Here’s a follow-up to this week’s post. What is this Bottom Up-Top Down Scan about, anyway? Microwave Meditation’s co-author, Jon, was asking me what benefit is derived from this practice. So rather than limit it to just my experience, I’m throwing the question out to you all. Whether you’ve practiced this kind of body scan meditation just a few days, or over the course of months or years, tell us: Why do it? What has happened for you with the body scan?
~Margaret
Standing…breathing… noticing sensations…
Here’s a valuable skill for landing squarely in the present moment, one that you can employ just about anytime. I teach it as part of a fantastic 8-week mindfulness meditation course called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. In the class we call it the Body Scan. For you working folks, let’s call it the Bottom Up-Top Down Scan. It can be done anytime, anywhere, in any position, for any length of time. Here’s how it goes:
You can begin by taking one or two full, maybe even delicious breaths. See if you can enjoy these breaths in some way. Now continue by bringing your attention to your feet and toes, contacting the physical sensations in this area of your body. Don’t worry about what you find, how strong it is, or whether you find no sensation at all. Right now it’s just time to notice what’s there. Pressure? Pain? Warmth? Tingling? It’s all there to be taken in, without needing to label what you find good or bad. Proceed up through the ankles, then calves, knees and so on, just observing what you feel for sensations, on the skin’s surface and also inside your body. No need to worry if you become distracted by thoughts or sounds; just as you notice this has happened, come back to the last place you can remember scanning and proceed from there. Continue right up through the pelvis, abdomen, back and chest. Notice sensation in the hands, wrists, etc., ending with the shoulders, neck and finally head. Once this is done, sweep a little faster back down your body, ending with your feet again. You can sweep up and down one or two more times, if you care to. Finally, sense the body overall and notice the after-effects of having scanned.
The amount of time you spend can be widely variable. In our class, we spend a long time on it: 45 minutes each day, lying quietly awake! On the other hand, you can easily accomplish this while standing in line at the bank or grocery store, in the 90 seconds you have. Basically, give it the time you can, whatever you have, in whatever position you’re in. It can really help to get a feel for the scan if you practice it reclining and put some time into it at first. For example, when you wake up, you could stretch a bit to rustle up enough alertness, and then spend 10 minutes doing the scan. Making it a daily act at some recurring juncture is a very good idea. Over time, the scan becomes richer with information, the critical sensory data you need to navigate your way through each day with less tension and more physical freedom. Enjoy!
I caught myself the other day saying “Have a great meeting!” to a colleague, as we parted ways. This was a sincere gesture on my part, a well-wishing for the work day. She looked at me like I had gone absolutely battty. Friends! Is this what we’ve come to? Is it true, with this particular form of engagement at work we call “meeting,” that it’s inconceivable to have a good time? I’m asking you to look into this.
I’m not interested in having you force a particular experience. Nor is this a suggestion that any given meeting has only one quality to it. I simply invite you, throughout this week as you partake of any meetings you happen to have, to ask yourself the following: What kind of time am I having?
Let this be a quick kind of check-in. No need to make anything more of it, just simply note a one- or two-word answer that captures the essence of a given “meeting moment.” If you can, come back after a day or two and give us your results. What do you discover, with this experiment? Does the “great meeting” exist?
~Margaret
When it shows up in Harvard Business Review, maybe there’s something to this…
I’m referring to a recent article outlining the potential made available in the workplace through the practice of mindfulness. Genentech began this effort more than 6 years ago, and they report the benefits continuing to grow. I’ve left you a link to an HBR article about this below, and encourage you to read further there. And, just having spent 5 days at the Scientific Conference at the Center for Mindfulness, UMass Medical School, I can tell you that interest in mindfulness in the workplace is HOT. Because one way or another, we all have work to do. So what better place to develop clarity, emotional intelligence, focus, inner fortitude, and compassion?
Here’s one of Genentech’s gems. It’s called the 3-Center Check In. It’s based on the fact that most of us are operating under the incomplete assumption that thought alone will get us through. To get all of your resources in play, there’s a lot more information you need access to. Put simply, you’ll need to invite body sensations and feelings into the picture. For many of you, that’s going to sound strange, maybe off-putting. Still, try the following 3-Center exercise a few times this week and see what comes of it. Here’s how:
Beginning with thought, ask yourself, What am I thinking right now? and pause, letting yourself become aware of the content, message, tone without engaging with any of it. Stay with this for a few breaths. Maintain an allowing attitude, with no need to judge or manage anything you observe. Next, ask, What am I feeling right now?, and pause, letting yourself feel what’s in your heart. Stay with this for a few breaths, as a companion to whatever you find. Now, ask, What am I feeling right now? and open your awareness to your whole body, all the physical sensations, surface and interior. Pause, letting yourself be aware without needing to change or fix anything.
This whole exercise can take about a minute, or less if that’s all you have. Genentech’s meditation teacher/consultant calls this the “gateway drug” to mindfulness, without having to call it meditation at all. It’s a simple, efficient way to call all your resources together, for the work ahead. Check in to the three centers–mind, heart, body–as often as possible. You can do it multiple times a day. You can do it anytime, anywhere. You can try it to see what effect it has on your day, your week. Try it!
Now, here’s the link to the Genentech story. Enjoy!
