One of the many things that massage therapists offer clients is an opportunity to slow down and simply notice how they feel. As an instructor, I offer the same thing to students in a different form: meditation.
Here's one way to do a meditation session. Get in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Notice a point in your great toe. Feel the way it feels without trying to assign a label to it. If judgments or feelings come up, simply notice those. Notice a point between the bones of the foot. Pick a point inside your shinbone. Continue throughout the body in this manner (neither lingering nor rushing), noticing your body sensations, emotions and judgments.
If you find yourself thinking you're doing it wrong, simply notice that and return your attention to the exercise. Typical areas to consider are inside muscles, bones, tissues (including glands) and organs. It's often profound to consider points inside the heart, lung, liver, stomach, eyeball, brain, etc. That which we do not communicate we often store in our bodies.
A few things will help maximize the benefits:
- Use an alarm if there are time constraints.
- Turn the telephone ringer off.
- Get a note pad and pencil to take notes. If you think "Uh oh, I really need to pay the light bill," jot it on the note pad and resume the meditation. It'll still be there when you're done.
- During the meditation, instead of judging your efforts, simply redirect your awareness to your objective: noticing. A typical conversation might be, "Ah man, I'm being so judgmental! Oh, I just had the thought I'm being so judgmental." May you have many nice experiences.