Focusing Exercise

Find a time and place where you can be for a while without being disturbed. About half an hour is ideal, but even a few minutes can be valuable and better than not doing anything.

Sit in a comfortable position in your chair with your back straight. Place your feet squarely on the floor. Gently close your eyes and settle yourself.

Take three deep breaths and let them out with a sigh, releasing any tension you may be holding.

1. Allow yourself to centre yourself, bringing your awareness gently to the centre of your body (from your throat down to your abdomen)

2. You now have a choice to use this time to work on something you consciously select or you can allow your body to show what wants your attention right now. To do the latter, simply ask your body if there is something that it wants you to spend time with and notice what sensations are present in your body.

3. Be aware of anything, such as tightness, heaviness, sadness, peacefulness, even pain. What “quality” word describes fits with it? It may be quite vague at this stage, but don’t try to over analyse it at this stage. Just be aware and notice without going into your head.

[If there is more than one sensation, find the strongest. Check with your body that this is the priority for today. If you get a sense that it isn’t, go to the next sensation and check with your body until you find the one that is the priority.]

It is important to acknowledge the sensation. Take some time to say “hello” to that sensation. Let it know that you are aware of it and intend to spend time with it and to listen to it.

4. Next, try and find a better description of the sense/feeling. Is there a word, phrase or image that you can find to describe it e.g. a hard rock in the middle of stomach, or a knife sticking into my chest?

The description of the quality of the feeling may include a location, size, shape, colour, image, or gesture.

5. Spend some time getting this description and keep checking back with the feeling in your body that the description that you are coming up with isthe you are coming up is the right fit. Notice the physical sensation you get when the description best matches the felt sense in your body.

6. Spend some time with this feeling now. Adopt an attitude of friendly curiosity and respect. Take some time to sense how it feels from its point of view. See if it has something it wants to tell you.

7. You can now ask the felt sense (the innate wisdom of your body) some questions. You may like to ask it:
a. if it has an emotional quality;
b. What gets it so _____________? (Fill in appropriate emotion or description word.)
c. When did it first feel like this?
d. What it needs to feel ok?
e. What needs to happen? Or, is there a step to take in the right direction?
f. To show you how “all OK” would feel.

Be patient with you body, allowing time for it to answer rather than your head. If this is the first time you’ve done anything like this, your body may take a bit of time to trust that you are listening to it.

8. Welcome any information you receive without judging, editing or analysing it. Let it unfold. Often in this process, you will get an “ah ha” moment or insight. Your body will tell you something that makes total sense that you wouldn’t have thought of, or connected previously.

Notice how the felt sense is now. You may experience a change in it or a physical release. Ask whether it is OK for you to stop and leave it now. If there is more to be done, can you find a way to “mark” where you are now?

9. Thank your body and the felt sense for the information it has given you. Let it know that you will be back, if there is more to be done.

Tip: If at any stage you are meeting resistance, try focusing on the resistance instead. If you are really finding it difficult, come and see me and I can assist by taking you through the focusing work.