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/developing_mindful_leaders.html
Are you aware of your sense of sight?
Something lovely to gaze at, in case you need an extra incentive to answer this week's question.
This seems like a strange question, perhaps. The answer can feel like, well, of course I’m aware. But stay with this. Read the following three-part experiment, then try each part before proceeding to the next.
Find something to lay your eyes on. Let it be something rather benign, not too compelling. Now, as you take this view in, bring awareness to your sense of vision. Notice that you are in the process of seeing. Take this notion in. (Stop here and do this.)
Now begin to notice how seeing can actually have a variety of qualities. There is depth of field, and a range of focus from wide to pinpoint, as with a camera. There is direction and speed. There is the very musculature responsible for these capabilities. And beyond the simple mechanical functions that a camera possesses, there are conscious characteristics. There is a range of intensity with seeing. There is energy, a little or a lot, going into the very act. What else? (Stop again, and do this. Look around, try a few of these out to see what they are like.)
Can you notice, continuing this exploration for a bit, whether this all is taking place independent of anything cognitive happening, prior to analyzing, deciphering, labeling or evaluating?
What is seeing, and why bother noticing it like this? What is it like to pay attention to it as described, for a little while?
~Margaret
Have you had the chance to experience this “coming home” meditation? I’m interested in hearing about the very specific, moment-by-moment experience of this. What happens in the musculoskeletal realm? In the neural? Cardiovascular, respiratory? How about mood, attitude and/or intention?
How does the world appear, when you finish and release the instructions? Anything happen to your relationship to your companions, surroundings, the whole kit and kaboodle?
Good or bad, what happens for you when you turn attention to the array of physical sensations? Is there anything valuable about doing this as a practice?
Thanks to all who left their observations over the week. ~Margaret
Who else to go to but Bob Vila for the quintessential home?
Do you know that sense you get, when you’re away from the familiar, and you feel off, even uncomfortable? What would it be like, to have something so close by and familiar that you could always feel at home?
Here’s an essential meditation technique to try. Let’s call it “at home in my body.” You can try this right now, with just a minute or two.
Begin by taking a breath and re-arranging yourself a bit, to be the most comfortable you can. If you’re standing, re-balance your weight equally on both feet. If you’re sitting, adjust yourself so that you have both feet on the floor, and your shoulders balanced over your hips. Do whatever is needed to balance yourself in an easy, upright way.
Now start bringing attention to whatever sensations in your body you can feel. To learn how to do this, it can help to close your eyes the first few times you try. Just sense, from the inside, what you can feel going on in your physical body. You might find pressures where you are contacting the chair or floor. You may notice movements due to shifting, breathing or even your heart beating. You may feel the texture or tightness of clothing on your skin, or varying air temperatures.
It’s not important what you find. You may notice very little at first. You may find more physical discomfort than you expected. Just stay curious and notice what you can sense. This isn’t thinking about body sensation. It’s more direct than that; it’s simply awareness of body sensation.
After a minute or so, let the practice go, and notice what’s happening for you now. Capture the effect for yourself, of being at home in your own body. What do you notice?
~Margaret
Family members we can’t pick, but friends, we can. And if we choose them, they must reflect something about us. So ask yourself this: What quality do all my good friends have in common?
Thanks to Paul Keller, via Flickr Creative commons .
See what this says about you, and friendship.
~ Jon
Watching golf on TV is not my all-time-favorite thing to do, but have you ever watched it? There’s the action itself, on the course, and then there’s the voice of some commentator in a studio somewhere. This person is framing what they see, remembering past triumphs or failures, predicting various results in the future. The voice chatters away, having no effect on the action itself.
(in a hushed voice) "...he lines up the putt"
This is an interesting metaphor. Have you noticed anything like this, in relating to your own mind? Do hear an inner commentator reshaping what you see taking place, or even more subtle, is your inner commentator reshaping what you see without your even hearing that voice?
Commentators interpret. For just a moment, make note of an interpretation. Use any moment you like from today or yesterday — a moment when you applied a certain coloration to someone’s words or some office news you heard.
Now, rather than take that interpretation as gospel truth, ask yourself, is it the only possible statement? Does that interpretation result in certain attitudes or opinions? Does it draw your attention toward some people or events and away from others? Does it act like the camera on the golf course, directing your attention to the green when it could just as easily have focused on the golfer’s expression?
Bring awareness to the inner commentator. That’s today’s invitation.
~Margaret
Sangudo via Flickr Creative Commons
We live in a goal and achievement oriented society. This is how we go places and make things. Great.
Most of us will set some sort of goals for ourselves. Many more of us will have goals set for us by the powers above or by the conditions we find ourselves in.
For a moment, set aside the goals that are imposed on you and think about the ones you set for yourself. Pause and ask yourself these three questions:
These are some of the acid questions to assess your goals. Each one might take you down a rabbit hole that lasts more than three minutes. Take your time. You can put your thoughts on pause and revisit them later. The point of this Thought Starter is to put your goals through a rigorous reality check. And speaking of reality, we assume that your goal is realistic and not, for example, a dream of winning the lottery or the companion wish — having been born to fabulously wealthy parents; both are equally likely to come to fruition.
One final thought: If you answer these questions and your goal falls short, do what common sense dictates.
~Jon
Microwave Meditations 