Your body carries more than you realize.
This body scan is a simple way to listen to what's already there.
You can try this standing up.
Or walking slowly and mindfully.
Just soften your gaze.
And bring your attention inwards.
Otherwise,
Find a comfortable position lying or sitting down.
And relax completely.
Allow your eyes to become heavy.
And come to a close as you settle in.
Just for this moment.
Allow yourself to do nothing.
Just notice the present moment.
How your body is doing extraordinary things without your effort.
Your heart is beating.
Your lungs are filling.
Your body is always working on your behalf.
And that's exactly what it's designed to do.
This body scan practice invites you to meet the wisdom your body carries.
And now imagining a light,
A scanner,
At the very top of your head,
Moving slowly.
Towards the crown of your head,
The scalp.
The hair follicles.
Is there a sensation?
Attention.
Warmth.
Nothing at all.
Whatever is there is welcome.
Allowing that light to continue down moving through your forehead your eyelids.
Behind your eyes.
Your cheeks your nose.
Through your jaw.
If you notice tension anywhere you don't have to release it but if you feel like you want to.
You absolutely can.
Taking inventory of what you notice as you continue to move.
Down to the base of the skull.
The throat and the neck.
Through the shoulders.
The biceps.
Down your elbows through your forearms.
Reaching through your your wrists,
The palms of your hands.
Through each one of your fingers noticing what you find And coming back up towards the chest.
The heart space.
Your ribs and the diaphragm.
The place your breath actually lives.
Allowing that scanner to continue to move through your lower back.
Your belly.
Your pelvic bowl.
Through the hips and the glutes.
The upper thighs.
The front,
The back,
And your inner thighs.
Moving the light down through the knees the shins and the calves through the ankles the heels,
The arch of the foot.
All the way to the tips of each of your toes.
Just noticing.
Notice where in your body you felt the most sensation or what part of your body may have wanted you to stay a little longer.
You can allow the light to move back towards that part of your body.
Meeting it with your own hands with equal pressure or sensation of what you felt there whether it was tightness or warmth buzzing or heaviness,
Just meeting it.
Noticing what emerges in your mind's eye.
In this part of the body.
Maybe.
.
.
To feeling.
Temperature or color.
Allow whatever is there to emerge Perhaps it's a story or a memory.
No need to interpret it,
Just allow it to be and to develop.
Keeping track of what's coming to you.
And if your mind happens to drift at all,
That's okay.
Gently bring it back without judgment.
Taking as much time as you need here.
And when it feels like the right time,
You may open your eyes.
And shift out of the meditation space to capture what it is that came to you.
You can choose to write it out,
Record a voice memo.
Give words to what you notice.
Or images.
Where you felt something,
What the quality was What was it?
What was asking to be witnessed this riding part.
Is a practice towards integration bringing to you from this realm of your mind's eye and in your body out.
Let your body speak and be heard.
Thank you for taking this time with your body.
Thank your body.
For being willing to show you what's there.
That kind of listening takes courage.
Most people move through an entire day without asking the body how it's doing.
Sometimes an entire week,
A month or a lifetime.
And as this practice begins to close,
You can be sure that you intentionally close the space with your eyes wide open,
Blinking,
Wiggling your toes and your fingers,
Becoming more present to the external environment,
The space that you're in.
Maybe even tapping your body.
Making your breath become more alive With lots of gratitude,
This session is now complete.
