So taking your time to really be comfortable listening to your body or anything you could do to be five or ten percent more comfortable.
If you're sitting up perhaps letting the shoulder blades slide down the back,
Letting the head balance above the spine,
Perhaps taking a deep breath in,
And as you breathe out,
Letting go of any of the tension held in the body,
Releasing into this posture,
Ready to fall awake.
Okushio says,
Look carefully.
He says,
Pay attention,
Notice.
He says,
Keep looking,
Stay curious.
He says,
There is no end to seeing.
He says,
Everything is alive.
Shells,
Buildings,
People,
Fish,
Mountains,
Trees.
Wood is alive.
Water is alive.
Everything has its own life.
Everything lives inside us.
He says,
Live with the world inside you.
It matters that you care.
It matters that you feel.
It matters that you notice.
It matters that life lives through you.
Look,
Feel,
Let life take you by the hand.
Let life live through you.
Body scan.
Noticing the points of the body.
Make connection with the air.
Sensing the pressure of the body.
That connection.
And moving awareness to the breath.
Noticing that gentle rise and fall of the breathing body.
You may like to notice the movement of the chest.
Maybe the movement of another part of your body.
Gently moves like a boat bobbing on the waves.
Perhaps noticing that to breathe in is to draw air.
Draw energy into the body.
As the body breathes in,
The body rises up.
The head reaches up towards the sky above.
And to breathe out is to release.
And to relax is to let go.
Allowing those muscles which have worked to pull the air into the body,
Those muscles of respiration.
Letting them release.
Allowing the whole body to follow the breath.
And release,
Let go of the out breath.
And gently moving your awareness from the breath now.
Moving the awareness down the body.
All the way down to the toes.
And starting with noticing the big toes of both feet.
Perhaps noticing that the toes touch the ground.
Maybe you were able to notice a brick,
The pressure of a shoe,
Temperature.
Maybe there's numbness.
That too is an experience.
Sensing into your big toes.
Not the idea of the big toes but the felt sense in this moment.
Moving your awareness now to the little toes.
Possible to sense into these toes.
Moving awareness to the middle three toes.
Noticing if it's possible to sense these toes individually.
Perhaps it feels like they come as a set.
Knowing there's no right way to feel.
Noticing whatever's present right now.
And moving awareness to notice the sole of the foot.
Ball of the feet.
Arches of the feet.
The heels.
Moving your awareness to the top of both feet.
The insides of the feet.
Bones.
And expanding your awareness.
Taking the whole of both feet.
Perhaps your feet feel cold.
Tingly,
Numb.
Something else entirely.
Simply being curious.
Noticing.
And releasing awareness of your feet.
Bringing your awareness up the body to notice your ankles.
Releasing the ankles.
Bringing awareness to the calves.
And the shins.
Full length of the shins.
And sliding your awareness to the knees.
Noticing the angle of the knees.
The front of the knees,
The back.
Releasing awareness of your knees.
Moving the awareness of the body to the thighs.
The long bone of the thighs.
The muscles.
Being interested.
Are these muscles active right now?
Is there any clenching,
Any tightness in these muscles?
There is,
Knowing you can always breathe into that.
Offering that noticing.
Perhaps offering and allowing.
Allowing to be there.
And allowing to release.
Noticing where the legs join the body.
And expanding your awareness now.
Taking the whole of both legs.
All the way down to the tips of the toes.
Holding the whole of the legs in your awareness.
And you may like to use imaginative breathing now.
Imagining you can breathe all the way down to the tips of your toes and back out again.
Fencing into the whole of your legs as you breathe.
And when you're ready,
Releasing awareness of the legs.
Letting go of the imaginative breathing if you were using it.
Gently moving your awareness to the sit bones.
Weight of the body as you sit.
Perhaps to the lower back if you're lying down.
Moving your awareness to the pelvis.
Whole basin of the pelvis.
And moving this interest,
Awareness.
Slowly up the body,
Up the back.
It's possible to go one vertebra at a time.
Noticing the curve of the back.
The lower back.
The mid back.
The upper back.
And as many times as you notice your mind has wandered away.
Gently hiding your awareness back.
Back to this moment.
Back to the body resting on the ground.
Right now noticing the upper back.
Noticing the shoulders.
Moving your awareness down to the abdomen.
Is it possible to be open to whatever experiences you find here?
Perhaps the breath?
Perhaps hunger?
Perhaps this is where you notice feelings,
Emotions.
Maybe there's a tingling,
A warmth,
Tightness.
Possible to notice whatever it might be.
Opening your awareness to experience in this moment.
And go over the abdomen.
Moving your awareness to the chest.
Noticing that rise and fall as the body breathes.
And if you notice that there's pain or discomfort where in the body.
Is it possible to perhaps take some time to notice this?
Maybe breathing in and out of this area.
Noticing how you're responding to this pain or discomfort.
Perhaps there's a bracing,
A tightness.
Maybe there's an avoidance and perhaps it feels all consuming.
Breathing into this area.
Perhaps it's pull for your attention or loosen.
You can return to the breath in the chest.
Or perhaps it's still drawing your focus.
And maybe you'd like to hold a loose awareness on this point of discomfort in the body.
And on the practice.
Moving awareness now to the shoulders.
The upper arms.
Elbows.
The lower arms and the hands.
Noticing the energy in the hands.
Releasing awareness of the hands and bringing your awareness up to the throat.
To the neck.
Place where the neck joins the head.
The scalp.
The forehead.
The eyebrows.
Place between the eyebrows.
Temples.
The eyes.
If you notice any holding,
Any tightness in the face.
Allowing this to be released with your next tail breath.
The nose.
The cheeks.
The jaw.
Letting the jaw be loose,
Relaxed.
The lips.
And expanding your awareness now.
Taking in the whole of this body.
The whole of this breathing body.
It works for you perhaps using imaginative breathing once more.
Imagine you could breathe all the way down to the tips of your toes and back out again.
Holding the whole of the body in your awareness.
When you're ready,
It's time to release this awareness.
Noticing once more parts of the body that rest on the ground.
Coming towards the end of the practice.
Perhaps taking a deeper breath in and out.
Bring a little movement back into the body.
Maybe moving the fingers and the toes.
And when you're ready,
In your own time,
Clearly starting to open the eyes.
Ov
