Hi there,
My name's Nick and I'll be guiding you through this short body scan meditation.
So find a comfortable spot,
Whether that's seated or laying down,
And work out any last wiggles or movement you may need to take.
And let's settle in.
I invite you to close down the eyes or soften the gaze,
Whichever feels more comfortable for you.
And take a moment to just tune in to your breath.
Feel the rise and the fall as you breathe in and breathe out.
Feel the expansion as you inhale and the gentle contraction as you exhale.
Notice the cool temperature of the air as you breathe in through your nose.
And then,
Notice the change in temperature as you breathe out.
And as you breathe out,
Are you able to notice the subtle sensation of the air on the upper lip?
We're not changing our breath,
We're just observing.
Through the nose,
Let's take a gentle,
Deep breath into the belly,
Feeling it rise.
And then through the mouth,
Let's release a long,
Slow sigh,
Feeling your body soften.
Breathing in,
And then on this exhale,
Allow your face to soften.
Your forehead,
Cheeks,
Jaw,
Tongue,
Everything softens.
We'll take a final inhale together,
Then a second inhale,
Really filling up.
Hold an expansive breath,
And then slowly letting that exhale go and feel your body melt into the ground.
Let's bring your awareness to your feet.
Your feet at the bottom of your body,
Both left and right.
Maybe wiggle all 10 toes.
And then,
If you can,
Bring in some tension into the feet,
Perhaps that's curling the toes under.
Feeling the arches of your feet tighten,
Holding this tension,
Holding.
And then softening the feet and bringing in ease and relaxation.
Relaxation into both feet.
Can you be here?
Moving up to your calves,
Both calves,
Below your knees,
Bringing your attention to your calves,
And then pointing your toes and bringing tension into your calves.
Feel the muscles contract and tighten.
Staying here with this sensation.
And then release and soften,
Bringing full ease into your calves.
And let's stay here for a moment.
Journeying past your knees to your thighs,
Your thighs on both legs.
Can you bring your awareness here fully?
And then,
Are you able to find a way to bring tension into your thighs?
Relax.
Tightening,
Contracting,
And holding for a moment longer.
Can you soften?
Soften the thighs completely.
Feel the thighs relax.
Notice the sensation of ease.
Moving up past your hips and glutes,
Your stomach,
Chest,
And travelling down to both hands.
Both your left and your right hands.
Bringing your full attention here,
And maybe gently wiggle your fingers.
Feel the movement.
And now,
Can you create fists with both hands,
Gripping tightly,
Feeling the tension.
Perhaps feeling your nails gently pressing into your palm.
Focusing on this tension for another breath.
And then,
Softening your hands completely.
Your fingers uncurl.
Your palms relax.
Can you be here with this feeling?
This feeling of relaxation in both hands.
Travelling up past your wrists,
Forearms,
Elbows,
Upper arms,
All the way to your shoulders.
Can you be here fully?
And then,
Can you bring your shoulders up towards your ears,
Shrugging,
Feeling the tension in your shoulders as you hold here for a moment.
Notice.
Be here.
And then,
Dropping the shoulders and bringing full ease and softness into your shoulders.
Melting away from the ears.
Fully relaxed.
Can you be here?
Journeying up the neck,
The back of the head,
The crown of the head.
Moving round to the forehead.
Can you be here completely?
And then,
Can you bring tension into your forehead?
Maybe that's raising the eyebrows.
Or a frown.
And notice the contraction and the tight sensation.
And then,
Relax.
Bring complete softness into the forehead.
Being here fully.
And feeling the ease between the eyebrows.
Moving down past the eyes,
Nose,
Cheeks,
Lips,
Down to the jaw.
Your jaw at the bottom of your face.
Bringing full awareness to your jaw.
Now,
Very gently,
Clench your teeth.
Just enough to feel tension,
Tightness in the jaw.
Noticing.
And then,
Let everything go.
Unclenching the teeth.
Softening the jaw fully.
And maybe,
Even letting the jaw drop and the mouth open slightly.
Full ease and relaxation in the jaw.
Being here.
Take a slow inhale through the nose.
A second sip of air.
And hold.
And then,
Exhale completely.
Feel your body melt into the ground beneath you.
Feeling your full body relax.
You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need.
But if you are ready to come back,
Begin to gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
Maybe a gentle stretch.
Whatever feels nice for you.
And then,
Fluttering the eyes open.
Welcome back.
I hope you enjoyed the practice.
And I'll see you again soon.
Lots of love.
