Compassionate Body Scan

This compassionate body scan practice will guide you in connecting to your whole body, from your toes to your head. This practice includes prompts for fostering gratitude and compassion for the body's functions and includes brief pauses, allowing you to connect to sensations in the body. This relaxing guided practice is well-suited for mornings and evenings.

Note: This audio references gratitude for the functionality of the arms and legs, including mobility functions.

Background music by Chris Collins.

Transcript

Welcome,

Begin by settling into a comfortable seated position.

Feel your body supported by your chair or bed.

Feel your feet resting on the ground.

Start by taking a deep breath in and out.

Nothing to do,

Nowhere to go.

As you breathe deeply,

Feel your belly expand to welcome the breath in.

Feel it relax as the breath flows back out.

Exhaling out all of your air.

Breathing in 2,

3,

4.

Pausing and out 2,

3,

4.

Breathing in 2,

3,

4.

Pausing and out 2,

3,

4.

Continuing at this pace but allowing the counting to fall away.

Allow your tongue to loosen in your mouth,

Soften through the jaw.

Coming to a place of relaxation.

Beginning with the toes on your right foot.

Begin to notice any sensation there.

Notice if your toes are warm or cool.

Notice any sense of tingling.

Becoming aware without judgment of any discomfort,

Ease,

Or perhaps no sensation at all in the right toes.

Feeling your toes without judgment.

You may wiggle your toes and perhaps bring a smile of appreciation.

Moving to the sole of your right foot.

Notice any sensations there.

Your feet work so hard to carry you throughout your day.

Feel free to send your right foot some gratitude.

Notice any discomfort with open,

Compassionate awareness.

Feeling the whole of your right foot.

Notice whether there may be comfort or discomfort.

When we notice a lack of discomfort,

We can take that moment to extend gratitude for the discomfort that we do not have.

Allow any discomfort in the right foot to soften,

Sending a sense of warmth to the right foot.

When we sense any discomfort in the body,

We may respond to it with kind words of awareness,

Such as,

There's discomfort here and that's ok for now.

Gradually moving your awareness up the right leg,

Starting with the ankle,

Noticing whatever sensations are present there.

Sending some appreciation to the ankle if that feels alright,

And sending compassion if there is discomfort.

Staying focused on the right side,

Moving up through the ankle to the shin and calf.

Noticing any sensations.

Moving up through your knee with mindful awareness and acceptance.

When you notice that your mind has wandered,

Simply return it to the sensations in your body.

You can add words of compassion and kindness,

Especially to areas of the body that may experience discomfort.

You may say,

May my knee be at ease,

Allowing this process to be an exploration of the body,

Perhaps playful.

Moving your awareness up through the body into the right thigh,

Noticing any sensation there,

Tingling,

Warmth,

Pressure,

Pulsing,

Just noticing without judgment.

Moving through to notice the sensations in your right hip.

All of your awareness focused on the right hip.

If any sense of uneasiness or judgment begins to arise about a specific body part,

I invite you to put a hand over your heart,

Focus for a moment on your breath,

And then imagine that kindness and compassion flow through your heart into that part of your body.

Feeling the sensation of warmth and compassion.

Or perhaps as you scan through your body you notice a sense of ease and comfort.

Perhaps this brings a smile of appreciation if that feels right to you today.

Now imagine bringing loving awareness to your entire right leg,

Creating space for any emotion or sensation that arises,

Allowing yourself to feel as you may.

Seeing now this process in the left toes,

Noticing any sensation in the left toes,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Tingling,

Ease or discomfort,

Noticing,

Accepting without judgment any sensations in the left toes,

Moving to the left sole of the foot,

Again sending gratitude to the sole of the left foot for carrying you all day,

Allowing any discomfort to be met with warmth and compassion,

Accepting any discomfort as it arises,

And noticing any comfort that is there with gratitude.

Continuing to move through the left foot,

Left ankle,

Shin and calf and knee,

Slowly at your own pace,

Remembering to return the mind to the sensations in the body if it wanders,

Maintaining focus on the left ankle,

Shin,

Calf and knee,

Moving up with the same compassionate awareness into the thigh,

Hip and entire left leg,

Remembering to respond to any discomfort with compassion.

You are also welcome to skip any part of the body that may bring too much physical or emotional discomfort.

However,

I invite you to meet discomfort with kindness and acceptance when you can.

Moving into the entire left leg,

Now both the left and right legs,

Tuning into a sense of gratitude for these legs that carry you,

All the functions that they provide.

Now shifting your attention to the pelvis,

Perhaps you notice your bottom supported by your chair or bed.

These muscles are strong,

They allow us to climb stairs and carry our body throughout the day,

And now they allow you to sit comfortably and softly.

I invite you to notice any sensation in the bottom and pelvis,

Accepting discomfort that may be there,

Meeting it with warmth and kindness.

Bringing your awareness to the low back,

Any sense of discomfort or tension can be met with kindness.

