Whenever I get sick I find it to be a perfect demonstration of how little control I have over my experience. It also directly points to the nature of change and impermanence. One day I’m feeling fine, the next I’m in bed with a box of tissues. These are the teachings our body has to offer.
While co-teaching mindfulness meditation to a small group of middle school students, I asked them to talk about when they feel most out of control, and many of them referred to experiences involving the body. This took me by surprise as I thought they would refer more to emotional experiences but it was their physical experiences that seemed to stand out most for them.
Our body is a wonderful teacher. It gives us the opportunity to become comfortable and familiar with things that are not in our control. It teaches us how to let go, how to accept, and be compassionate towards ourselves. It shows us the changing nature of experience as well as its impermanence. It challenges our sense of “me” and “mine”.
Often we are wrapped up in our mental experience of things. Our thoughts are often in the driver’s seat and the body is forced to sit in the back. Mindfulness meditation calls our attention and awareness to the body. The body grounds us in present because it is always in the present moment. It is the seat of our instinctual knowing (gut instinct) and wisdom of how to live a balanced life (wellbeing).
The following meditation is a Buddhist practice that is taught to help us become more aware of the body as well as challenge our perception of what the body is. In this simple practice, you are asked to observe the characteristics of the four elements in your body. Take your time to explore each element. This can easily be taught to students but be sure to try it out for yourself first to best understand how it works and how to adapt it to the age group you’re working with.
4 Elements Meditation
Sit in a mindful posture; relaxed and alert. Take a few deep breaths to settle yourself into your body. Bring your attention to the breath. We’ll start with the breath to notice the air element. As you breathe in notice the movement it creates within your body; rising and falling, pushing and pulling. Take a few minutes (or as long as you’d like) to notice the breath in this way. You can then notice movement in other areas of the body which might include tingling, vibration, pulsing, and swaying. This is the air element.
Now pay attention to the sensations of your body on the chair or on the floor. Notice the heaviness of the body and the sensations of hardness. Take some time to notice similar sensations in other areas of the body. Notice any stiffness, solidity, roughness, and smoothness. These are manifestations of the earth element.
After spending some time with the earth element, move to sensations of temperature. These are manifestations of the fire element. Notice heat or the lack of heat. Scan the different areas of your body with your attention to notice how the temperature differs, where it’s felt strongly, and where it’s more subtle.
The water element is experienced through wetness or fluidity. Inside the mouth can be a good place to start since we can easily feel the wetness of our saliva. See if you experience wetness or fluidity in other areas of the body as well. Take your time and use your curiosity to explore.
From Kate Janke, Heart-Mind Education Project
Heart-Mind Community Hub 