Purpose: How to listen to your body.

In this section, you will practice listening and recording what your body is telling you. It is your constant companion. Obvious, but for much of life we take it for granted or force it to conform to our idea of what it should be. When we get sick and as we age, we begin to understand that our thoughts and our actions are not ultimately in control of the bodily process. What if we stop right now and listen to what it has to say? The body doesn’t lie. The body also knows how much we can handle.

Inspiration

The body, in its own wisdom and with its own impeccable timing, gives rise to some manifestation of unresolved karma in the form of a physical sensation, a release of energy, an injury, an illness, a dream, the powerful upsurge of emotion, a charged though or memory, or perhaps surprisingly, an event apparently from the “outside” world, such as a chance human encounter or a “natural” event.”

Touching Enlightenment, Finding Realization in the Body, Reginald A. Ray, Sounds True, Inc., 2008, page 133. 

Meditation 

Have your writing material handy. You’ll be alternating between meditating and writing.   Close your eyes.  Focus on your breath.  Follow your inhale and follow your exhale.  At the end of each exhale, intentionally relax.  Start at the top of your head. Then move down your body.  Relax your eyebrows, mouth, jaw, your neck, shoulders, arms, hands.  Every part of your body. Chest, belly, legs, feet.  Don’t rush. Inhale. Exhale. Relax.  Take your time.