Episode 1 - Dod at ein Coed - Coming to our Senses

Session 1: Meeting the feetThis first session invites you to ‘meet the feet’. Very often our attention is with our thoughts. This is an opportunity to place the attention quite deliberately back in the body and to explore the world around us through the soles of our feet.You can do this by listening to the podcast or by following the potted guidance in the invitation below. You might like to try inside with the recording first and then outside...The birdsong at the beginning and end of this recording is from a garden backing on to the Carneddau as the sun rose over Moel Faban.Invitation 1: ‘Meeting the feet’Standing (or sitting) with the feet placed on the ground, taking a deeper breath...Letting the body and mind settle as best you can...perhaps even a long sigh...Next, taking your attention to the soles of your feet...Simply noticing where the weight falls...heels, toes...? Where is there no pressure?Tuning into textures and sensations beneath the feet - what's here...? Perhaps softness of a rug or carpet if you're inside, squidge of grass or hardness of a slate path if you re outside...Taking a step or two and being curious about the changing sensations and textures in the different parts of the feet.What's this footstep like...? Noticing the feel of things through the soles of the feet as you explore, as if for the very first time...Mindfulness myth buster: Mindfulness must be practiced slowlyMindfulness doesn't have to be practiced slowly. We can practice mindful walking or running, exploring sensations of air whooshing past or the sound of the feet landing. Sometimes it can help to start by taking a pause more slowly and deliberately, noticing sensations in some detail at first.The next session will have sounds from a different part of the Carneddau and a mindfulness practice about exploring the breath as a place to anchor the attention.