1-MINUTE PROMPT:
Close your eyes and check in with your body. Start with the top of your head and scan down to your toes. Check for places where you’re holding tension. What’s your posture or pose like? Where are your muscles relaxed or contracted? Write about your current state.
5-MINUTE PROMPT:
You’re an extraterrestrial who’s been dropped into the human body you now inhabit. Wiggle around a little bit. Flex and stretch. Looking at your body from the point of view of an outsider, compose a letter to your alien family back home telling them how you’re getting along in this new “suit.”
10-MINUTE PROMPT:
Your body has its own terrain, and you can map it like a cartographer. Check in with it now. Where can you still feel an old wound? Where can you feel a lightness of being? What is the quality of your skin? How open is your heart? Imagine your body as a map that holds many unique areas of interest, from the spot on your face where a loved one kissed you, to that dry patch of skin that never goes away. Write about the actual and symbolic topography of this familiar terrain.
20-MINUTE PROMPT:
You’ve been asked to give a “State of the Union” speech about your body at a doctor’s conference. Notice where you feel aches, pains, injuries, or illness. Talk about what policies, procedures, and/or practices you might put in place in the coming year. Think about how your appearance may have changed too. If there’s enough time, include reactions to your speech and questions from the crowd.