Welcome to this body scan meditation.
Taking a moment to get into a comfortable position,
Either sitting down or lying down.
If you're sitting down,
Making sure that both feet are on the floor,
The legs are uncrossed.
Bringing a little length to the spine.
Dropping the shoulders.
Allowing the hands to rest in the lap.
And if you're lying down,
You might want to have a cushion under the knees,
Perhaps one under the head.
And allowing both feet to fall outwards.
You can place your hands either palms down or palms up,
Down by your side.
Taking a moment to transition.
You may have been having a busy day,
A busy moment.
So notice what it feels like to be still.
Recognizing that just because we choose to practice,
Choose to be still,
It doesn't mean that the mind and body will immediately feel a sense of calm or relaxation.
And that's okay.
Throughout this practice,
You may feel a sense of relaxation,
A sense of ease,
And that's wonderful.
But you may not,
And that too is okay.
In this practice,
We are bringing our awareness to what is arising moment by moment without judgment,
Without criticism.
So bringing a gentle awareness to the different points of contact.
The body connecting with the floor,
With the seat.
That sense of the body being supported.
Perhaps noticing any sensations,
The clothes on the body.
Perhaps there's a feeling of warmth,
Softness,
Coolness.
And knowing that as we go throughout this practice,
Some sensations may be experienced as pleasant,
Perhaps some as neutral,
And maybe some that feel more challenging.
So being gentle,
If at any point you need to pause,
Move past an area that's perfectly okay.
Come back when you feel ready.
And recognizing that the mind will get distracted.
Thoughts will arise,
To-do lists,
Work,
Family,
Relationships,
Pretty much anything.
And recognizing that the mind will think.
It's in noticing the distraction.
That is how we build that mental strength,
By coming back each time.
So inviting you to take a couple of slower,
Deeper breaths.
Feeling into the sensation of the belly rising and falling.
Reminding yourself that this time is for you.
A time to connect with the body,
To perhaps let go of some tension,
Unwind.
So taking in the whole body.
As you gently guide your focus,
The attention all the way down,
The left leg all the way down to the left toes.
And placing your attention on the left toes.
Noticing the big toe,
Pinky toe,
What sensations if any are present here?
Might be a tingling,
A warmth,
A twitching.
And it's okay if no sensations are felt.
You might find it helpful with each breath,
It's almost as if you're breathing into the left toes.
And expanding the field of awareness to take in the sole of the left foot,
The heel,
The arch,
The top of the left foot,
The ankle.
Noticing the sensation,
The foot against the sock or blanket.
And a gentle reminder that when you notice that the mind has gotten distracted,
Perhaps thoughts of this feels strange or maybe irritation,
Maybe sleepiness,
Whatever it is,
Recognizing them as thoughts.
Recognizing feelings in the body.
And you gently guiding the awareness up to the lower left leg,
The shin,
The calf,
Muscles.
Breathing in and out.
This may be the first time paying attention to each part of the body in this way.
So you guide the awareness up into the left knee,
The knee joint,
Front of the knee,
The back of the knee.
For some of us,
The knee may carry some discomfort,
Some tension.
Seeing if you're able to just gently breathe into the knee.
Are you able to be with any discomfort if it is present?
Without forcing anything.
Seeing if any tension just naturally subsides.
Guiding the field of awareness up into the upper left leg,
Thigh bone,
Back of the thigh,
Front of the thigh.
All the way from the left hip joint to the right left knee.
Noticing if any sensations are present here.
Just breathing into the length of the thigh.
As you gently guide the focus across to the right hip,
All the way down the right leg,
All the way down to the right toes.
Placing the attention on the right toes.
What is present here?
Gently breathing in and out.
Expanding the awareness to the sole of the right foot,
The arch,
The heel,
The top of the right foot,
The ankle.
Perhaps one side,
The ankle is pushing into the mat.
Noticing the whole right foot.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Moving up to the lower right leg,
The shin,
The car,
The skin,
The muscles.
Perhaps an area of the body that you've never really paid attention to in this way.
Being gentle.
We all carry a history,
A story,
A past.
Can we be with whatever is arising with kindness,
Understanding,
Empathy?
Guiding the attention up to the right knee,
The knee joints.
