The elements of life are not just around us – they are also within us. Sean Fargo leads a body awareness practices that focuses on sensing into the elements. What can you observe by sensing into the earth, air, water, and fire within the body?
Closing the eyes gently or looking downward to limit visual distractions. Just offering space to go inward and to open the sensations of the body... Just noticing how we're breathing in this moment...
Sensing into the points of contact of the body on the ground and the seat... The pressure of the body, whatever it's touching. From that downward pull of gravity...
Noticing whatever the feet may be touching. Your bottom, what your hands may be touching. All of these touch points...
Opening to the fullness of the body... Sensations of the skin... All over the body... Our largest organ... Alive with us, wrapping our body... Opening of the sensations, the layers of skin all around us... And sensing into what it's like to be in this body right now and welcoming ourselves home...
Sensing into flesh around the body, flesh of the arms, forearms... Or the legs... Or your core... The sense of curiosity for how this flesh feels in this moment... Dropping any stories we might have, just exploring how the flesh feels in the body...
Shifting our awareness to bones... What does our skeleton feel like... Perhaps we can feel density with the bones, certain bones are easier to sense into, around the feet, the legs... Pelvic area, all the bones of the spine... This cage of ribs around our lungs and heart... The skull, exploring the sensations of bones...
Now shifting our awareness to sensing into liquid of the body. Sensing into blood circulating throughout our body... Pulsing With each beat of the heart... Saliva, moisture of the eyes, urine in the bladder, liquid in the stomach, fluid in the joints. Opening to the liquid in the body...
Shifting our awareness to the temperatures of the body... The element of fire... Noticing the different temperatures of the feet, legs, your core, your heart, hands and head... Where is there a sense of warmth and a lack of warmth?
Does the temperature change if we bring this gentle awareness to these places...? What does warmth actually feel like into the body...? Opening with wonder to the sensations of temperature itself without preconceived notions, judgment or agenda. Opening to temperature in the body...
Shifting our awareness to the element of air in the body as we breathe in and out... Can we feel this air moving through the nostrils or the mouth? Down the throat and the neck into the lungs...
Noticing how it moves through the body... Nourishing the body. New air coming in all the time... How does this body feel to be breathing right here...?
So as we're opening to the fullness of the body, considering some of these elements of skin, flesh, bone, liquid, temperature, and air. The fullness of the body, so much we can explore... May our bodies be safe... May our bodies be healthy... May our bodies live with ease...
You're taking a deep breath or two... Maybe wiggling the fingers or shoulders or toes and slowly opening your eyes whenever you're ready.
