Head-to-Body

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, lying down or standing. If it feels okay to do so, you can allow your eyes to close. And we'll take one deep breath together to settle in breathing. In through the nose.

And out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to soften. Letting the shoulders be at ease. And allowing the belly and the hands to relax. You can let your breath settle back into its natural rhythm.

And with each exhale, just feel yourself sinking a little more deeply into your body, allowing your body to be heavy, grounded. And allowing yourself to feel your body, specifically the movement in the belly right now. So if you want to place one hand on your belly to feel that more vividly, you may. And just see if you can follow that soft rhythm as the belly inflates on an inhale. And deflates on an exhale.

Each time, the mind wanders, gently bringing it back to the breath. I'll give you a couple of minutes in silence to practice. In this meditation we're exploring stepping out of our heads and into our bodies. So we started to do this with just feeling the breath. And notice how it's feeling the breath, not thinking about it, not imagining it, but really feeling it.

We can do this with any part of the body. Maybe notice if you can feel where your seat meets the chair or cushion, or floor. Or if you're standing, where the feet are pressed against the floor. And it might be a subtle sensation, you might hardly notice it. Let's see if you can direct your attention there and feel that quality of grounded-ness, of being anchored to something.

As you notice the thoughts arise, we're practicing observing those and then coming back into the body. And notice if there is any other strong sensation in the body. In the face and the back, the legs. You can guide your attention there and practice feeling what it's like to have a body, non-judgmentally, not trying to make it better or different. Just simply experiencing what is sensation like.

Let's now zoom out so that we're aware of our entire body resting in space. So maybe noticing the air on our skin. Or feeling the outline of our body. Let's take one more deep breath together. In through the nose.

Out through the mouth. And when you're ready, you can allow your eyes to open. So good job. This meditation might seem basic, but learning to connect to the body is a huge asset in day-to-day life, especially when we're caught in our thoughts. As you go about your day practice, reconnecting to it.

The feet on the floor, feeling your shoulders, feeling the breath in your belly. Thank you for your practice and take care.