Welcome.
To mindfulness of body meditation.
Embodiment is living in tune with the senses.
It's when the mind pays attention to the body.
You see the body lives in the present moment.
And when we're challenged or facing difficulty,
We disconnect from our bodies.
And the mind follows.
And when we leave,
Suffering happens.
And usually we disconnect and leave out of fear or feeling out of control or being uncomfortable with something that's unpleasant.
Sometimes it's emotional dysregulation or tension or stress.
Other times it's trauma.
This creates a mind-body split.
When we get dissociated,
We get exhausted and anxiety rises.
So meditation helps us to come back to our bodies.
By sitting with deep awareness of what's there throughout our body.
Just asking a simple question,
Can I be with this?
Helps us to regain the connections that we're needing to be able to.
Proceed with.
An understanding of what we're holding.
So this practice is one for the entire body,
One area at a time.
We'll start at the feet and move our way up the body to the head.
So find a comfortable position.
One that helps you feel at ease.
If you prefer to lie down.
That's perfectly fine.
You might want to put your legs up on a seat or a bolster.
Or if you prefer sitting,
That's perfectly acceptable as well.
So let's just begin by closing your eyes or lowering your gaze if that feels comfortable.
Just feeling your body as you lie or sit here in this moment.
Doing a quick scan.
Next,
Just feel the areas that come into contact with the ground.
Or the chair.
At your sit bones.
Or where your feet are touching the ground.
Or your legs or your back or your arms or touching the chair.
Just sensing the pressure at these touch points.
Just notice your breath.
Entering and leaving your body.
As you sit here with awareness.
The intention of the body scan is to be present with your body without wanting anything to be different.
Although it's nice to relax and it's great if that happens,
It's not the goal of the body scan.
The goal is to check in with each area of the body without judgment.
Just feeling what's there to feel.
If you've experienced trauma in your life.
Feel free to wiggle about as you go through the body scan in an effort to try to sense the feelings in areas that are difficult to feel.
Just migrate to the areas that are easiest to feel by tensing and relaxing a certain muscle group,
Say your quadriceps in your leg or your thigh area.
Feel free to just explore that option.
And sometimes it is difficult to feel if you've been.
A victim of trauma.
It's sometimes difficult to feel certain areas of the body in general.
And that's okay.
Just try to check into those areas.
And starting with the feet.
Just feel into both feet if you can right now.
Feeling into the bottom of the feet where they touch the ground.
Feeling the toes.
I'm just noticing if there's any tingling warmth.
I'm cold.
Exploring the region of the heel.
All the way up to the ball of the foot.
What do you feel here?
Moving your attention now to your ankles and your lower legs.
What it's here to feel,
If anything.
Is there pressure in your calves?
Can you sense pressure from your clothing?
Do you notice any throbbing?
Maybe there's tension.
You notice your attention is often thought.
As gently and kindly.
Without judgment.
Return it back to your legs.
The mind will do this as it likes to wander.
Bringing it back to your body is mindfulness and that is the practice.
If you find it helpful,
Maybe you can imagine breathing into your lower legs.
And imagine your attention lighting up the area like a flashlight.
Letting go of the lower legs and moving on to the knees and thighs.
What do you feel here?
If anything.
Do you notice any temperature?
Changes like cold.
I'm done.
Any numbness or tingling?
What is the position of your legs?
How does your left thigh compare to your right thigh with sensation?
Just letting go of the knees and thighs.
Move your focus to the pelvic region.
Just focusing on that region all the way up to the belly button.
What kind of sensations do you notice here?
Is there an A?
Is there a pressure?
Just feel what's there if you're able to.
Just noticing the belly.
So it feels soft or firm.
Is there any achiness here?
Moving up the torso from the stomach to the chest area,
What do you feel here in this area?
Where do you feel the sensation of breath most?
Maybe it's here in the chest.
As you inhale and exhale.
Just notice the rhythm of your natural breath.
As you expand your chest cavity.
Moving on to the spine region.
So notice if you're lying down,
The sensation of your back against the floor.
Or if you're in a chair.
What your spine feels like against the back of the chair.
Do you feel anything here?
Tension or discomfort?
Just notice your posture.
And how you feel supported.
Just letting go of the back.
And moving to the arms.
The upper arms,
The lower arms.
What do you notice here in these areas?
Do they feel heavy?
Do you notice any pressure?
What are the positions of your arms?
Moving on to your hands.
What are the sensations in your hands and your fingers?
If you feel vibrations or tangling,
Numbness,
Pulsations.
Just notice.
Maybe your fingers feel stiff.
Or heavy.
Just noticing how your arms,
Your forearms,
Your wrists,
Your hands,
How they lie against your body.
If your mind wanders,
Just gently bring it back without judgment.
Right here to the hands regions.
Now moving away from your hands and your arms up to the neck and the head area.
Just feeling your face and your jaw,
Your mouth.
Your nose if you're able.
Your eyes and cheeks.
Your whole face,
What stands out here.
Is your jaw clenched tight?
Are your lips loose or pursed?
What muscles in your face can relax right now.
You notice any tension in your neck.
Does your head feel heavy?
And a strain in the back of the neck.
Is that there?
Is bring your awareness back to the whole body.
Whether you're sitting,
Lying,
And just scan the whole body,
Alive and breathing in this moment.
When you inhale,
Just imagine breathing in from the top of your head,
Down your torso,
And into your toes.
And when you exhale,
Imagine that in reverse from your toes to your torso to your head.
Just noticing sensations throughout the whole body.
Allowing them to be just as they are in this moment.
As this meditation comes to a close.
Just gently come back to the space you're in by wiggling your fingers or toes if you're able.
Or if you prefer to just gently stretch or move your neck gently from side to side.
And when you're ready,
In your own time,
You can open your eyes.
And take some time to reflect on this body scan meditation.
Namaste.
