out.
This time,
Deep breath in.
Open up the mouth.
Sigh it out.
Allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm and depth.
Not controlling your breath at all during this meditation.
Allowing it to simply flow naturally all through your body.
And as you take your next inhale,
I invite you to bring your awareness to the sense of touch.
Touch on the skin.
Is it warm or is it cool?
Noticing the temperature upon your skin.
Noticing the areas of your skin that are exposed and the areas of your skin that are covered perhaps by your clothing.
Noticing the pressure upon your skin.
Feeling the parts of the body that touch the chair or the cushion below you.
And feeling all the parts of your body that touches the surface.
Feeling your feet as they're rooted into the earth.
Perhaps noticing any breeze that brushes on your skin.
On the next inhale,
I invite you to bring your awareness to the sense of smell.
Inhaling through the nose.
Being aware of any aromas or fragrances that are present in your immediate environment.
Perhaps noticing the smell of fresh shampoo or body soap.
Noticing any additional scents that are present in your surroundings.
Perhaps turning your head from side to side and noticing a difference to the right and left of you as you inhale and exhale through your nose.
Any scents that are coming from your environment that smell sweet or savory.
Perhaps any earthy scents that may surround you if you're seated outside.
Simply tuning in and noticing what's present.
Smelling that crisp air as you inhale and exhale.
And now I invite you to bring your awareness to the sense of taste.
Taste in the mouth.
Is it wet or is it dry?
Perhaps swallowing and noticing are there any lingering flavors from something that you ate or drank earlier today.
And then gently parting the lips and inhaling through the mouth and feeling that cool air as it hits your tongue.
Can you taste the crispness in the air?
And as you breathe in,
Moving your awareness to the sense of sound.
First noticing the sounds that are closest to you.
Perhaps noticing the sound of your breath.
Maybe noticing any bodily sounds.
Perhaps swallowing and noticing.
What does that sound like?
Any gurgling sensations?
And then moving your awareness further out and noticing sounds that are present in your room.
Noticing the sound of my voice.
Perhaps any sounds in your room.
And then once again,
Moving the sense of sound even further out.
What's the furthest sound that you can hear in the distance?
Noticing any ambient sounds in the distance.
And now moving your awareness of the sense of sound to all things around you,
Both near and far.
Noticing where you place your attention,
Energy flows.
Noticing how these sounds create the great symphony of life.
These sounds arriving from the silence and returning to the silence.
And now finally moving your awareness to the sense of sight.
First behind the closed eyes.
Noticing any colors,
Textures,
Or images in the mind's eye.
Aware of the light that's peeking from behind the closed eyes.
And then gently opening your eyes.
First with a soft gaze and noticing something directly in front of you with a laser-like focus.
Noticing its color,
Any texture.
Noticing the vibrancy.
And then gently turning your head from side to side and noticing your entire surroundings.
Gently pulling it in.
Noticing these beautiful,
Vibrant colors that are surrounding you.
Aware of its textures with a sense of clarity.
And then bringing your awareness back to yourself.
Back to your breath.
Noticing the gentle inhale and exhale.
And then gently taking both of your hands and connecting them to your heart space.
And feeling that gentle touch of the heart.
And thanking yourself for showing up for your practice today and connecting to your five senses.
Thank you for doing this meditation with me today.
I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.
As we bow and say,
Namaste.
