Welcome to the somatic tracking meditation for relief of uncomfortable or unpleasant sensations.
Take a moment to settle in.
Whether you're sitting or lying down,
Find a position that feels comfortable and supported.
Let's begin by noticing your breath.
No need to change anything.
Just observe.
Feel the air moving in.
Maybe your breath is deep.
Maybe it's shallow.
Whatever it is,
It's okay.
Now shift your attention to where your body is making contact with the beneath you.
Feel that support.
Let yourself be held by the chair,
The floor,
The bed,
Wherever you are.
Can you sink a little deeper into the sensation?
Letting go and just being.
We'll now begin noticing sensations with curiosity.
When you're ready,
Bring your awareness to the area you feel discomfort.
No need to embrace,
Hold your breath or tighten.
No need to fix it.
Just notice it.
Asking yourself these questions.
Where exactly do you feel it?
Is it sharp?
Does it stay still?
Or does it shift?
See if you can simply observe as if you were a child curious for the first time seeing snow or feeling the wind on your face.
Just observe with curiosity and without judgment.
Now instead of zooming in on the pain,
Let your focus soften.
Notice the space around it.
Where can you feel simply neutral sensations,
Even comfort?
Again,
Come back to your breath.
Sometimes we go into these sensations and we begin to tighten without even knowing it as our brain has trained ourselves that when we're feeling this way we're in danger.
Remind yourself you are not in any danger.
This is a safe place to be.
Nothing to do.
Nothing to fix.
Just being with what is here right now.
Shifting your awareness to the breath.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.
Notice the sensation of the air flowing in through the nostrils.
Maybe slightly cool and exhaling slightly warm.
Let's go back to the areas of discomfort again.
As we bring our curious mindset,
Knowing that things may have changed,
They may have intensified,
Reduced,
Or stayed the same.
So going back to that sensation,
Now where exactly do you feel it?
Maybe you noticed it's moved slightly.
Notice the sensation.
Is it heavy,
Tight,
Dull,
Or sharp?
If it had a color,
What color would you assign it?
Red,
Orange,
Yellow,
Or blue?
What shape is the sensation?
Circular,
Square,
Sharp angles,
Soft lines?
Is it staying the same?
Are the sensations shifting?
Simply observe this for the next few breaths.
Remember your mindset of being a curious child.
And now let's zoom out.
Bring your awareness to that area around the sensation,
Seeing if you can come to a just feels comfortable or neutral.
And now let's shift our awareness to a part of the body completely away from the sensation,
A pleasant distraction.
Where in your body do you feel a comfortable or nice sensation?
Maybe a tingling in the fingers,
A warmth in the chest.
Come to this sensation.
Bring your breath into this sensation and all your focus.
Bring the corners of your lips slightly up,
Knowing that even in discomfort,
We can find pleasant sensations to anchor onto.
Deepen your breath.
And now let's meditate a bit on changing your relationship to that pain.
Calmly breathe as you listen to these words and think about what they mean to you.
Often we resist pain.
We tense against it.
But what if just for this moment,
You didn't have to fight it?
Let's use visualization.
Imagine sending your breath into the area of discomfort.
As you inhale,
Picture warmth and space flowing in.
As you exhale,
Imagine some of the tension dissolving,
Even just a little.
If thoughts come up like frustration,
Worry,
Or doubt,
That's completely okay.
The goal is outcome independence.
Whether the sensation increases or not,
Decreases or stays the same,
We're not holding on to a specific target.
We are simply mindful,
Letting go of so much control for things to be exactly as we want them.
Just notice the sensations.
Breathing in space.
Exhale,
Releasing tension.
You might say to yourself,
This is just a sensation.
I don't have to be afraid of this.
I am safe in this moment.
Now,
We'll expand our awareness.
Let your focus widen.
Notice your hands resting.
On your lap or at your side.
Feeling of air on your skin.
The rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
These uncomfortable sensations may be present,
But so is everything else.
You are not just these sensations.
You are your breath.
You are your heartbeat.
You are your awareness.
Loving awareness.
Maybe,
Just maybe,
The sensations grip a little bit less.
Maybe not.
Either way,
You showed up for yourself,
And that is enough.
For showing up shows that this isn't so scary.
You can be here with these emotions.
You can be present in the moment.
With these sensations,
And you don't have to feel afraid.
So whether the sensation dissipated or not,
You're training your brain.
This is safe.
This place that you're at is okay.
Let's take another deep breath in.
Let it out with a sigh.
It's not always easy work,
So give yourself gratitude for showing up,
For doing this practice.
When you're ready,
Start to bring gentle movement back,
Wiggling your fingers,
Your toes.
And when it feels right,
Open your eyes.
Carry the sense of ease with you as you move forward.
You are safe.
You are resilient.
