Today I'm offering a body scan,
Really a deep rest body scan for those of us who are busy doing doing doing.
So you can do this sitting or lying down.
But just making sure that you're in a space that you can really let go undisturbed,
Nice and comfortable.
And just taking your time to find that spot.
Lovely,
Lovely.
Can you hear me?
Okay.
Yeah,
Good.
Okay,
So we're going to take this nice and slow.
So the first thing is to just notice the body,
Wherever it is right now.
Just not forcing the body to be in any particular way,
But just noticing how everything is.
Maybe taking that one extra minute to find the comfort spot.
And let the body arrive.
To make sure there's no strain in holding any particular way.
Just allowing the body to feel supported.
Whether you're sitting or lying down.
And then to begin this practice,
I invite you to take a deep breath in.
Just filling the air,
Filling the lungs now with air.
And then slowly,
Slowly exhaling.
And doing that again now.
A nice,
Long,
Slow in-breath.
Filling the lungs with air.
And then on the nice,
Slow exhale,
Releasing any tension or worries that just might be uppermost in your mind right now.
Allow the breath in a way to become your guide,
Leading you now into a state of deep rest and relaxation.
So breathing in nice and long and slow,
Filling the lungs with maximum air.
And then on a nice,
Slow out-breath,
Releasing any tension or worries.
Letting go of the immediate concerns.
Letting the breath be a guide,
Leading you into a deep state of rest and relaxation.
So letting the breath now return to its normal rhythm and allowing the body to sink and settle and let go even a little.
Inviting you now to become aware of your feet.
Just noticing your feet in contact with whatever is supporting them.
Awareness of the feet.
Notice any sensations in your toes,
The arches of your feet,
Any sensations in the soles of your feet.
Noticing now if there are any areas of tightness,
Warmth,
Coolness or discomfort in the feet.
What is here right now in the feet?
And now as you inhale,
Send a gentle wave of relaxation to your feet.
Allowing any tension or fatigue in the feet to dissolve with each breath out.
Breathing in relaxation for the feet and on the out-breath,
Allowing any tension or fatigue in the feet to simply dissolve.
Breathing in relaxation to the feet and on the out-breath,
Releasing any fatigue or tension from the feet.
Taking a moment now to cultivate a sense of gratitude for the feet.
Noticing their constant support throughout your day.
And now shifting your awareness to the lower legs,
Just to the calves.
And again,
Seeing if you might notice any sensations that are right here right now in the lower legs,
Just in the calf area.
Maybe for you,
There are sensations of heaviness or lightness,
Warmth or coolness.
Just without any special efforting,
Simply noticing the lower part of the legs,
The calves and what is here right now.
With each breath now,
Invite a sense of softening and release in this part of the lower legs.
Seeing if you might allow any tension or tightness to simply melt away.
Paying the attention now upwards towards the knees and the thighs.
And taking some time to notice any sensations in this part of the legs,
The knees and the thighs.
Maybe some tingling,
Some warmth or the feeling of contact with the surface beneath you,
Whatever is supporting the legs.
Just nice and gently noticing what is here in the knees and the thighs.
As you inhale now,
Imagine a gentle stream of warmth and relaxation,
Blowing through your hips all the way down to the thighs and the knees.
Breathing into the upper legs and the knees and sending them a comforting stream of relaxation and acceptance.
Allow any holding patterns or discomfort to dissolve now from the upper legs and the knees with each out breath.
Breathing in a comforting stream of relaxation and acceptance to the knees and the upper legs.
And on each out breath,
Allowing any holding patterns or discomfort to simply dissolve.
Shifting the awareness now further up to the hips and the pelvis,
That whole great bony structure hip to hip and all the organs contained in this part of the body.
The center of stability and grounding.
So taking some care to really notice this part of the body now,
The whole pelvic area,
Registering any sensations of tightness or holding and seeing if you might invite a little softness into this part of the body.
As you inhale now,
Imagine a gentle stream of warmth and relaxation,
Blowing through your hips and soothing any discomfort or tension.
And as you exhale,
Releasing any stress or worries,
Simply allowing them to melt away.
So that the whole pelvic girdle,
All the organs contained in this part of the body have a little more ease,
A little more space and are a little softer.
As on each exhale,
You release now any stress or worries,
Just allowing them to melt away.
Shifting the attention now to your abdomen and to your lower back,
To this part of the body that is really the location of your personal power and your emotional wellbeing.
So just taking a moment to tune in and be present to this part of your body,
The lower abdomen and the lower back.
And as you tune into this part of the body,
See if you might notice any sensations that are present just now in this area of the body.
You might notice some sensations of tightness or holding,
Or perhaps for you,
It's relaxation.
So just noticing what's here,
The abdomen and the lower back.
And then with each breath,
I want you to visualize now your breath expanding and nurturing this space.
Bringing to this whole part of the abdomen and the lower back,
A sense of ease and of release.
So with each in-breath,
Visualizing your breath itself expanding and nurturing this space,
Bringing to this part of the body,
A sense of ease and release.
