Show some self love: Soothing 5 min Senses-Meditation

As the effects around the matter of Covid are slowly dissolving and our life feels back to normal, you might feel the pressure to press the accelerator pedal on life and make up for lost time. But, remember, the past years had been intense, and trying to forge ahead in times of uncertainty can lead to feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, stress and burn out. To have the energy and inspiration to hold space for others, it's crucial to look after yourself.

So, this blog post is dedicated to showering yourself in self love by slowing down with our Yoga Teacher and Anatomist Jennilee Toner who guides you through a soothing '5 Senses' meditation drawing on the beauty of Mother Nature.

5-Sense Nature Meditation by Jennilee Toner

Greet Your Day with Awareness and Gratitude with this enlivening 5-Senses Meditation by yoga teacher and anatomist Jennilee Toner. She says:

What a way to start your day - making your way out into nature to sit and be. Taking in all the gifts that the Great Mother has to offer us. The radiant colours, the fragrant aromas and delightful sounds…the feel of the lightest breeze upon the skin. Ahhhhh, such gifts to be aware of and grateful for. Surely there's no better way to start the day?

Begin your 5 Senses Breathing & Meditation

Find yourself in a comfortable seat with an upright spine (you can also practice this standing with feet hips width apart). Allow your hands to be soft and relaxed in your lap, on your knees, or by your sides. With your eyes open (soft gaze) for this meditation, sense your breath moving in and out of your nose. Notice the subtle way it journeys up and down your nasal passageways. Listen for that sweet sound as the breath passes through the throat down into the lungs. Feel the expansion and contraction of the lungs within your ribcage.

Big breath in, big breath out

Sense the activity of the diaphragm pressing down as you inhale, massaging your abdominal organs. And that wonderful heart and lungs massage on the exhale as the diaphragm draws up to meet them. Softening, melt your awareness deep enough inside you that you can even sense your pelvic floor expanding and contracting with each breath cycle. Feel rooted and grounded into this space, on this revolving earth, in this moment, as you continue to breath deep into your pelvic floor. As you tune into the smooth transitions between your in breaths and your out breaths, notice what you see in your environment. Notice any colours of objects or elements in nature around you, the colour of the sky above you, the colour of the leaves on the tress and the flowers in the yard or field, the colour of the ground or grass around and below you. Breath deep and take in all the beauty of nature. Allow your eyes to bath in all this colour and beauty. For a few moments feel your body sitting or standing in all this beauty. Breath deeply into your skin, your muscles and tendons, your bones and ligaments. Breath deeply into your lungs filling and emptying. Breath deeply into the beating of your heart. Notice air, moisture and/or the sun’s warmth on your skin. Breath deeply into where you feel nature touching both your insides and your outsides.

Shift your awareness

Shift your awareness and listen to any sounds around you. Listen for sounds far away and sounds closer to where you are. Listen for sounds of nature - birds calling out to one another, leaves on the trees whispering in the wind, creeks, streams or waves on the shore, and the rocks, grass or sand shifting ever so slightly underneath you. Breath deeply as you become aware of all sounds. Shift your awareness to what you can smell in the environment around you. Breath deeply as you become aware of all scents. Layers of scents from the ground up. Earth, compost, grass, sand, flowers, plants, bark, leaves, rain, etc. Also breathe deeply into any human made scents you can sniff out - barbecue, pies, chlorine from a pool, suntan lotion. Notice all the scents. Open up to receive them all into your being. For a few more moments utilize all your senses - breathe deeply into all that you see, feel, hear, smell and also what you might taste (if not tasting now what you tasted before and is still lingering). Utilizing all your senses to be so utterly present in the here and now. When you are ready, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Seal in this experience. So much gratitude for all that has been seen, heard, smelt, felt, and possibly tasted. When you are ready, open your eyes gently and transition easefully and mindfully into the next phase of your day. As much as you can remember, return to your breath and sense the world around you: all the colours, the sounds, the scents, the tastes, and the feels that make up this spectacular Lila, this fantastic play of life we get to be a part of. Enjoy. Namaste. Jennilee Toner is the author of The Perfect Chaturanga: A Comprehensive Guide to the Human Body Through the Practice of Vinyasa Yoga (illustrated by the amazingly talented and focused Suzanne Martin). Check out her anatomy articles and videos here.

We'd love to feature more teachers from our community in our upcoming blog posts, so if you feel inspired to write a post, share a project or an online class, please drop us a line. As yoga teachers, and yoga lovers, we possess a beautiful gift to help support and nurture ourselves, and others.