Hello. My name is Ania and I live in Bristol. I have created an invitation for you. This will be the last invitation of the In-Body project. We are all so grateful for your company in this journey.
This last invitation is called Feeling clouds (outwards and inwards). All you need is comfortable clothes to move in, with enough layers to keep you warm.
The best place to experience this is outdoors, on a dry day, at any time you like. Your local park or your garden would be lovely options. However, if you don’t have an easily accessible outdoor space, doing it from your home will also work well.
There are two parts to this invitation; if you can, do them immediately one after the other. This will take around 15 minutes. Once you are in your preferred location and ready to start, press play to the audio file or read the instructions.
I hope you enjoy this one little journey with In-body.
Thank you again.
I’ll meet you there.
Part one: Feeling clouds (outwards)
- Find a comfortable place to lay down or to sit. If you are outdoors maybe you’d like to find a patch of grass, or a tree to rest your back on, or a quiet little corner somewhere. If you’re indoors, maybe you’d like to set up close to an open window, so you can get some of the sounds, temperature or lines from the outside into your senses. Wherever you are, take a few moments to get comfortable and find stillness.
- Remaining still, notice the world around you.What can you smell?
What can you feel?
What can you hear?
- Now, for a moment, let’s imagine the space above you is made of clouds. Above you, the space is made of the most delicate, soft and light mass of cotton. It moves, especially if there is wind, but it does so gently and slowly. You may not really notice the clouds moving.
- If you’re outside or near a window and working visually, you may even catch a glimpse of clouds. But this is not necessary. Wherever you are, just imagine the space above you is made of clouds. Take some time to imagine.
- Whenever you are ready, lift one arm up in the air, towards the clouds that you are sensing. Maybe you’re sensing these clouds with your vision, maybe you’re following a sound, maybe you’re just feeling those clouds above you with your imagination. In any case, reach out towards them. Feel the touch of the air.
- Now, choose a cloud from the space above you.
- Whenever you are ready, raise your arm towards it and point your little finger. Using your little finger like a pencil, begin to trace the edges of this cloud, until you’ve traced its entire silhouette. Do it slowly. Try not to miss the details, the textures and small shapes of this soft, light mass.
- Keep drawing the shape of the cloud until you’ve traced its entire silhouette. Do this several times. If you are working visually, you may want to close your eyes, after the first or second time, and continue drawing with your eyes closed.
- Each drawing might be slightly different. Remember, clouds move slowly and gently, especially if there’s wind, so you may not know how the shape of these clouds will be by the end. Maybe your hand also moves unexpectedly every once in a while, especially if there’s wind, just like the branches of a tree may move, as they reach outwards towards the sky.
- If your arm gets tired, you can always change sides. Lift your other little finger, and start drawing. If you’ve spent long enough with one cloud, you may choose to trace another. If you want more time with this cloud, trace it a few more times.
- Do this, until you feel you know the moving cloud above you, the same way your hands may know the face of a loved one, even after they’ve changed facial expressions or tilted their head. Keep tracing until you know this cloud, somehow. And when you do, drop your arm, and rest.
Part two: Feeling clouds (inwards)
- Let go of the clouds above you. Stay still and let your body rest. If you’re working visually, close your eyes.
- Now try noticing the parts of your body in contact with the floor. It might be helpful to scan your body, starting from your feet and going all the way up to your head. If you are sitting down, you could also notice the parts of your body resting against the chair, the tree or the wall you’re resting on, as a continuation of the floor.
- If your whole body was a landscape, the surfaces in contact with the floor would be your ground. So let’s imagine: this is the ground of the landscape of your body. And above the ground, the shape of the rest of your body floats, like a cloud. The rest of your body is the most delicate, soft, light mass. It moves gently and slowly, especially when you breathe.
- Bring your attention to your breath. Feel how the cloud of your body expands outwards with your inhale. Feel how the cloud of your body softens inwards with your exhale.
- Keep following your breath.
- Feel how the cloud of your body expands outwards with your inhale. Feel how the cloud of your body softens inwards with your exhale.
- Maybe this is all you want to do. Keep feeling the cloud of your body move slowly and gently with your breath.
- Maybe, you’d like to feel the landscape of your body differently. If so, whenever you’re ready, you can find a different position to be in, scan your body again, find the ground of the landscape of your body, and then notice the clouds that you’re forming now.
- Do this for as long as you please.
- Whenever you feel ready to stop, allow yourself some transitional time, to reconnect with the outside world. Clouds move slowly and gently, so allow yourself time. Maybe wiggle your fingers and toes, maybe do a few blinks to open your eyes, maybe sit and look around.
- If you ever need some lightness and softness, you can always come back here, to the moving clouds that you often call body. Just remember that, as you bring yourself back and move onwards to your day.
Thank you for joining me here. Sending you warmth and gratitude,
See you soon.