And on each exhale from this part of the body,
Allowing any stress or tension to simply dissipate and dissolve into the earth.
This part of the body that is the center of personal power and emotional wellbeing.
Having some care and attention and nurturing just now.
And now inviting you to shift your awareness up the body to your chest and to the heart center.
You might even become aware of the physical organ,
The heart that is contained in this part of the body.
For you,
You might notice sensations of warmth around the physical organ of the heart.
You might even become aware of the heartbeat itself.
But in whatever way,
Tuning into this part of the body,
The chest,
The heart space.
Noticing now the rise and the fall of your breath in the chest area.
The slight rise of the chest on the in-breath and the gentle falling back of the chest with each out-breath.
Just that,
Tuning into and being part of the breath coming in and out of the chest area.
The slight rise of the chest on the in-breath and the gentle falling back of the chest on the out-breath.
As best you can,
Focusing your whole attention on this heart space,
This chest area.
And if the mind has become busy or emotions are tugging,
Absolutely no problem.
Great noticing.
And using this opportunity then,
When you're ready,
To kindly invite the attention right back just to the chest area,
Just to the heart space and tuning in again to the slight rise of the chest on the in-breath and the gentle falling back of the chest on each out-breath.
Bring to mind now any emotions or any feelings that are present within you right now.
Just allowing yourself to notice in a way what the emotional tone might be right now.
And see if you can meet whatever is here with tenderness and compassion.
Just offering yourself this space now to fully experience and release any emotional burdens that might be weighing you down just right here,
Right now.
So noticing,
Meeting with compassion,
And then gently letting go of emotional burdens.
That are here right now.
You might find it helpful to move from an awareness of the emotions,
Back to noticing the breath coming in and out of the chest area.
And then back to the emotions.
Just giving yourself a break if you need it from any intensity.
And seeing in noticing what's here,
Might you be gentle and kind in whatever noticing.
Allowing your breath to embrace whatever is here with compassion and tenderness.
Then on each out-breath to begin to let go and release any emotional burdens that have come to the fore.
And then when you are ready.
In your own time,
Shifting the awareness now slowly up further.
To focus on your shoulders.
A part of the body where many women carry stress and tension.
So with the same gentleness.
Noticing what is here in the shoulders just right now.
Maybe for you in the shoulders,
There's some tightness or heaviness.
Or perhaps for you right now,
The shoulders are soft and relaxed.
So in a way in this body scan,
We're practicing noticing what is here.
And then seeing if we might notice whatever is here in the shoulders right now.
With kindness and compassion.
Meeting whatever is here with curiosity rather than any judgment.
So just for this next minute.
Practice noticing what is here in the shoulders for you right now.
And seeing how you might meet this with kindness and curiosity.
With each breath now,
I want you to imagine your breath flowing right into your shoulders.
Melting away any knots or any tightness.
So your very breath is breathing in ease and space and softness right into the shoulder area.
And then on each out breath.
Imagining the breath releasing,
Letting go.
Dissolving any tightness or tension in the shoulders.
So breathing into the shoulders,
Some ease and space and softness.
And breathing out from the shoulders,
Releasing,
Letting go,
Even a little.
And now taking a moment to let the shoulders drop even a little.
Just moving a little away from the ears and dropping down.
And inviting the shoulders to rest.
As you shift your attention now to your arms.
Noticing the weight,
The volume and the length of the arms as they come out from the shoulders.
All the way down to the elbows.
And on down to the fingertips.
Noticing any sensations in the arms and the hands.
With each breath now,
Imagine a gentle flow of relaxation coursing through your arms.
Nurturing and soothing every cell and muscle.
Allow your arms to feel weightless and at ease.
Fully supported by the space around you.
Letting the arms be soft and limp.
Noticing now the hands themselves.
Becoming aware of wherever the hands are resting.
Any sensations of contact with whatever is supporting the hands right now.
Contact with cloth or chair or leg.
And noticing the hands themselves.
Becoming aware of the back of the hands,
The palm of the hands.
Noticing each finger and the thumbs.
Maybe even becoming aware of the spaces between the fingers and the thumbs on each hand.
Now seeing if you might notice any sensations within the hands themselves.
Maybe sensations of tingling.
Or warmth.
Or moisture.
Becoming aware now of sensations around the hands.
Maybe sensations of contact with air.
Inviting the hands now to soften and to rest.
And taking a moment to acknowledge the work that the hands do every single day.
So allowing them now to simply rest and be.
Inviting softness and relaxation into the whole of the hand area.
And then when you are ready,
Letting go of the arms and the hands in awareness.
And seeing if you might shift the focus of your attention all the way up to your neck.
Just simply becoming aware of that part of the body.
The narrow neck.
Which all day,
Every day,
Holds up the heavy head.
So giving this neck a little time and attention now.
Becoming aware of any sensations here.
Seeing if you might need to move your neck in any way.
In order to allow it to have some ease.
Less strain.
To rest in a way.
Noticing now the back of the head.
