Deep Scan For Relaxation And Healing: Head And Neck

This is a focused body scan of the neck and head, designed to help you relax, heal, and destress this part of the body. By taking the time to dwell with the sensations in each part of the face, throat, scalp, sinuses, and brain we can give our body permission to release unnecessary tension and to feel itself as whole and at peace.

Transcript

So begin by just getting comfortable in your seated,

Standing,

Or lying down position,

Whatever's most comfortable,

And begin to check in with your breath,

Just to follow the breath from the fullness of the inhale all the way to the emptiness of the exhale,

Top to bottom and bottom to top.

Just track that with your mind,

Noticing the quality of your breath,

If it's long or short,

Deep or shallow.

Notice if your breathing is more full in the chest or down in the abdomen.

Notice if there's any spot that feels tight or constricted.

Or uncomfortable.

Just be with your breath.

And now we'll start to bring our attention into sensations in the head and neck.

So this just takes some patience,

Some focus.

So just give it a few seconds.

Notice when thoughts arise or your focus drifts to anything other than the sensations.

And observe as you find new sensations in your head and neck area.

What are the sensations on your scalp,

On the skin,

The back of your neck,

The top of your shoulders?

Maybe you notice the sensations of swallowing or the sensations of breath in your nostrils and throat.

Maybe it's stiffness or discomfort in your neck or scalp.

So just start to tune in on whatever the most obvious sensation is anywhere.

And just track that for a few breaths.

And then try to release that focus and take in the rest of your head and neck.

Just try to take in the whole thing with a nice,

Soft,

Even focus.

Now what we'll do is focus in on the right half of the whole head and neck.

So bring your attention just to the right half,

Releasing even the left half.

Right half of your scalp,

Ear,

And face.

All the way down to the neck.

Sensations of warmth or coolness on the skin.

Little twitches of movement or sensations of breeze.

Sensations of breath or swallowing.

Sounds on the right side of your body or sensations on your ear.

Just sink deeply into this lopsided focus of just one side of your head,

Just the right side.

Just for a few more breaths.

Two more breaths.

And then on the next exhale,

You can release your focus of the right side.

And on the inhale,

Come into the left side of the head.

So bring your attention there.

Left side of the head all the way down to the neck.

Just inventory.

See what you find.

Sensations on the skin.

Sensations deeper inside the interior of muscles and bone,

Tissue,

Organs.

Focusing on the left side of the head and neck and throat.

The left ear.

Left side of the mouth and tongue.

Just a few more breaths here.

Just a couple more breaths.

And when you're ready,

You can release.

You can release on the exhale and breathe back into the right side of the head.

So moving back to the right.

And notice if taking this side,

Inhabiting this side is easier,

Perhaps than the last time or not.

But just have the patience to do the exercise again,

To sink into this side of the body and this side of the head and neck.

And this time,

We'll focus a little bit more explicitly on not just noting what we find,

But observing any kind of resistance or tightness,

Residual holding on or tension in the muscles or the tissues of the right side of the head and neck.

So look for those sensations in particular.

So look for those sensations in particular.

Just look for places where you might be holding on to a little bit of tension or strain where your body might be doing a little bit of work that it doesn't necessarily need to do.

Holding on to a little tightness in the muscle that doesn't really serve you right now.

And if you notice anything like that,

You can just invite the muscles or the tissues to relax,

To let go,

To forget,

To rest from the job that they were doing,

To reconfigure,

To find a new way to be,

To start fresh with each new breath.

So as you travel through the right side of the head and neck each part of the body that might be storing some tension or holding on to some work that it had to do in the past,

Invite it to take a fresh start.

And we'll just stay here.

For about another minute.

Breathing in and out.

Noticing points of tension,

Points of resistance,

Points of holding on,

And just inviting them to relax all through the right side of the head and face and neck and throat.

Just a couple more breaths here.

Nice and slow,

We're at your own pace.

And when you're ready,

On an exhale,

You can release the right side of the head and breathe back into the left side,

Inhaling in,

Bringing your attention to the sensations here.

And we'll turn our healing and relaxing focus to the left side.

Noticing any sensations of tightness or resistance in the left scalp,

The back of the neck,

The throat,

The tissues of the face,

Your mouth.

Just exploring the left side of the head and the left side of the throat.

Just exploring the left side of the face.

Looking for anything that we can let go of.

Any work that can be released that doesn't need to be done any longer.

We'll just take three more breaths here,

Nice and slow.

And when you're ready,

On an exhale,

When you're ready,

We'll switch back to the right side just for a few breaths.

So exhaling out and releasing the left,

Inhaling back into the right side.

Just three breaths here,

Just taking it all in,

Noticing if it feels a little different.

Then we'll switch back to the left for three.

So exhaling,

Releasing the right and inhaling into the left side of the head.

Three breaths here.

And then when we release,

We're gonna try to find the center plane of the head.

So right down the middle where those two halves meet.

So exhaling,

Releasing the left side and inhaling into that center line or center plane.

And it's a bit abstract because there's not a lot of sensation inside the head,

But you can find some and just bring your internal gaze here.

So this line kind of continues up from the spine along the midline of the body.

And just try to find this balance point and hold your attention there.

You might visualize some light,

A gentle glow,

White or golden along this axis,

This dividing plane.

Just try to send some relaxation,

Some energy,

Some healing,

Some balance.

Breathing into the sinuses and the spaces in the head,

Bringing your attention to that center plane that divides the head.

Just trying to balance out the right and the left side of the brain,

The right and left side of the personalities,

Yin and yang,

Different perspectives.

So just a couple more breaths here.

On the next exhale,

You can release that center line.

And on the inhale,

Just bring your attention all the way up to the crown,

All the way to the top of your head,

The very peak of your head.

And then on the exhale,

Just bring your attention all the way up to the crown,

All the way to the top of your head,

The very peak.

You can imagine a halo of light around the top of your head.

And just feel the sensations that are in the top of your head.

See if you can breathe upwards.

Maybe you can find a kind of lifting sensation in your neck and spine as if your head were suspended by a string from the heavens.

And then over the next few breaths,

We'll just let this focus wash down gently as we release it,

Washing down over the rest of the head and the neck.

And then over the whole body as if there was a nice,

Warm,

Cozy shower sensation of just energy or just awareness,

Mindful,

Compassionate awareness of our own body.

And just let that sweep down over your head and scalp and neck and shoulder and all the muscles and tissues and bones in your body.

All the sensations inside,

Emotional sensations as well.

And just let that wash down all the way down into the earth.

That good healing intention.

The good and the bad.

The cycle of tightening and relaxing,

Building up and letting it wash away.

And we'll prepare to close out the practice,

Close in on the breath.

And we'll take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

And we'll prepare to close out the practice,

Close out the meditation.

We'll count down about five breaths at your own pace.

And just prepare to open your eyes and come back to your surroundings.

Let's see if you can bring a little bit of that relaxation.

See if you can bring a little bit of that relaxation and compassionate self-awareness with you into the rest of your day.

Thanks and goodbye.

Reviews

I’ve been looking for a meditation like this, thank so much for creating it!