You might imagine the muscles in the low back beginning to relax,

Melting as you send tender kindness.

Scanning up through the back of the body,

Bringing your awareness to your upper back,

Perhaps a sense of discomfort,

Noticing what comes up for you and see if you can meet it with acceptance.

If there is no discomfort,

I invite you to tune into gratitude for the lack of discomfort in the upper back.

Shifting your awareness now to the front of your body,

To the abdomen,

Knowing that this is an area that brings many folks a sense of discomfort or uneasiness.

Knowing that if these feelings are coming up for you as you focus on your abdomen,

Knowing that you are not alone in that.

Your abdomen holds your organs,

It is the center,

The core.

This center of your body is the seat of many of the body's important functions.

At this moment,

Your body is working so hard to support you all without your awareness or intention.

Bring some gratitude to the abdomen for all of its hard work all day.

Notice if judgments about this area of your body are arising and see if you can meet them with kind words such as,

There is discomfort or pain here for me,

That's ok for now.

Shift your awareness up through your chest.

Notice the body breathing and the heart beating.

Tune into a sense of love and compassion,

Allowing yourself to meet your awareness with appreciation and acceptance.

I invite you to place a hand on the center of your chest,

Just noticing what's arising for you.

There is no right and no wrong.

Whatever you feel is perfectly ok.

Tuning in to the sensations in the chest,

The warmth of your heart,

The kindness that it shares with others,

Seeing if you can direct even just some of that towards yourself.

Shifting your awareness now into your right shoulder.

Notice any tightness or tension there and see if you can let it soften.

Shifting your awareness into the right upper arm,

Elbow.

Noticing without judgment any sensations in the right lower arm,

Moving to the wrist,

Hand and fingers.

You can wiggle your fingers if you're called to,

Noticing the sensations that this brings.

Taking a moment to scan your whole right arm and hand with love and compassion.

Sending gratitude to the right arm and hand for all that it does for you.

Remaining open and accepting.

Tuning in to your body with the same warmth and kindness that you might direct towards a young child or a loved one,

Holding that sense of kind awareness as you move into your left side,

Left shoulder.

Noticing and releasing any tension in the left shoulder and left upper arm.

Noticing without judgment any sensations in the left elbow,

Lower arm,

Wrist,

Hand and fingers.

Again,

Wiggling the left fingers if you like,

Noticing sensation in the whole left arm and hand.

Sending gratitude to both arms now,

Taking a moment to recall a hug that you gave a loved one,

Perhaps in a moment of need.

These arms,

These hands provide care to those you love,

Allowing yourself to feel grateful for that and open to the idea of providing that same care and kindness to yourself.

Now shifting the awareness into the neck,

Noticing any tension in the neck and allowing it to soften on an exhale.

Recall how your neck supports your head,

Offering gratitude to your neck,

Either in your mind or perhaps by placing your hands on your neck,

Perhaps allowing yourself a moment of gentle massage,

Accepting any discomfort in the neck or noticing a lack of discomfort,

Allowing yourself to tap into gratitude for that.

Moving the awareness up into the head,

The back of the head,

You may place your hands on the back of your head,

Again a gentle massage if that feels right for you today.

Noticing with non-judgmental awareness the sensations in the back of the head.

Shifting awareness now to your ears,

You may tune in to an appreciation for the sense of hearing,

Allowing that sense of gratitude to create warmth in the heart,

Or if tuning in to your hearing creates a sense of discomfort for you,

Have compassion for that.

Bringing your sense of loving awareness to your eyes,

Tuning in to any sense of appreciation for your sight,

The nose,

Perhaps recalling the scent of lavender or something that brings you peace,

And connecting to a sense of appreciation for the nose.

Shifting awareness to your lips and mouth,

Where can you tune in to gratitude for the lips and mouth?

Perhaps you are grateful for your sense of taste or your ability for your lips to meet a loved one.

Shifting your awareness to your cheeks,

You may create a sense of relaxation through the jaw and chin,

Softening these muscles that work quite hard,

Recalling how these areas of your face allow you to speak and smile.

Shifting your awareness now to your forehead and the crown of your head,

Notice any sensation there and allow any tension to soften.

Underneath your skull is your brain,

Send gratitude to the skull for protecting your brain,

And perhaps create a sense of appreciation for your brain which helps you move through this world,

Helps you notice and process and be aware and non-judgmental of the world around you.

Being aware of the whole body now,

From tips of the toes to crown of the head,

I invite you to imagine warm glowing gold flowing from the crown of the head slowly down the whole body.

This warm flowing gold is filled with compassion and love and gratitude.

Allow it to touch each part of your body,

Even those which may bring discomfort.

Holding the whole body in your compassionate embrace.

And as you feel complete,

You can open your eyes and return to your day,

Perhaps feeling a sense of gratitude for the time you spent working on your connection with your body.

This completes your compassionate body scan.

Have a wonderful day.