This exercise has 3 basic parts:

• Choose 2 points of the body and “draw a line” between them with focused awareness
• Fill the entire line/path with your awareness
• Allow that line/path to move and express itself however it wishes

Let’s expand those parts

Choose 2 points: it’s best to choose two points on the body that are far away from each other; one point should feel quite comfortable and available, the other should be a bit less available, perhaps even numb or uncomfortable. (I will use the example of the tip of my right ring finger for point A, and the bottom of my left foot for point B.)

Starting with the comfortable point, focus your awareness very directly on a small area. Feel into it, allow it to wake up to itself. Once it can feel itself quite vividly, move to the next area—in my case, the next knuckle of my right ring finger. Once you can feel that quite vividly, move further. Then further. Continue tracing a line through the body from point a to point B, filling each point along the way with awareness and vividness.

If any areas along the path feel unavailable or numb, breathe into them and try to bring them awake.

Continue, bit by bit, until you’ve reached point B.

Fill the entire path with awareness: After you’ve reached point B, retrace the entire path backwards; but this time, don’t leave areas behind once you’ve traced them. Continue including them in your awareness, until the entire path from A to B feels alive and vivid. (If this is difficult, don’t worry: just stay with the largest sections available to you.)

For me, this would mean filling the entire path from my ring finger to the bottom of my foot with awareness, staying with that entire line of my body.

If that’s too difficult on some days, perhaps I divide it into an upper body section and a lower body section and do the last part based on those.

Allow the path to express itself: Here, allow yourself to move, sway, stretch, stand, dance—whatever wants to happen. Sense into this line of awareness you’ve cultivated and allow it to express itself. Does it feel tight? Does it want to stretch? Does it want to twist? To crawl?

If you can’t “tell” what it wants, simply try things out. Attempt different movements and sense into the reaction you get from this line of awareness. Is it enjoying this movement? Is it pulling away from it, hiding from it? Does it want something very similar but with a slight difference? Continue sensing, allowing your body to move and try things.

When the process has finished, stretch yourself out, lie down, and let yourself return to everyday consciousness. Re-enter your day in whatever way feels comfortable and enlivening.