Bring attention to the body,
Take note of any tension that may be present and if possible let go of it.
There may be tension in the face,
In the neck,
In the shoulders,
And bring a sense of acceptance to whatever tension cannot be let go of.
That right now it's like this.
Bring attention to the posture of the body,
Whether it's seated on a cushion or in a chair or lying down.
Try to assume a posture that is alert but not so alert to create discomfort and try to assume a posture that is comfortable but not so comfortable that one might get sleepy.
Something in between,
A middle path.
And bring attention to the touch points beneath the body,
The places where the body makes contact with the earth,
Beneath the feet,
The legs,
Or the back.
And bring attention to the touch points on top of the body,
Places where objects make contact with the body.
This could be clothing,
Jewelry,
Hair,
Other parts of the body,
Or even the air touching the skin.
Turn attention towards touch points within the body,
Beneath the skin,
Sensations from the inside.
This might be the sensations of breathing or digestion,
Sensations within the muscles or the joints,
Maybe even the heartbeat.
All of these sensations together,
The touch points beneath the body,
The touch points on top of the body,
The touch points within the body,
All of these sensations together give a sense of the whole body.
Allow attention to hold these sensations together,
Just this body sitting or lying down here right now.
And having established embodied mindfulness,
We will now move into contemplation of anatomy.
Beginning with the head and moving downward,
Bring attention to the skin,
Skin that covers the head,
The face,
And the neck,
Just skin.
Moving into the shoulders,
The upper arms,
The lower arms,
And the hands,
All just covered with skin.
Bringing attention to the upper torso,
The front and the back,
The lower torso,
The hips,
The buttocks,
And groin area,
All just covered with skin.
Moving into the upper legs,
The lower legs,
And the feet,
Skin.
Simply aware of this whole body as covered with skin,
Which includes hair and nails,
Cultivating an attitude of non-attachment,
Not worth clinging to.
Beginning with the feet and scanning upward,
Bring attention to the existence of flesh beneath the skin,
Muscles,
Sinew.
Moving from the feet into the lower legs,
Into the upper legs,
Flesh.
From the groin to the buttocks,
The lower torso,
Front and back,
And upper torso,
Flesh.
The presence of flesh,
Organs,
Muscles,
Fluids.
Bring attention to the hands,
The lower arms,
The upper arms,
And the shoulders,
Flesh.
The neck,
The face,
And the head,
All containing flesh.
Aware of this whole body as containing flesh,
Muscles,
Organs,
Sinews,
Fluids.
Cultivating an attitude of non-attachment,
Not worth clinging to.
Starting again at the head and scanning downward,
Bring attention to bone beneath the skin,
Beneath the flesh,
Bone.
Starting with the head,
Moving into the face and the neck,
All containing bone.
Bring attention to the shoulders,
The upper arms,
The lower arms,
And the hands,
All containing bone.
The upper torso,
Front and back,
The lower torso,
The buttocks,
And groin,
All containing bone.
The upper legs,
The lower legs,
And the feet,
Bone.
Aware of this whole body as containing bone beneath the skin,
Beneath the flesh.
Cultivating an attitude of non-attachment,
Not worth clinging to.
Letting go of any specific attention to scan or flesh or bones,
But maintaining a sense of embodied mindfulness.
Allow attention to rest with what is,
With whatever happens to be arising.
Just here,
Just now,
Just like this.
Continue to practice in this way.
