Day 38 Minding the Body
Learning to pay attention to our first gift
Today’s devotional is about mindfulness of the body. What was the body scan practice like for you? What other practices help you to cultivate awareness of your body?
Resources
Below you’ll find guided body scan meditations of varying lengths:
Dr. Chanequa, “Brief Body Scan” (22min; available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, & Spotify)
Manoj Dias “Wisdom of the Body” (7min; available on Insight Timer)
Kristin Neff “Compassionate Body Scan” (23min; available on Insight Timer)
Christiane Wolfe “A 35-Minute Guided Body Scan Meditation” (34min; available on Insight Timer)
Patrick Brody “MBSR Body Scan” (43min; available on Insight Timer)
The Declaration of Forgiveness from the liturgy of last night’s midweek Lenten Service reminded me of yesterday‘s practice.
“… Loosen your grip, that you may be more tightly held, more warmly comforted, and more tenderly nourished. Your stony heart will soften like the river’s frozen mouth. Your stiff neck will relax as you accept God’s love, allowing you to see more of the world around you…”
When I did the body scan practice today I learned how tired my body is. I usually enjoy body scans - they help me connect to my body and reground myself to the present. But today I could not stay awake for more than a minute as I was listening to the meditation. So I am going to try to get better sleep in the next couple days and do the body scan again this weekend.