Week 3 — Sensation, Resistance, and the Body

In the first two weeks of this course, you explored awareness itself and the role of thought in stress.

In Week 3, attention shifts to the body.

Many people assume that stress is primarily mental. In reality, stress is often experienced most strongly as physical sensation—tightness, pressure, heat, restlessness, or fatigue.

This week invites you to explore a simple but often overlooked insight:

Sensation itself is usually not the problem.
Resistance to sensation is what intensifies stress.

You will not be asked to relax the body, change sensations, or make discomfort disappear. Instead, you will practice allowing sensation to be felt, while noticing that awareness remains stable and unaffected.

Key Idea for This Week

Sensations arise naturally in the body.

They are not signs of failure, danger, or something going wrong.
They are simply experiences appearing in awareness.

When sensations are resisted—pushed away, tightened against, or mentally argued with—stress increases.

When sensations are allowed, they often change on their own.

Core Practice

Allowing Sensation Fully

The guided practice below explores bodily sensation directly and gently.

If you encounter discomfort, you are always free to shift position or stop the practice. This is an exploration, not a test of endurance.

Guided Audio Script

Begin by settling into a comfortable position.

You may sit or lie down.
Let your body choose what feels supportive.

[pause]

Notice that awareness is already present.

You are aware of sounds.
You are aware of the body.
You are aware of this moment.

[pause]

Now gently bring attention to bodily sensation.

Not to analyze it.
Not to change it.

Just to feel.

[pause]

Notice where sensations are most obvious right now.

Perhaps in the shoulders.
The chest.
The abdomen.
The face.

There is no correct place to focus.

[pause]

Let sensation be exactly as it is.

Notice temperature.
Pressure.
Movement.
Stillness.

Without naming or interpreting.

[pause]

You may notice an urge to adjust, fix, or relax the body.

That urge is not wrong.

For now, simply notice the urge as another sensation or movement in awareness.

[pause]

If you encounter discomfort, see if you can stay with the raw sensation.

Not the story about it.
Not the judgment.

Just the felt experience.

[pause]

Notice that sensations change.

They intensify.
They soften.
They move.

Awareness remains present through all of it.

[pause]

Ask gently, without words:

Is awareness uncomfortable?
Or is discomfort appearing within awareness?

[pause]

Notice any resistance.

Resistance may feel like tightening, bracing, or subtle effort.

See if resistance itself can be felt as sensation.

[pause]

There is no need to force acceptance.

Simply allow sensation and resistance to be present together.

Awareness holds both.

[pause]

Rest here for a few moments.

Feeling the body.
Noticing awareness.
Doing nothing else.

[pause]

When you are ready, gently allow the practice to come to a close.

Notice that sensation continues.
Notice that awareness continues as well.

After the Practice

You may have noticed comfort, discomfort, neutrality, or fluctuation.

You may also have noticed moments of resistance or effort.

All of this is part of the practice.

What matters is not the quality of sensation, but the discovery that:

• sensation arises and changes,
• awareness remains present,
• and resistance often amplifies stress more than sensation itself.

Informal Practice for the Week

Once or twice each day, especially during moments of stress, try the following:

• Pause briefly.
• Bring attention to bodily sensation.
• Allow it to be felt without trying to change it.

You might silently note:

“This is sensation.”

Then let awareness include it fully.

Reflections

You may reflect on one or more of these questions:

• Did allowing sensation change how it felt?
• Was resistance physical, mental, or both?
• Did awareness ever feel threatened by bodily experience?

Important Clarification

This practice does not mean you should ignore pain or physical needs.

If your body needs rest, movement, or medical attention, respond appropriately.

The aim is simply to notice the difference between:

• direct sensation, and
• the stress added by resistance and interpretation.