Somatic Meditation Practice

Let's find a comfortable position here and I would really recommend lying down if you are new to this practice.

So get yourself comfortable,

Set yourself up well,

Making sure that you're nice and warm.

And then notice your environment.

Do you need to turn off the lights?

Maybe placing something over your eyes.

And then allow yourself to begin turning your attention inward.

Allowing everything that happened before this,

Everything that's coming after,

To take a back seat.

And you could be doing a million other things right now but you've chosen to carve the space out of your day because we know we don't have the time,

We have to make the time for things like this.

And maybe that'll begin the process of feeling gratitude and giving yourself grace and compassion during this experience.

There's no way to do this incorrectly.

A meditation practice isn't about stopping anything from happening.

It's not about forcing your experience.

We're taking this time to check in with ourselves and tune our attention inward so that we begin to cultivate a relationship with what's already present,

With what's already there.

Notice where your body is in space here.

From the tips of your toes all the way up through the legs,

The center of your body,

Your pelvis,

Your solar plexus,

The center of your chest,

And your arms,

Your shoulders,

Your head.

Notice all the parts of your body that are making contact with whatever surface is underneath you,

Maybe a bed,

The ground,

Props.

Even begin to notice all the parts of you that are making contact with your clothes,

Maybe the hair against your skin.

And then tuning into the sounds in your space,

Anything that you can hear.

Notice anything you can smell.

Tuning into your sense of taste.

And then whether you have your eyes open or closed,

Notice what you can see here.

If you have your eyes open,

Maybe there's something in your space that resonates with you in this moment.

If you have your eyes closed,

Maybe there's a certain color or shape or a memory or someone's face that comes to mind.

Honing in and tapping into each sense here.

Tapping into each sense here.

This is a tool that we use to allow ourselves to ground and to feel more present and aware of our bodies and our experience.

It's also a really great way to create memories.

If you're ever in a situation or a moment that you want to keep with you,

Tap into your senses and notice what those are and the experience that you're having and you're more likely to remember.

We spend so much of our days filled with distractions,

With dopamine hits,

With doing and moving,

Creating,

Being productive,

Working.

Giving ourselves the space and time to unwind from that is very important for our overall well-being.

Whenever we carve out space for a practice or a practice or an activity,

Space for a practice like this,

We're allowing the body to return back to homeostasis,

To return back to its natural patterns,

Natural rhythm,

Where we're able to rest,

To digest,

To be at ease.

And from that place,

We're able to make better decisions for ourselves,

For our lives.

We become more aware of our reactions and in turn our relationships.

And how we move day to day.

So even though it doesn't look like we are doing much from the outside,

By pausing and allowing ourselves to be,

It's a process of rewiring our brains.

Our brains.

It's a process that is crucial to creating any kind of change in our lives and for ourselves.

And maybe there's a sense of gratitude there that you showed up for this,

That you showed up for yourself.

There's nothing here that you have to do.

There's no role you have to play.

We're tapping into our essence and allowing ourselves to be.

Notice the sensations in your body.

Are you holding tension in any specific areas?

And most times by noticing these areas,

They respond by relaxing a bit.

And if you haven't already,

Bring attention to the space around you.

Around and below your navel.

Maybe it's helpful to place your hands here.

Begin to tune into the feeling of your breath.

Noticing its temperature,

Its pace.

Allowing the breath to move in and down towards this part of you.

So that you're filling yourself up from bottom all the way to the top,

To the center of your chest,

Your heart space.

And every time you exhale,

Releasing your air,

Beginning to let go.

At the center of your chest,

And it moves all the way down through the belly.

And there's this slight engagement of your navel towards your spine,

Which allows all of your air to be released.

And that sets you up for the next slow and steady breath in.

Again,

Filling yourself up from bottom to top.

And then ask yourself,

What are you here to replenish?

What have you arrived into this space with,

Into this moment with?

What sensations are present for you in this moment?

What emotions are present for you in this moment?

If ever you're feeling overwhelmed by your experience,

You can always use the support of your hands,

Your hands on your belly,

Your hands on your navel,

You can always use the support of your hands.

You can open your eyes if they're closed,

And look around the space that you're in.

And maybe there's something in your space that allows you to,

To ground and to feel safe.

What would happen if you connect with the part of yourself that is observing the thoughts that you're having?

That's observing the sensations and the emotions that you're experiencing.

As if you were a bird perched on a branch on a tree,

Looking towards the street and noticing the cars pass and stop,

Linger,

And maybe they go faster,

Maybe there's some cars that go slower.

And maybe adapting this,

This example to your thoughts and the sensations,

The emotions.

What would it be like to connect with the part of you that is observing your experience?

Without trying to change anything,

Without trying to control anything,

And without trying to necessarily stop any of it.

Notice what's happening in your shoulders and in your face.

Unclenching your jaw,

Softening the space between your eyebrows,

Relaxing the space around your eyes,

And allowing the head to be heavy here.

Maybe there's a deeper breath that wants to happen.

If your mind is moving at a pace that is beyond your comfort,

Begin to elongate your exhales,

Making them longer than your inhales.

Making them longer than your inhales.

Allowing all the breath to be released with every exhale.

And begin to notice the space between breaths,

The space after the inhales,

The space after every exhale.

And only do that if it,

If it's feeling supportive.

Everything that I'm offering in this experience,

In this time together,

Is just that,

It's an offering.

And if something at any point doesn't feel good for you,

Know that you have the power to,

To stop,

To shift positions,

To move.

And again,

There's no wrong way to practice meditation.

On your next breath in,

Fill yourself all the way up.

And open mouth,

Exhale all of your air.

And again,

Breathe in from bottom to top.

And big exhale,

Releasing all of your air.

Let's take one more together.

Inhale,

Biggest one yet.

Open mouth,

Exhale,

Let that go.

Find a pace that is comfortable,

Manageable,

Easeful.

Notice if you can be any amount more comfortable in the position that you're in.

Notice where you are in space again here.

Bringing some movements to your wrists and ankles.

Maybe interlacing your fingers and stretching up overhead and towards the back of your space.

Pointing the toes,

Extending the legs.

Reaching through the heels,

Getting nice and long.

Or maybe you prefer to bring the knees in towards your chest and give yourself a big hug.

Maybe rocking gently side to side.

And when you're ready,

Roll on over onto your left hand side.

And when you feel ready,

You'll slowly come on up,

Coming into a seated position.

Observe and notice the effects of your practice.

Sit up well.

From the base of your spine all the way up through the crown of your head.

Relaxing the shoulders,

Chin is parallel to the ground.

And let's take a final breath together here.

Inhale,

Big inhale.

Exhale,

Big exhale.

And let's take a final breath together here.

Inhale,

And big exhale.

Blink your eyes open.

Look around your space.

Noticing anything that catches your eyes.

Hopefully feeling a sense of gratitude here for yourself,

For each other,

For this practice.

I'll see you next time.