Compassionate Body Scan

A slow gentle compassionate body scan to support awareness of and gratitude for the body. You will be invited to do this meditation sitting or lying down in a safe, quiet place. You will be gently guided to notice and express gratitude for each part of the body and then to rest in awareness of the wonder of this body.

Transcript

As always. I'm going to give you a little while to get comfortable by which we mean really finding your way of being sitting or lying. It's kind of intentional that says, OK, I'm showing up somehow for myself. So finding this quiet and comfortable place now where you can sit or lie down and where you can intentionally give some time to yourself, Shifting in a way from doing to being mode. So as we begin, You might choose what to do with your eyes right now. You might like to keep the eyes open, Perhaps choosing to soften the gaze. You might prefer to close the eyes. So just arriving in a way into this quiet space intentionally carved out for you to pay some attention, To notice and in a way to care for whatever shows up for you. So breathing slowly now noticing the breath and allowing the breath in through the nose and out through the nose. Nice, Slow, Deep, Intentional breaths. Just that simply becoming aware of what is here already. Tuning in in a way to the breath that is always with you. And with the next three slow cycles of breath, Allow each exhale now to be just as long as each in breath or maybe even longer. As you breathe in and out, Begin to feel the energy within and around you settle, Perhaps perhaps into your seat if you're sitting or feeling this energy settle towards the back of your body. If you're lying down, Just noticing and then with open curiosity, Ask the body what is present right here, Right now, As if you are opening yourself to listening to the body. Ask if there's a physical sensation that needs your attention right now. And if there is such a physical sensation someplace in the body, Just taking some time now to zero in on that sensation or that area or that body part. And let that be the sole focus of this meditation. Just noticing, Being aware and bringing some kindly attention to whatever it is in the body that is calling for some care. Otherwise, We'll begin by bringing awareness to the head and to the neck, Expanding attention now into the face, The eyes, The nose, The mouth and ears. See if you might notice a particular sensation in this part of the body, The head, The face and the neck. If there is no particular sensation to be acknowledged here, That's OK, Too. If so, You might take note of any thoughts or emotions that you connect to this sensation, Just in a way noticing what is present with you now as you contemplate the head, Face and neck. So just staying for now in this compassionate body scan with just the head, The face and the neck, Noticing any sensations that are here, Noticing what's present as you contemplate your head, The face and the neck, Perhaps becoming more aware of the eyes or the nose, Or the nose, The mouth or the chin or the jaw. And then with this area of your body in mind, The head, The face and the neck, Just saying softly to yourself now, Made this part of my body be safe and well and free from pain. Made this part of the body be safe. And well, And free from pain. And as you're saying these words, Imagine energy now flowing from your heart to your head, A warm. Healing and loving energy, Then saying silently to yourself, Made this part of my body, The head, Face and neck, Have everything that it needs to be safe and well. Again, As you say these words now, Feel a kind, Loving energy moving from your heart towards your head and then continue with the following wish. May I accept this body part with deep gratitude, Regardless of how it feels right now. As you say the words, Feel them to feel a deep, Deep, Heartfelt gratitude for your head, Your face and all the benefits you receive from your functioning eyes, Ears. Nose, Mouth and throat, And then continue with this final wish. May I extend the same loving kindness to this body part as I do to the most beloved. Bring into mind now, Who do you care for most of all in your life? Who is the recipient of your unconditional love? Sense this type of love. Note how it feels in your body and then extend that love to your own head, Face and neck. Sense that this area of your body has felt and received your wishes. Perhaps smile slightly or otherwise sense what it feels like in the head and neck to have received that loving kindness. And then when you're ready, Dropping the awareness away from the head, Face and neck and into the shoulders, The arms, The wrists and the hands. Just noticing that part of the body, The shoulders, The arms, The wrists and the hands and sending your arms and hands now. These same four wishes. May my shoulders, Arms, Elbows, Wrists and hands be safe be safe and well and free from pain. As you say the words, Feel a loving and kind energy traveling from your heart through your shoulders, Past your elbows and all the way down to your fingertips. Feeling that loving and kind energy and then continuing with the following wish. May this area of my body have everything that it needs to be safe and well. May this part of my body have exercise, Good food, Clean water, And may it also receive this loving and kind energy. May I accept this part of my body, My arms, Hands, Fingers with deep gratitude regardless of how it feels right now. And as you're saying these words, Think of all the ways in which your fingers, Thumbs, Hands, Wrists, Lower and upper arms and shoulders work hard for you every single day. Reflect about the functioning of this body part with love and