Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1358392
calm, and open to discovery, and meditation allows us to experience our own truth like a wellspring rising up from the inside out. Meditation is not reserved for enlightened, holy, or sacred people, and it is not hard. Meditation is not about stopping thoughts. You don't have to do it for a long time to get benefi ts, and you need zero religious or spiritual beliefs to practice it. Meditation is simply an activity that sustains our attention and/or broadens our consciousness. Meditation is personally experienced as an expanded awareness of our self and our relationships with others, the universe, and the present moment, which is embodied in moments when time fl ies, when you feel energized by a connection, or when you're feeling immersed in what you're up to. You might experience this mindfulness while walking in nature, playing with your kids, washing dishes, or making dinner. And for many of us, mindfulness is experienced during a bodywork session. A regular meditation practice allows us to let go of unnecessary effort, tension, and resistance in favor of feeling at ease and dropping into the fl ow of life. LET IT GO, LET IT FLOW Many athletes describe the feeling of being in the fl ow of life as a meditative state or "being in the zone." Psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi calls it the "fl ow state," which he describes as occurring "when every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one." 1 The meditation app Headspace describes fl ow state as: "When your whole being is totally focused on something beyond the point of distraction, time slows down, your senses are heightened, you are at one with the task at hand, when action and awareness sync to create an effortless momentum." 2 The beauty of the fl ow state is that it is accessible to everyone. When we're in a fl ow state, we open a space for insight and discovery to emerge. We discover the perfect technique to unlock our clients' pain. We may discover the right words to create closeness with a family member, Perform a Body Scan We invite you to try this body scan as a way to invite your personal truths and body wisdom to emerge. 1. Begin by asking your body whether you'd like to be sitting, standing, lying down, or moving, and also whether you'd like to practice with your eyes open or closed. 2. Follow your body's requests, and begin to locate yourself in the here and now with three luxuriously deep belly breaths. 3. Now bring your attention to your feet. Imagine you can breathe into your feet. Imagine you have X-ray vision, and you can explore your feet in multiple dimensions. Notice any sensations in your feet, including pain, thoughts, or emotions that live there. Acknowledge these sensations and gently breathe into them. 4. Once you feel complete at the feet, bring your attention to your calves and shins and breathe into the elegant engineering of your lower extremity. Send your breath and awareness into all the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and layers of fascia. Notice how it feels to be in your lower legs. 5. Start to move your attention up to your knees and thighs. Visualize infl ating the soft and hard tissues in this area with each in-breath, and imagine the areas defl ating and releasing on each out-breath. Again, notice any feelings, thoughts, or emotions that arise as you circulate your attention here. 6. Now, inhale and exhale your awareness into your pelvic bowl, lower abdomen, and low back for a few cycles. Notice. Feel. And breathe. 7. Circulate your awareness in and around your rib cage, heart, lungs, upper spine, shoulders, arms, hands, and fi ngers. 8. Allow your awareness to permeate in and around your head, neck, and jaw as you feel these areas expanding on the in-breath and softening on the out-breath. 9. After you've traveled a complete journey through your body, scan yourself as a whole, bioelectric, biological masterpiece. Feel yourself vibrating, pulsating, breathing, and connecting to the matrix of life and the world around you. Feel your essence resting in the awareness of your true nature. Optional Variation: If you would enjoy an active version of your body scan, squeeze or tighten your muscles with each inhale in sequence from feet to cranium. And then practice becoming as still and relaxed as possible on each out-breath. Continue giving yourself the gift of extra breaths and time to luxuriate in any newfound awareness, refreshment, and fl ow you've generated during the body scan. If you fall asleep, trust that is exactly what your body and mind needed in the moment. SCAN AND LISTEN "Body Scan Meditation"