Saturday, November 24, 2012

Body Meditation


First, take your focus and become aware of your breath moving in and out of your belly.  Notice as your belly moves up and down with each breath.  Breathing in and breathing out, breathing in and breathing out.  Just for this moment nothing is more important than your focus and attention on your breath moving in and out of your belly, noticing your belly rise and fall with each and every breath.  Continue to focus on this movement for some time longer allowing yourself to relax in the rhythm of your breath, breathing in and out, in and out, noticing your belly rise, feeling your belly fall.

As you continue to focus on your belly rising and falling, imagine it as a wave and your body an expanse of water.  Relaxing your body even more, let the energy spread from the movement of your belly rising and falling out into your body.  Feel your breath move all the way down to the very tips of your toes, rocking you ever so gently into a deeper state of relaxation.

As you continue this way of breathing begin to allow your awareness to move throughout your entire body.  Starting first at your feet, become aware of how your feet feel.  Are they relaxed, are they squashed in your shoes?  Are they warm or cold?  Just allow yourself to become aware of any sensations or feelings you may be experiencing here at this time without judgement.  There is no right and wrong in the experience, there is only the experience.  You do not have to try and push any feelings away or be afraid of them, you are simply observing, noticing, becoming aware of, and breathing.  Breathing in, and breathing out.  If at any time during this exercise you feel overwhelmed, simply go back to noticing your belly as you breathe in and out, your belly rising and falling with each breath.  Use this as an anchor.

Continue to move your awareness now up from your feet into your legs and hips, into your abdomen, organs, and chest, allowing your awareness to expand with each breath as you go deeper into the experience of your body and yourself, breathing in and breathing out.  Notice what happens as you bring your loving awareness to yourself and any areas of tension / stress.  Notice what happens as you give them space.  As you bring your attention and breath to these areas notice your awareness continuing to expand and open.  Opening with awareness and breath, experiencing greater relaxation and peace, breathing in and breathing out.

Take some time to feel this throughout these areas.  Noticing gently, and breathing.

Allow your awareness to move to your spine, your shoulders and your neck, continuing to breath, just gently noticing, relaxing more with each breath, as your attention softens, gently expanding your awareness, opening your self to new sensations and feelings.  Finally allow your awareness to move to your head and arms, expanding, breathing, being.

Now let your mind move to your heart.  This is an area where we experience love and compassion for others and other things.  It's also an area where we receive and accept love for ourselves.  I would like you to just become aware of this area for a while, noticing any sensations or feelings you may have here as you breath, gently.

Now visualize one thing you would like more of in your life at this time.  It may be peace, or healing.  It may be abundance, joy, or healthy relationships.  Whatever it is, allow yourself to become clear on what you really need at this time.  Now see yourself as already having this.  Allow yourself to feel what it would feel like to have this in your life now...and with each breath, allow that feeling to expand from your heart to your whole body, breathing in and breathing out.  Gently allow each breath to expand this thought, this desire, this feeling into each part of your body and being, until you aren't just thinking about what it is you want, you are it...breathing and knowing, I am ...... Breathing and knowing I am ......

Now when you are ready, gently let yourself become aware of your feet as they rest of the floor, the chair or cushion you are sitting or resting on.  Become aware of the place you are in, knowing that as you do, you are bringing this new sense of awareness, and experience with you.  You are that ...... that you brought into your attention.  As you come back into the present moment, know that you can come back to this feeling, this experience and awareness at any time.  This is not something outside of you, it is you, and the more you focus on it, the more you allow yourself to relax into it, the more you nurture it, and the more you nurture yourself.