Art Soma Meditation 

(10 minutes)

The point of this somatic art meditation is to spend time with yourself, not to make fascinating art.

So, these instructions are just suggestions, do what’s best for you and adapt it to your lifestyle. There are two parts - the somatic practice and the art making. Make both simple, easy, and pleasant for yourself.

Don’t use expensive art materials, it might be psychologically more precious to play and make a mess. Just a few basic tools like pencils, ink pens, or brushes. Limit yourself to 2-3 colours and you’ll discover how much you can make with just those. It can be ink, watercolour, gouache, clay, collage - whatever you already feel comfortable with. If you already have a regular art practice, focus on 1 tool and some new medium you want to explore (it could be photography, video, sculpture, installation, etc.)

If it helps you to visualise certain parts or systems of your body, you can look at some anatomical images of the body part you are connecting to but it’s not necessary. You are your body, there’s already a connection, you just need to put your attention and listen. If at first, the sensing is a bit vague or difficult, it might help to do this somatisation in bed before you get up or while falling asleep. The mind is less active in these transitional states and the body can speak louder.

It might be that you don’t feel a lot straight away. Just pay attention to the small sensations. It’s like learning a new language, more listening always helps. On the other hand, you might also feel emotional or get some memories when touching some parts of the body. That’s normal too.

At first, I’d recommend picking a place in the body where you don’t have a lot of problems or pain, and then gradually moving to a more challenging place. Through the art and listening, you might get more insights into what’s happening in there. And if you have concerns or questions, you can always write to me and ask. I’m happy to support whatever process you are in.

Don’t think too much or judge your drawings - the point is in the process. Finish the work, leave it aside, and come back to it a little later - you might notice some themes or symbols. Writing short notes on each one can also help - just a title, a poem, or a few lines about how you felt that time.

The process of any art-making is the uncovering of our unconscious and making sense of it so that our own body and mind can give us information and answers.