Allow for at least 30 minutes. You will need comfortable clothes, a quiet place to move and rest outdoors sitting, and if warm enough, bare feet. Choose a quiet nature environment where there is less human activity.
This Somatic Act can be done as a solo, duet or group.
Begin in a comfortable sitting position
facing in the direction of a landscape view
with many layers
and textures
near and far
with feet touching
the earth.
Sensing the quality of the air
touching you today
moisture or dryness
heat or cold.
Allowing the smells
to gather into your nostrils
and awaken your
bones, tissues, organs, cells.
Noticing your breath…
Allowing time...
As you are ready,
closing your eyes.
Your eyes
open and close
as do flowers
Gently allowing your breath
to soften
Touching and releasing
any hidden tensions
behind the eyes.
Placing the palms of the hands
just over the eyes
for a moment
Sensing the bones of the hands
meeting the bones surrounding the eyes
The soft tissues of the palms
meeting the soft tissues of the eyes
Allowing the pressure, heat and weight
from the palms
to soften and gently
cleanse and release
any hidden tensions
surrounding the eyes.
And then allowing our hands
to rest again
at your sides
with our feet
touching and sensing
the support
of the earth.
With eyes still closed,
sensing the eyes resting
as if floating like water lilies
in their deep pools
Allowing time…
As the eyes are resting
broadening your attention
to the sounds
of your environment:
the rustling of a nearby leaf
the gentle beating of your heart
or the far away drone
or an airplane passing through the sky.
Being with this orchestra of near and far sounds
and how it meets and resonates
inside your body
for a moment.
Allowing time…
And then gently,
allowing the eyes to slowly open
little by little
with more and more light
entering the eyes.
Allowing your eyes to rest in a soft gaze
allowing the breadth of the landscape
to be received by your eyes
The colours, the textures, the movement
being there
nourishing your eyes.
No need to reach or search
for anything
to look at
but the eyes gently receive
what is there.
It’s as if the eyes are seeing
from the back of the skull.
Allowing time…
Allow the sense of touch, sounds and smells
to support your `seeing´.
The touch of earth on your feet
and air on your body.
The sounds near and far.
The smells awakening
your bones, tissues, organs, cells.
Allowing time…
And when it is time,
especially if the eyes are calling
for a further rest,
slowly, little by little,
allowing the eyes to close slowly
with less and less light
entering the eyes.
The eyes resting in their deep pools
The breath unraveling
any extra tension
that might arise in the body
during this process
such as in the jaw or
the back of the neck
or the spine
or the shoulders or legs.
Allowing time to be with
eyes closed again
for a moment.
Sensing the earth
touching your feet
the sounds and smells
nourishing your
whole being.
Allowing time…
Allowing time for the eyes
to find a gentle dance
of slowly opening
and slowly closing.
As the sense of touch, sounds and smells
support your `seeing´
The eyes opening
the eyes closing
as do flowers.
Allowing time…
Noticing your breath…
Sensing how your
experience of touch
shifts
as the eyes open
as the eyes close.
Your feet touching
the earth
the quality of the air
touching you
with moisture or dryness
heat or cold
Or even how your clothing
touches your skin.
Sensing how your
experience of touch
shifts
as the eyes open
as the eyes close.
Allowing time…
And resting again, sitting,
with eyes closed,
feet touching the earth
the air touching our skin
the smells awakening
and the sounds resonating in
our bones, tissues, organs and cells.
Allowing time…