Discussion Prompt #1 in Coursera Journal

What did that practice feel like?

Task: upon finishing one of the practices from this module’s meditation lab, take a moment to consider what was particular and special (or terrible!) about that specific practice in that place at that time, and then see whether you can express this to your peers.

I completed the 40 minute body scan exercise. Although I am not new to body scans, this was definitely the longest one I have attempted. I was a little intimidated by the length, because I do not have a good relationship with my body. Well. Scratch that. I don’t have a bad relationship with it, more like I have a non relationship with it! I have spent much of my life disembodied, in a sense, and only recently have begun to recognize that some people actually listen to their bodies on a regular basis. I do not. I don’t realize I’m hungry until a day and a half has gone by without me eating…that sort of thing. So, to sit and try to listen to my body, while not new, is still difficult.

This experience was much more pleasant than I was expecting. I was able to sit with myself and not freak out or zone out. I found that I almost enjoyed being able to see if I could make my breath rush through my body and out my toes or the top of my head. I found it interesting that when he was asking us to have our breath come in through our heads, go out our toes, then come in our toes and go out our heads, I couldn’t do it. It was like there was a barrier at the top of my head that wouldn’t let my breath escape. I think that was an interesting thing to realize and I wonder why that barrier is there and whether others have experienced similar experiences.

Last updated March 30, 2017