Tara Brach - Meditation: Basic Body Scan (2017-12-28)

Episode Date: December 28, 2017

Meditation: Basic Body and Breath Scan – (2017-12-28) – from the first morning of the IMCW 2017 New Year retreat, Tara offers an introductory meditation with a body scan, bringing focus to the breath, sounds, then resting in awareness.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. As part of fully arriving in presence, you might let the awareness gently scan through your body. It helps to feel the area of the eyes and consciously soften the eyes. You might sense a smiling into the eyes,

letting the outer corners be. be lifted up a little. The brow smooth, slight smile at the mouth, jaw unhinged, feeling the aliveness and sensation inside the mouth, the tongue relaxed, feeling down to the root of the tongue, feeling the sensation spreading through the face. You might sense a smile spreading through the heart. and just feel the aliveness in the whole region of the chest. So you're not covering over but making space for what's here, allowing the shoulders to fall away from the neck. I'm feeling from the inside out,

the aliveness inside the shoulders. And if you notice tension or tightness, just letting it float in awareness. allowing the hands to rest in an easy and effortless way. You might explore softening the hands and feeling from the inside out the aliveness that's there. Seeing if you notice tingling or vibrating, pulsing, just as a cup can be filled with water,

this whole body can be filled with awareness, letting the chest be open and scanning down, Feeling the belly from the inside out, letting this next breath be received in a softening belly. This breath, and then this one, and again, feeling the belly from the inside out, sensing the aliveness. Similar way scanning to include the pelvic region.

Again, from the inside out, feeling the life that's here. Where of the length, the volume of your legs, feeling the feet, wherever there's pressure or warmth where you're contacting the floor, whatever you're sitting on, feet touching each other. And from the inside out, the vibrating, the tingling, the aliveness that's there. Gently widening the lens now to sense this whole body as a field of sensation. Just letting everything happen.

relaxing back into that openness that can receive this whole dance of sensation. With that open receptivity, you might sense the particular sensations of the movement of the breath, receptive and open, letting the breath be just as it is, as if you could listen to it and feel it in a very intimate, allowing way, letting your practice be very simple as we begin together, sensing this life breath, this field of sensation, and in the background, that alert inner stillness, the presence. It's really the very essence of what we are. And when there's a recognition, the mind has drifted.

The practice is simply to relax back again into this field of sensation, aliveness right here, moment to moment. You might notice where your attention is and you can re-chuse presence in any moment. Sometimes it's helpful to re-relax through the body, just scanning gently, noticing where tensions collected and softening some. Re-laxing the heart. A gentle and clear attention to what's right here. In these last couple of minutes, re-chewing presence or relaxed attentiveness. As a way of closing the meditation,

a simple way of closing, you might feel this life that's right here inside you and in some way offer some kindness, bringing some care to this being that's right here. and just notice what happens. And then sensing that care as wide open, edgeless, inclusive, feeling all those that are here and all beings and from that place of open-heartedness,

just offering whatever blessing resonates in this moment.