"Just Notice" Body Sensations Guide
This is a resource for my students at the Meditation Facilitation Training Course. More information about the course can be found at riootoya.com/meditation.
Posture Instructions:
Sit in any meditative position. If you are on a chair place your feet on the floor, hands on your lap, and arms hanging loose at either side of the body.
Notice that your back is straight yet relaxed. If possible, not leaning on the back of the seat. Open the back of your neck by tilting the chin downwards slightly. Try to drop any tension from your facial muscles and jaw. You may close your eyes now. Or you can keep them open focusing them on the floor or a point that makes them drop and feel relaxed.
Breathing instructions:
Take a deep inhale and a long slow exhale. And once again. Now focus on your natural breathing. Focus on the natural outgoing and ongoing breathing, without changing anything.
[Note to the guide: Allow a few breaths for the practitioner/s to notice]
Awareness of the Sensations:
Now bring your awareness to your right hand.
How do you know your hand is there without moving it, touching it, or looking at it.
Feel the right hand as it is, without having to change anything.
Now intensify your awareness of the and feel the space occupied by the hand.
Awareness of the inner space of the hand only...Good.
Now, Just noticing and without having to change anything...
Please Bring your awareness to the space inside the right-hand thumb.
Now go to the space inside the index finger.
Now explore the sensations inside the middle finger.
Now the ring finger...And now the small finger. ...Good
Now explore the space between the palm and the back of your hand.
Now open your awareness once again to the inner space of the whole hand.
Now let's welcome the sensations on the surface of your hand. Start noticing the sensations on the palm of the hand. And maybe also on the tip of the fingers.
Now welcome the sensations on the back of your hand. And maybe any other part of your hand. ...Good
Note to the guide: This can be practiced with any body part. We can explore body parts that we don't often consider (e.g. the back of the arm or elbow). We can also explore the inner space and outer space of the nose and jump to a breath awareness practice before ending.
Ending in
Now you can return your awareness to your natural breathing for a moment.
Just for a few breaths, notice the natural ingoing and outgoing breath.
Now bring your awareness to your sitting posture. Slowly we can end the practice by gently opening the eyes, and maybe stretching a little.
Great, welcome back.
Note to the guide: We can also come out of meditation by noticing the sounds in the space where we are.