Welcome to this session all about using touch to treat your tinnitus.
I know firsthand how disruptive tinnitus can be so I'm sorry you're going through this right now.
But here's the good news,
It is manageable.
This is a great meditation to help you deal with it and if you like it then please check out my courses and other tracks dedicated to tinnitus.
The course is called sleep tight with tinnitus and I think you're gonna love it.
Now over to the meditation.
Reminder that the purpose of this session is to give your brain more feedback to distract you from the noise in your ears.
You can really help it out by embracing and focusing on the sensations you're exposed to today.
Not just going through the motions but actually feeling them and giving them all your attention.
Be mindful.
Let's start by getting into your body.
Begin by laying down.
Just take your time,
Get relaxed.
You can shake your arms side to side,
Maybe rock your head side to side.
Just make sure all those muscles are turned off and you give all your weight to whatever furniture you are placed on right now.
All right good.
Now let's tap into your body.
You actually have a whole area of your brain dedicated to this called the parietal lobe.
It's picking up senses of what your body feels and even where it is in space.
This is known as proprioception.
You can experience this right now.
Close your eyes if they're not closed already and then lift up one arm and touch the tip of your index finger to your nose.
Voila.
Somehow with your eyes closed you knew exactly where your nose is.
This is proprioception.
Place your hands back at your sides now.
You're going to focus on the sensation of touch to start with.
Take the thumb on your right hand and touch the tip of all other fingers on that hand.
Right down to the pinky and then back.
Now do the same with your left hand.
You have a ton of nerves in your fingers so see if you can really tap into what you're feeling.
Now let's increase the sensation here.
Back to your right hand.
Begin rubbing circles between your thumb and your index finger.
Notice how this feels.
Go clockwise then anti-clockwise.
Kind of tickles sometimes.
Now switch it up and use your middle finger and thumb.
Same deal.
Notice how it feels.
Does it feel different to the finger before it?
Go one direction and then go the other.
Notice if there's areas that are more sensitive than the other.
Now move on to your ring finger and rub it with your thumb.
Same deal.
Just noticing,
Just becoming aware.
Move on to your pinky and your thumb.
This in terms of coordination is the trickiest so just do your best.
Okay,
Good job.
Move across to your left hand.
Same deal.
Thumb and index finger just rubbing together in circles.
One direction then the other.
Now move on to your middle finger and thumb.
Same deal.
Notice if your left hand is less coordinated or more coordinated than your right.
Notice difference of sensation between the fingers and even between the hands.
Switch now.
Bring in the ring finger and the thumb on your left hand.
Just noticing that sensation.
One direction then the other.
And then lastly,
The thumb and the pinky finger.
One direction and then the other.
Noticing at all times the sensations that occur in the tips of your fingers.
Okay,
Stop there.
We're going to introduce some breathing now.
It's going to go like this.
As you inhale,
You're going to rub your thumb and your index finger on your right hand five times.
Then as you exhale,
You're going to rub your index finger and your thumb on your left hand.
You can decide which direction.
Then we're going to go back to the right hand as we inhale,
Moving one finger on,
Rubbing the middle finger and your thumb on your right hand five times.
And then when you're ready to exhale,
Rubbing your thumb on your left hand with the middle finger on your left hand.
We move on back to the right hand on your inhale,
Ring finger and thumb,
Exhale,
Left ring finger and thumb,
Inhale,
Right thumb and pinky five times.
Then as you exhale,
Left thumb and pinky rub five times.
And then you simply come back the same way you went in.
We'll do the first one together.
So get yourself nice and ready.
Start by bringing the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together so you're in a mudra.
Now let's inhale together as we rub right thumb and right index finger together five times.
Then as you exhale,
Left thumb and left index finger rub together five times.
Back to the inhale,
Right thumb,
Right middle finger rub together five times.
And then exhale,
Left thumb,
Left middle finger rub together five times.
Inhale,
Right thumb,
Right ring finger rub together five times.
And exhale,
Left thumb,
Left ring finger rub together.
Inhale,
Right thumb,
Right pinky rub together five times.
Pinky is the tricky one.
And then exhale,
Left thumb,
Left pinky rub together five times.
And simply start again.
So you can do it on your own now,
Following your own pace,
Your own rhythm.
Just focusing on counting the breath and feeling the sensations of your fingers.
Do the different fingers feel different?
Can you feel a smoothness or roughness in the fingerprint?
Does it tickle?
Just tapping in to how it all feels.
And then you can start to finish off whatever round you're on between the inhale and exhale.
And then relax those hands.
Good job.
Now we're going to shift and play with the feelings of tension and relaxation in the muscles through a tense and release exercise.
Begin by screwing up your face like you just ate a lemon.
Really squeeze all the muscles in your face.
And then exhale,
Relax the face completely.
Now pull your shoulders up to your ears and tense your jaw.
Really clench your teeth.
Make sure the jaw is tight.
Shoulders are right up by the ears.
All those muscles around the neck are nice and engaged.
And as you exhale,
Relax all of that down.
Relax the jaw,
Relax the shoulders.
Next up,
Pull fists and tense your arms like you're the Hulk about to smash.
Hold it all.
Get those biceps really popping.
And then as you exhale,
Relax the fists,
Relax the arms.
Now tense your abs like you're a bodybuilder on a show or like someone trying to pose for a photo,
Trying to look fitter than they are.
Really engage it.
It's like your crush is walking past you and your midriff is out.
And then exhale and relax.
Moving on to the bum and legs.
Begin to squeeze.
Really engage them.
Engage the thighs,
Engage the calves.
And relax all of that.
Now begin to point your toes,
Point,
Point,
Point,
Point,
Like you're trying to stretch your feet away from you.
And as you exhale,
Relax.
Now a strange one.
Try and make fists with your feet.
Squeeze those toes in towards the soles of your feet.
Hold it there.
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze.
And relax.
Good job.
Just notice how the body feels relaxed now.
Notice any sensations,
Any warmth that's come from that.
And we'll finish together by tapping into the body in a more passive way.
Just by increasing our awareness.
I'm going to give you some very subtle things to focus in on.
I want you to see if you can feel the hair on your head.
Like the actual roots.
Can you notice where some of your hair is connected to your head?
Now see if you can feel your head on the pillow or whatever it is resting on.
Can you feel what that contact point is like?
Now notice the weight of your head as you give all of it to whatever you're resting on.
Do you feel the warmth underneath your head?
How about the arms at your sides?
Can you notice how they hang from your shoulders?
Can you notice their heaviness?
Switch your attention now to how your back feels on the mattress or whatever you're laying on.
Can you feel the slight indentation on that bit of furniture?
Then can you notice the warmth of the areas that are connected to the bit of furniture underneath you?
And if you can't feel that,
Can you notice the warmth that is trapped under the blankets or the clothing that you're wearing?
Where do you feel the most warm?
Can you feel your chest and belly moving up and down?
Can you feel the air on your skin anywhere in particular?
Where do you feel the coolest?
Can you feel the whole body resting,
Sinking into whatever is underneath you?
And now just relax into that awareness of your body and just notice whatever sensation calls out to you.
If no sensation comes up,
Then just feel your breath coming in and going out.
Enjoy.
