Welcome to this practice of the compassionate body scan.
The aim of this practice is to bring a gentle awareness into the body.
So just finding a comfortable position and allowing yourself to settle into the space that you're in and remembering that you can change this position at any time should you need to.
And if it feels supportive you might like to close your eyes or lower your gaze,
Soften your gaze and again knowing that you can open your eyes at any point should you need to.
So just taking a moment to listen to the sounds in the space around you and the sounds outside the space.
You might notice the temperature of the air as it makes contact with your skin.
And noticing the difference on the bits of skin that are exposed and the bits that are underneath clothes or blankets.
And allowing your attention to come into the points of contact with the surface beneath you.
Just softening down into these points of contact.
Just allowing yourself to let go of any holding.
Giving your weight up to gravity.
And you might allow your attention to come into your feet.
Just allowing a gentle awareness to the area of the feet,
The soles of the feet,
The toes.
And flowing up into the lower legs,
Into the knees,
Up into the thighs,
Into the hips,
Up into the belly.
You might notice the movement of the breath in the belly.
Expanding out and subsiding back.
Allowing your attention to come up into the chest.
Again you might notice the movement of the breath in this area.
Just allowing a gentle awareness might allow this awareness to flow into the whole front of the torso.
Noticing movements or sensations.
And then into the back of the torso,
The back of the body.
Might start at the lower back and the middle back and the upper back.
Into the shoulders.
Allowing your awareness to flow down into the arms,
Into the hands,
Just noticing sensations.
And coming back up into the shoulders,
Into the neck.
Seeing if there might be some tension in the neck,
If there is just allowing your awareness to rest there gently.
You might like to imagine sending the breath to the neck.
Just sending gentleness and softness.
And then just letting go.
Just sending gentleness and softness.
Moving up into the head and the face.
And again just inviting softness if it feels supportive.
Soft jaw.
Soft forehead.
Soft tongue.
Soft face.
And you might allow your awareness to flow back into the whole of the body.
Just a soft awareness of the whole body.
And you might bring some curiosity.
Just noticing if there are any areas calling for your attention.
Any areas of the body that feel like they need some more attention.
And if there is an area or areas,
You might imagine again just sending a kindly breath.
A breath that is full of warmth and compassion.
Just sending that into those areas of the body.
Or you might prefer to imagine these areas being slowly saturated with a color that feels pleasant.
Allowing them to be soothed.
Tending to these areas.
If there isn't an area calling for you,
Then you can just allow this sense of the kindly breath.
Or the pleasant color tending to your whole body.
We might allow our attention to come back out to the whole body.
Just allowing this sense of compassion.
Of warmth.
Of tenderness.
Of warmth.
Of tenderness.
Of warmth.
Of tenderness.
In the whole body.
And now bringing your attention back into the points of contact with the surface beneath you.
Noticing the sounds in the space around you.
If it feels supportive,
You could invite some gentle movement like wiggling your fingers or toes.
And whenever you feel ready,
Just gently opening your eyes if they've been closed or raising your gaze.
Just allowing your eyes to float around the space that you're in.
Orienting yourself back into this space.
And seeing if you can take with you in the rest of your day or your evening.
Just this sense of gentle warmth and tenderness for yourself and your body.