respect and send more love with this final wish. May I give the same loving kindness to this body part as I do to my most beloved. Understand that all the tiny molecules and parts that make up you and your arms and your hands are the same as those that have built the one you love the most. So extend equally your greatest love to your own shoulders, To your arms and your hands. Just feeling the warmth, The energy flow from your own heart right out to your shoulders, Your arms, Elbows, Wrists and hands, And then shifting your awareness further down the body to your hips, Becoming aware of this part of the body, The hips, The thighs, The legs and the feet, Your entire lower body. Just tuning in right now to this part of the body and noticing what is here right now. Notice if you're connecting with any particular thoughts or emotions to what it is that you notice. No need to change anything at all. Just witnessing it all, Seeing if you might bring a gentle curiosity to whatever is here as you tune into and become aware of the whole lower part of the body and then sending the lower body some good wishes. May this part of my body be safe and well and healthy. And as you say these words, See if you might feel a loving, Warm and healing energy moving downward from your heart, All the way down to the tips of your toes. You might imagine it as a golden light or a warm glow, Leaving your heart now and flowing all the way down the lower body. Hips, Thighs, Legs, Feet, All the way down to the tips of your toes. May this part of my body have everything it needs to be safe and well. As you continue now to send energy from your heart, All the way down to your lower body. Wish for healthy movement, Healthy food, An abundant, Safe water. May I accept my hips, Buttocks, Thighs, Lower legs and feet with deep gratitude, Regardless of how any part of my lower body feels just right now. Recall how your lower body functions now. The benefits, The opportunities your legs and your feet have given you. And as you do feel deep gratitude expanding in your heart. May I give the same loving kindness to my lower body part as I do to my most beloved. Notice the infinite source of love, Kindness and warmth that's present in your heart right now. And see if you might extend that sensation to your lower body, Recognizing even in this small practice that the more you love, You give away, The more love you'll have to give. So maybe focusing on the warm glow or the light in your heart and sending that right down to the lower body and realizing that the more you love and accept, The more love there is. And now bring your awareness back to your toes. So to the body, Perhaps noticing the rib cage, The protector of your heart and your lungs. Notice and see if you might soften the belly. Notice the spine. And as you send this first wish to your torso, Feel it expand outward in every direction from your heart. May this part of my body be safe, Healthy and well. The whole torso, The rib cage, Lungs, Heart, Spine, Belly. May this part of my body be safe, Healthy and well. Feel love and light and heat making its way from the center of your heart towards your chest, Your back and your sides. Feel this kind of energy fill your entire torso with a positive healing sensation. May this part of my body have everything it needs to be safe and well. What does your heart, Your lungs and your belly need? Imagine sending all of those things and see those things being received. Feel it too, Not only noticing, But responding to the needs in this part of the body. May I accept this body part with deep gratitude, Regardless of how it feels right now. Begin to notice the miracle of your breath, Your heartbeat, And all the activity of your inner organs. Notice the miracle that is your spine, Your rib cage, Your lower back and core from which you move and function all day, Every day. See if you can look upon this part of the body and all therein with deep heartfelt awe. May I give the same loving kindness to this body part as I do to the most beloved in thanks, In recognition, Or for no reason at all. Feel your heart opening and pouring loving kindness to every corner of your torso and to every corner of your entire being, Your entire shape, Your entire form. Remember that this loving kindness flows from an unlimited, Infinite source. And as it flows outward, Sense that your body receives your wishes and receives this love. You might imagine it as the warm glow of healing energy emanating from your heart, Illuminating from your heart all around your body now. And this would be a good time to notice any part of the body that's calling for some specific attention, Maybe an ache or a pain or a part of the body you have particular thoughts about or emotions connected with. So if there is such a part for you, Just spending some time now sending that warm glow, That healing energy to just this part of the body, Allowing the whole body now to be soft, Settled, Experiencing the warm glow from the heart, The recognition of how amazing this body is, And the gratitude for what this body does all day, Every day, Front of the neck, Back of the neck, Back of the head, Top of the head, Relax, Forehead, Relax, Eyes and area around the eyes, Relax, Nose, Cheeks, Ears, Relax, Jaw, Relax. If the jaw is tight right now, Seeing if it might drop even a little, Mouth and area around the mouth, Relax. Seeing if a slight smile might even arrive at the mouth, Chin, Relax, Shoulders, Relax. Seeing if the shoulders might drop even a little, Maybe not. Noticing the chest now, Perhaps becoming aware of the slight rise of the chest on the in-breath and the gentle falling back of the chest on the out-breath, Just that. If the mind has