Purpose:

The purpose of this tool is to help your young adults get in touch with how they are feeling in their body and to say ‘hello’ to themselves. 

We can all get caught up in our thoughts and the busy-ness of every day, so much so that we lose touch with our bodies. 

Taking even a few moments to check in with yourself and become aware of how you’re feeling in your body can be an incredibly powerful way to come back into the present moment and give yourself some much needed attention.

Description:

Ask your Thriver sit comfortably. (They can also lie down if that option is available to them and they want to.) Invite your Thriver to close their eyes or, if they prefer to keep their eyes open, to lower their gaze towards the floor.

Before you begin the body check-in, please tell your Thriver that if they feel uncomfortable at any point in the exercise, they are absolutely free to say so and you can stop the exercise immediately. (Please see the note at the end of this section.)

The first thing you want to ask your Thriver to become aware of is their breath. They don’t have to do anything to their breath - they don’t have to breathe faster or slower - they simply have to notice their breath. They can notice where the breath moves in and out of the nose, or they can follow the in and out (if they are sitting) or rise and fall (if they are lying down) of their abdomen.

Invite your Thriver to bring their awareness to their feet. What do they notice there? How do their feet feel? Are there any sensations in particular that they are experiencing in their feet? What else do they notice? An image? A color? Do their feet have a ‘message’ for them or something they want to say?

Move slowly up the body to the ankles, calves, knees, thighs and pelvic area, asking your Thriver to simply notice what they notice along the way.

Continue up the torso to the chest, throat and finally the top of the head.

Come back down the head to the shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms, wrists and hands.

The entire time you are simply asking your Thriver to bring their awareness to each area in their body, simply noticing what they notice.

You can also invite your Thriver to notice any specific organs in their body - lungs, heart, liver etc. - if you feel they are open and have the time for a longer check-in.

At the end of the check-in, ask your Thriver what they noticed. The point of asking them what they noticed is not to have them change it in any way. All they have to ‘do’ is notice what’s going on in their body.

What you can do, if there is a particular area of their body where they are feeling notable sensations or perceive images or color, is to ask them to gently focus on that area. What may actually happen is that as your Thriver is bringing his or her attention to that area, a change will naturally occur. There may be a shift in the sensations your Thriver is feeling or a change in color or imagery. Whatever it is, let it be. It’s all good!

Finally, if your Thriver would like to, invite him or her to say ‘hello’ to any parts of their body that they want to or that they feel needs a gentle ‘hello’. This can be a very powerful way of bringing loving kindness to yourself without focusing on the ‘need’ to love yourself or any lack of love your Thriver may feel.

When you have completed the exercise, gently have your Thriver open their eyes or slowly bring their gaze to the wider room and surroundings.

Ask your Thriver if there is anything else they want to discuss and if yes, let them guide you in the conversation and what they want to share.

(*Important note: If your young adult has experienced any instances of any physical or sexual abuse or trauma, then this exercise may trigger memories of the trauma as the young adult focuses on specific areas   of their body. The Thriver is in the ‘driving seat’, so please encourage them to speak up at any time if anything makes them uncomfortable and above all, remind them that they are safe if they do get triggered.)

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