Imagine your very breath massaging the back of the head.
So that the whole of the back of the head has been soothed and softened.
As it's massaged by the breath.
Now up to the crown of the head.
Again,
Imagining your very breath massaging the crown of the head.
Soothing,
Softening the whole scalp area.
Creating some ease and some space.
And now the forehead.
Seeing if you might bring your awareness just to the forehead.
And if there are lines on the forehead right now.
Inviting them to soften even a little.
And now the eyes and the areas around the eyes.
Just inviting everything here to relax and to have some ease.
The eyes and the area around the eyes.
Noticing the nose,
The cheeks,
The ears and the jaw.
If the jaw is tight right now,
Seeing if the jaw might drop even a little.
Becoming aware of the mouth.
Just right now,
As best you can.
Bringing all of the focus on the mouth and the area around the mouth.
Seeing if the mouth might form a slight smile.
Even a very little smile.
Become aware of the tongue.
Seeing if the tongue might drop so that it fills the whole lower palate.
And inviting the tongue then to relax all the way down to the root.
So the whole of the tongue is relaxed.
So bringing into awareness now the whole of the face.
And allowing everything in the face to soften,
To have more ease.
To rest.
So everything in the whole body might have some attention now.
A little ease and a little space.
But just to be sure,
We're going to travel around the body now.
Inviting rest.
So right foot,
Relax.
Right leg up to the knee,
Up to the hip,
Relax.
Left foot,
Relax.
Left leg up to the knee and on up to the hip,
Relax.
Buttocks,
Relax.
Pelvic area,
Relax.
Abdomen,
Lower back,
Relax.
Belly,
Chest,
Relax.
Middle,
Upper back,
Relax.
Shoulders,
Relax.
Right arm down to the elbow and the wrist and the right hand,
Relax.
Left arm and the shoulder to the left elbow and the left wrist and the left hand,
Relax.
Front of the neck,
Back of the neck,
Relax.
Back of the head,
Whole scalp,
Relax.
Whole face,
Relax.
So now that the body has some ease,
Inviting the breath itself to quieten.
So just letting the breath be gentle and slow and quiet so that you're hardly breathing at all.
Just resting and being.
And inviting the mind too now to have some rest so that whatever is happening in the mind,
Inviting yourself to notice thinking like you might watch the clouds in the sky.
Just thoughts arising,
Having a moment and moving on.
No need to get involved really,
Just noticing and letting the thoughts move on.
So taking this time now to experience your whole body as an integrated and harmonious system.
Just being.
Feeling the warmth and the relaxation flowing through every inch of your body,
Enveloping you right now in a sense of deep peace and tranquility.
All is well.
Allowing this relaxation to nourish and to restore you on every level,
Physically,
Mentally,
Emotionally and spiritually.
Just resting in a way,
Resting in awareness,
Allowing your body to absorb the benefits of being noticed and acknowledged.
And so to bring this practice to a close,
I'm going to invite three deep,
Intentional breaths now.
Breathing in,
Nice and long and slow.
And then breathing out,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Releasing as much air as possible.
Once again,
Breathing in,
Nice and long and slow,
Filling the belly with maximum air.
And then a nice,
Long,
Slow out-breath.
Once again,
Breathing in,
Nice and long and slow,
Filling that belly with maximum air.
And then a nice,
Long,
Slow out-breath,
Releasing,
Letting go.
And then letting the breath return to its own rhythm.
Beginning to notice now whatever is supporting the body,
Bed or chair.
And beginning to notice any sensations of air around you.
Maybe air in contact with the face or the feet or the hands.
Just noticing sensations of warmth or coolness as air comes into contact.
When you're ready before moving at all,
You might open the eyes or lift the gaze and just very gently take in the space in which you are sitting or lying.
Just noticing where you are.
Maybe a very familiar space.
So just a little gentle noticing of where you are.
And then when you're ready,
Letting the eyes rest on one thing in the room.
Just allowing something to come into focus and spending a minute just noticing that.
A picture,
A plant,
A book.
Just noticing something.
And then when your body begins to want to move,
Seeing if you might do this very slowly.
So perhaps you might begin by just wiggling some fingers or toes.
Or moving your face or neck or shoulders.
Some small movement,
Nice and slow and gentle.
If you're lying down,
Just making sure that you get up in slow stages,
Maybe rolling over first.
Resting,
Sitting up,
Resting,
Beginning to move,
To kneeling,
Resting,
Standing,
Resting.
If you're in a seated position,
Your movement might be a little different.
You might wiggle your bum a little.
You might shift the body,
Kind of waking up the body in a way.
And whether you're lying down or seated,
You might allow the body a little time and space.
Or some slow movement.
Maybe it's a nice slow stretch.
Or a gentle or a huge yawn.
Or a loud sigh.
Just noticing what your body wants.
Maybe it's tiny,
Slow movement.
Maybe it's full body movement.
And whatever it is,
Encouraging you to slow it down a little.
In this little space,
No rush,
No hurry.