been really busy, Absolutely no problem, Great noticing, And then when you're ready, And each time you notice the busy mind, Just very gently and kindly unhooking, And coming back now to the breath in the chest, The slight rise of the chest on the in-breath, And the gentle falling back of the chest on the out-breath. Noticing now again the heart in this part of the body. You might become aware of that warm glow, A certain heat in the heart space. Perhaps you might notice the heartbeat itself, Seeing now if you might breathe in tune with the heart, So that you're breathing right into the heart now, And breathing right out from the heart, And just doing that now for some breaths, Breathing right into the heart space, And then breathing out from the heart space, Watching in a way the gentle rise of the chest on the in-breath, And the falling back of the chest on the out-breath. Now moving the awareness down a little to the belly, And again without any special efforting, Just noticing now this part of the body, Inviting everything here to soften, All the internal organs, Offering them a little space and a little ease, So that everything here in the belly softens even a little. And again you might notice the breath in this part of the body, No special efforting, Just really noticing the slight rise of the belly on the in-breath, And the gentle falling back of the belly on the out-breath, Just that, Watching the breath in the belly in a way, The rise of the belly on the in-breath, And the gentle falling back of the belly on the out-breath, And just doing that now for a couple of breaths, Knowing that each time you become aware of the busy mind, You can just come right back to the breath in the belly, To the rise of the belly on the in-breath, And the gentle falling back of the belly on the out-breath. Now becoming aware of the pelvic girdle, The big bony structure hip to hip, And all the organs contained here in the buttocks, Inviting this whole part of the body to soften, To experience the gratitude we have for this whole area of the body, Inviting a sense of ease and space as we care for this part of the body now, Noticing the weight, The volume, And the length of the legs coming out from the hips all the way down to the knees, And then on down to the ankles and to the feet wherever they're resting, Allowing the whole of the legs and the feet to soften and to rest in awareness of our gratitude for this part of the body, Seeing if there might be a little ease, A little comfort, Or a little space in the legs and the feet, Noticing now the back, Maybe traveling up the back vertebrae by vertebrae, Nice and slowly, Becoming aware of the rib cage, All the organs contained in this part of the body, And inviting real appreciation for the back, The skeleton, The bones and sinew, The organs, Appreciating this part of the body, Inviting a sense of space and ease in the whole back area, And now on to the shoulders, Allowing the shoulders to relax, Noticing the weight and volume of the arms coming out from the shoulders all the way down to the elbows, And on down to the wrists and the hands, In appreciation for this part of the body, The arms and the hands, Inviting everything here to relax, To soften, To know that they are appreciated, So that the whole body now might be aware that we notice, We appreciate, And we are grateful for all that the body does for us, That all bodies are equally worthy of love, That all parts of your body are equally worthy of love, Resting now in the awareness that the love we extend to ourselves is not limited, And with practice, This love may equally be extended to all others, So continuing now to feel the flow of loving-kindness from the center of your heart to every part of the body, Being present to sensations, Emotions, And thoughts, And for the final couple of minutes of this practice, Allowing the breath itself to be noticed and appreciated, Allowing the breath to be soft and gentle, Just noticing its presence, Just expressing appreciation that even when we're not noticing, The breath keeps breathing itself, Breathing life in and around us, So just tuning into this breath now, Noticing it with some curiosity and appreciation, And now becoming aware of air around you, Maybe sensing some air around the face or the head or the feet, Perhaps the hands, Noticing this breathing body in contact with air, Sensations of warmth or coolness, Just noticing where the body ends and the air in contact with the body begins, Now noticing the feet in contact with whatever is supporting them, Maybe a couch, A bed, Or the floor, Becoming aware of other parts of the body that are in contact with whatever is supporting you, Maybe the upper thighs, The buttocks, Some part of the back, Just noticing these points of pressure, Registering any sensations where the body makes contact with whatever is supporting it, And noticing now what has been your experience in this practice, Seeing if you might form a word or a phrase, And giving yourself permission to name the experience as best you can, With some kindness, Gentle curiosity, And non-judgment, No right or wrong, Just noticing what has been here for you, What is your noticing, And then when you're ready and with great care and slowness, Just beginning to move some part of the body, Maybe that's a slight wiggle of a finger or some fingers, Or a toe or some toes, Perhaps it's moving a leg slightly side to side, Scratching an itch, Taking a wee yawn, Or a nice gentle stretch, Just tuning in in a way to what your body would like to do, And then seeing if you might do it nice and slowly, No rush, No hurry, Just allowing the body to gently come back into the space in which you are sitting or lying.