Close your eyes and direct your attention towards your body.
The purpose of this exercise is to explore sensations, instead of avoiding them.
Focus on your breathing.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Now, try to expand your attention and notice all kinds of sensations in your body.
When you feel ready, try to direct your attention towards a difficulty in your life,
something that you’re going through right now, nothing major or traumatic,
but something you don’t mind exploring for a while:
perhaps an argument or a misunderstanding,
something unresolved or unpleasant.
If there’s nothing like that going on at the moment,
maybe you can think about something that has happened to you in the past.
Bring your attention to your body
and explore any sensation or emotion that comes with these thoughts about your difficulty.
Notice how the sensations change from moment to moment.
Sometimes they are stronger, sometimes weaker.
Try to focus on the part of the body where the sensations are strongest.
Try to experience them with kindness and curiosity.
Just observe.
If you want to, you can tell yourself, “it’s okay”,
“it’s okay to feel this way”.
Breathe with the sensations, let them be just as they are,
without trying to change them.
Let your breathing help you.
Imagine that you breathe in from this part of the body
where sensations are strongest
and breathe out from it on the outbreath.
If you notice that the sensations are too strong
or that you’re getting caught up in thoughts,
try to direct your full attention towards your breathing for a while.
Now, end this exercise by directing your full attention on your breathing.
Let go of your difficulty and focus on your breathing.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Try to explore sensations and feelings
as often as possible during the rest of the day.
Remember, your breathing is always there to help you.
When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes
and return to your session.