Sensation & Touch Exercise

Hello and thank you for joining me for this sensation experience.

For this exercise you can be seated or lying down and I would encourage you to wear comfortable clothing and also something that would allow you access to different spots on your body including your upper and lower legs,

Your upper and lower arms,

Maybe your shoulders or your tummy.

And for this exercise you're going to need three different sensory items.

So items that you will use to create different sensations on your body.

I'd encourage you to choose different types of sensations so perhaps something soft or silky,

Something more rough or abrasive,

Perhaps something warm or something cold.

So you could have something like a spatula or a feather or a really soft blanket.

So if you need to pause this recording to gather up your items please feel free to do so and then you can join me back when you're ready.

And now with your items get yourself into a comfortable position taking a couple breaths allowing your focus to come a little more inwards and preparing yourself to be mindful of touch that you are going to be applying to yourself and receiving for the next few moments.

And so choosing your first item,

Remember one you'd like to start with and then I'd like you to think of two different spots on your body that you want to offer sensation and touch to.

So they can be whatever two spots you feel comfortable with and perhaps they can be contrasting in that perhaps one is a little bit more sensitive and one perhaps less so.

So maybe your cheek,

Your inner thigh,

Your forearm,

Your belly,

The tops of your feet,

Whatever you'd like.

So taking this first item I'm going to have you just take that item to whatever spot you've chosen to start with and be super super light almost tickly just barely touching the surface of your skin.

Just barely touching the surface of your skin just noticing what that feels like just observing and then bringing in perhaps a little firmer touch perhaps stroking back and forth or making a circle and just again observing that comparing it to the first touch you offered and then finally taking that same object in that same spot and applying firm pressure and just holding it there for a breath or two.

Good and then lastly just a little bit of a bounce so bringing that item off your skin and then back on a few times and again just observing just noticing offered this spot on your body now a few different ways of receiving touch.

So just noticing what feels pleasurable,

Enjoyable,

What feels maybe more neutral enjoyable,

What feels maybe more neutral and what feels maybe not so comfortable.

There's no right or wrong here and then we're going to take that same item and we're going to move to the second spot that you've chosen on your body and we're going to go through these same steps again.

So we'll start with that really really gentle light touch just barely touching the surface of the skin.

You might get goosebumps,

It might feel a little tingly and then firming up that pressure a bit perhaps stroking back and forth or making circles and again just noticing and now you get to compare both the types of pressure and sensation you're offering in this space but also how this space compares to the other spot where you just were on your body.

Good so just continuing to notice sensation and just notice anything and everything that's coming up for you as you do so and then we're going to move into a firm touch here so holding that object on the spot with some firm pressure for a breath or two.

Good and then finally we'll take that object and bounce it off the skin a couple of times so just taking it off and on a few times.

Good so we're going to have you put that first object down and then I'm going to have you grab the second item and we're going to repeat those steps so going to the first spot on your body again but now with our new item we're going to offer ourselves a different touch and sensation experience so starting with that gentle light super light pressure just observing and noticing.

Good and then firming up that pressure a little bit perhaps moving that item Good and then firming up that pressure a little bit perhaps moving that item back and forth on the skin or making circles.

Good and then firming up that pressure and holding that item firmly up against your skin for a breath or two.

Good and then finally that bounce so bringing it off the skin and then back on a few times and again you can vary the pressure just noticing what's happening for you here.

So we're all just curious this is just being able to observe and sense and perhaps there's some things that you expect and other things that might be surprising.

And this is how we get to learn about different parts of our body and we get to learn about the types of pressure the types of sensory experiences the types of materials all of these different things so we're just getting more information about our body.

Good so you're going to keep that second item and you're going to move to the second spot on your body and then we're Good so you're going to keep that second item and you're going to move to the second spot on your body and we will again repeat these steps so starting with that gentle gentle light pressure just barely touching the skin.

Okay just mindful and curious and then firming up that pressure a bit perhaps that rubbing or stroking back and forth maybe circles Good and then applying firm pressure holding that item firmly against your skin for a breath or two.

Good and then taking that item and bouncing it off of your skin Good so now we get to just again notice what feels different in this spot from item one to item two and also what feels different between the two spots so you might be learning a little bit more about your body as we go here.

So now we're going to choose that third item that you choose and we're going to move to the third spot on your body and we're going to move to the third spot on So now we're going to choose that third item that you have selected for this exercise and come back to that first spot on your body and we'll go through these steps one more time.

So starting with that super light gentle barely touching the skin Good and then firming up pressure a bit starting to come more into a medium kind of pressure maybe stroking back and forth or making circles Good and then applying firm pressure so holding that item against your skin taking a couple breaths just noticing Good and then we're going to find that bounce so taking it off the skin and on a few times again you can play around with speed and pressure here Good all right so we're going to take that third item and we're going to move to the second spot on your body one more time through so starting with that super light gentle touch barely touching the skin Good noticing what's different between where you just were and where you are now perhaps what's different about where you've been different items different spots Good and then firming up that pressure a bit starting to perhaps rub back and forth or make circles on the skin Good and then finding firm pressure holding that item against your skin finding your breath here Good and then finding that bounce bringing it off the skin and back on Beautiful All right so when you're ready you can put that last item down and then I want you to just take a couple nice slow deep breaths into the belly just tuning into where your body is now noticing perhaps leftover sensations from different spots different items Impressions that are perhaps forming preferences likes and dislikes So thanking yourself for taking this time to do a bit of touch exploration for yourself today knowing that you can come back to this kind of activity again and again choosing different spots on your body and then coming back to this kind of activity today knowing that you can come back to this kind of activity again and again choosing different spots on your body different items you can also substitute the experience with smell or taste and you can make this exercise increasingly sensual if you'd like to all in service of being able to learn and explore the entire landscape of your body and all the little messages and secrets that it might hold that you get to uncover as you take the time to listen and learn one nice final deep breath maybe a stretch placing your hands on your heart and sending gratitude to yourself thank you so much for joining me for this exercise today