Feeling Good: Thanking the Body

This is a special practice that allows us time to be present to our bodies with kindness.

Often we take our bodies for granted.

We may ride over feelings or sensations of pain,

Tension,

Tiredness,

As we worry about things we have to do or what has happened in the past.

This time is a gift to yourself and your body.

Do not expect it to be any particular way,

But rather see if you can delight in how every time you do this practice,

Your attention,

Feelings in the bodies,

Thoughts and experience may be different and unique.

What is guaranteed is no matter how you experience this time,

Your body will be left nourished and the better for it.

So let's begin by lying the body down in a place that is comfortable.

Make sure that you're warm and that you will not be disturbed.

Begin by becoming aware of your whole body lying here,

Noticing the plane of contact with the floor or with the mattress.

And now,

In whatever way feels right for you,

Let the attention move to your head.

Notice any sense of its position or weight.

Feel any sensations that are there to be felt.

Not thinking about,

But feeling,

Sensing the hair,

The scalp and perhaps the amazing organ that resides within the brain.

There's no need to make a story in the mind about what you find.

Learning to feel and notice is enough for now.

Moving your attention to the face now,

Allowing the face to be relaxed and soft.

There's no need to either express emotion or hide emotion.

Can you feel in your face the sense of just being?

Noticing the sensations in the forehead,

Around the eyes,

The cheeks and the cheekbones,

The jaw and the chin.

And as you feel into the entirety of your face,

Perhaps acknowledging your face for reflecting this unique expression of you.

And now bring your attention to the area of the throat and neck.

This is the part of the body that allows you to speak and voice your feelings and thoughts.

So for now just honoring this region by feeling and sensing.

And now dropping the attention into the shoulders and the arms.

Feeling the area of the biceps,

The triceps,

The elbows,

The wrists,

The hands.

Taking time here to recognize the miracle of these arms and these hands.

Perhaps acknowledging how they help you to embrace the world and all your tasks in it.

As you move your attention now into the area of the lungs,

You might like to reside there for a few moments feeling the in-breath and the out-breath.

We're taking time here to notice the workings of the lungs,

The miracle of our capacity to breathe.

And now you might like to take some time to locate the region of your heart.

We often refer to this part of the body as storing various emotions.

See if you can welcome whatever you might find in the region of the heart.

Whether it's compassion,

Sadness,

Joy,

Peacefulness.

It is perhaps worth just taking time to notice and feel what is there.

Residing now in the region of the belly,

Take time to feel the in-breath and the out-breath in this part of the body.

If you like,

You can place a hand on your belly and just notice the movement.

In this way,

Thanking and honoring your belly and your internal organs for the work that they do for you.

And now dropping your awareness into the pelvic area.

As you feel any sensations that might be there to be felt,

You might hold in your awareness the myriad of functions and organs in this part of the body that can be noticed and held with kindness.

And as you breathe into the area of the pelvic area,

You might like to then move your attention into the region of the back.

Feeling the lower back,

The mid back,

The upper back.

Aware of the spine and the vertebra,

This incredible structure that supports you.

How does your back carry you in your life?

With confidence?

With strength?

For now,

Just holding your back in your awareness.

Now shining the light of awareness into your legs,

The structures that hold and support you,

That allow you to move forwards in your life.

As you move your awareness from the pelvic bones into the upper legs,

The knees,

The shins,

The calves.

Holding the legs with a kind of appreciation for carrying you through life.

Let your awareness embrace your feet now.

Bring into the heels,

The soles,

The upper part of the feet,

The toes.

How does the feet hold you on a daily basis?

Can you now,

In this moment,

Hold your feet with kind awareness?

And now let your attention embrace the whole of your body as you lie here,

Breathing.

Feeling the contact of the body against the floor or mattress.

Feeling the embrace of the air on your skin.

Sometimes the mind can come up with stories as to what's wrong with us or with our lives.

If you can feel the breath and your body,

Then you might remind yourself that in this moment you are completely whole.

So for the last few moments of this practice,

Surrounding yourself with gentle awareness.

Let that awareness bring kindness and acceptance for your path and your journey,

Whatever you are experiencing in your life right now.

Forgiveness and compassion start from within.

Thank yourself for who you are,

Where you've come from,

Where you're going,

And for taking this time to honor yourself as a human being.

Thank you.