In celebration of International Women’s Day, we gathered mindfulness practices from some of the powerful women of the mindfulness movement featured in the magazine. Here they share their deep practice with you so you can be inspired not only to sit and practice, but also to rise and act.
1) A 10-Minute Meditation to Cultivate Embodied Awareness
Sebene Selassie
Mindfulness Teacher, Author, and Speaker
“Mindfulness presents the opportunity for us to be more fully present for ourselves, our loved ones, and the earth.”
1. Take a moment to find a comfortable position. You don’t need to be in a particular posture. You can be standing, sitting, or even lying down. The most important thing is that you feel relaxed and alert. Make sure that you have some openness in the front of your body. You can roll your shoulders up and back. Or if you’re lying down, just allow your shoulders to really relax into the floor. You want to have some uprightness or length in your spine without being rigid or stiff. And you want to invite a softness into the face, the jaw, the shoulders, and the belly. This balanced posture of being both relaxed and alert, being both soft and open, is the beginning of our embodied awareness.
2. Notice how the body is feeling in this moment. You don’t need to change anything about the mind, your thoughts, the heart, your emotions, the body, or any sensations. Just simply allow what’s happening to be in your awareness. How does your body feel right now?
3. Feel what’s going on physically or mentally. What sensations are you experiencing? Where may there be tightness or tension in the body? And where is there ease or relaxation? Just notice what’s here. As you continue to settle into this embodied awareness, you can close your eyes if you’d like, or keep them open as you continue to rest your awareness on the body.