Breathing in and out.
And it's okay if much of the time there are no sensations.
Really cultivating a deeper understanding and connection with this body.
This body that does so very much for us.
We often focus on the bits we don't like,
The bits we want to change.
Every day,
Behind the scenes,
Our body allows us to live.
Moving up into the upper right leg,
All the way from the right hip to the right knee,
The longest bone in the body,
The muscles,
The tendons.
Noticing what is present here.
Perhaps there is some muscle tightness,
A twitching.
Breathing into the right thigh.
You gently guide a field of awareness to the pelvis,
Pelvic floor,
Sensation of the buttocks pressing down.
Gentle awareness.
You may already have noticed the feeling of the low back pressing into the mat or the seat.
So shifting the awareness up into the low back.
An area of the body we can carry a lot of our stress a lot of tension.
Gently breathing in and out.
Taking in the mid back.
That sensation of the back pressing into the mat,
The surface.
So you gently expand the awareness around to the belly.
Perhaps noticing sensations internally as well.
Squeaking.
A growling.
As the belly gently rises and falls as you breathe.
Up into the diaphragm.
Expanding to the ribcage,
Chest,
Breast area.
A gentle awareness.
Gentle curiosity.
Spending a little time with each part of the body.
Becoming more in tune with the body.
Noticing perhaps as you breathe the chest rises and falls.
The ribcage expands.
As the upper back presses into the surface.
The shoulder blades.
The upper torso.
All the way from the pelvis to the shoulders.
So you gently narrow the awareness to the left shoulder.
Going all the way down the left arm.
Down through the elbow.
Forearm,
The wrist.
And to the left hand.
And the thumb and fingers of the left hand.
Now how do we know we have fingers?
Perhaps there's a warmth,
A tingling.
The palm of the left hand.
Either facing up or down.
Up into the left wrist and forearm.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Gently guiding the awareness up through the left elbow,
Elbow joint.
Up into the left bicep,
Tricep.
Left armpit.
So you gradually move the awareness across the collarbone into the right shoulder,
Shoulder joint.
And down the right leg,
Right arm.
Gently through the right elbow.
Down,
All the way down to the right thumb.
And right fingers.
And the right hand.
Moving the focus up into the right wrist,
Right forearm.
Gently breathing in and out.
Bringing the mind back when it's off,
Caught in a storyline.
Up into the right elbow.
The upper right arm.
Perhaps noticing fabric against the skin,
The muscles,
Tendons.
The right armpit.
And expanding up into the neck.
Tops of the shoulders.
Again,
An area of the body where we can really hold our stress.
The weight of the world sometimes.
So gently breathing in and out.
Seeing if you're able to perhaps just let go of some of that tension.
The body is very good at holding stress.
This body scan meditation offers a place to loosen the grip on that tension.
Up into the jaw.
Softening the jaw.
Cheeks.
And the nose.
Taking in the ears and the eyes.
Even softening area between the eyes,
The brow.
The whole face.
Top of the head,
The back of the head.
So you gently start to go from the top of the head all the way down the body.
The face.
The neck.
The shoulders.
The arms.
The chest.
Upper back.
The low back.
The belly,
The pelvis.
All the way down the legs to the toes.
Aware of this whole body sitting here or lying here.
This body being supported.
Breathing in.
Perhaps gently bringing a little bit of movement to the fingers,
The toes.
And a gentle reminder that if there were moments in the meditation where it was challenging,
Where you kept getting distracted,
There were moments of boredom,
Maybe frustration,
Maybe of ease,
Of relaxation.
There is no right or wrong way.
We are simply paying attention moment by moment to what is arising in the mind and body.
And in doing this we gently start to cultivate a deeper sense of balance,
Concentration,
Of patience,
Of kindness.
Kindness for this body.
So gently opening the eyes if you had them closed.
Perhaps rolling onto one side if you're lying down.
Gently pushing yourself up,
Both hands.
Taking a moment to transition out of the practice.
Whether it's the beginning of your day,
The middle,
The end of the day.
Perhaps putting in a little intention,
Setting a little intention to carry some of that awareness with you into whatever it is you're doing next.
Thank you for joining me in this practice and I'll see you back here soon.
