Welcome to the body scan.
This meditation helps you to connect with your body allowing you to notice where you're holding on to tension then helping you to release it.
In this meditation I will ask you to imagine a torchlight to help focus your attention.
Lie down comfortably on a mat or a thick rug.
Place your arms by your sides with your palms facing upwards.
Legs slightly apart and feet relaxed.
Now close your eyes and become aware of the breath flowing in and out of your body.
Now imagine a torchlight shining on your feet.
A warm amber colored torchlight shining on each of your toes one by one.
From your big toes and then all the way down to your littlest toes and then all the way back up to your big toes again.
Now imagine your awareness is slowly flowing down the arches of your feet.
This warm amber colored torchlight shining down the arches of your feet right down to your heels resting on the floor or on the bed.
Coming around your ankles and then slowly up the backs of your calves.
Gently and slowly up to the back of your knees,
The front of your knees and deep into your knee joints.
Then this awareness moves up your thighs.
Slowly up the back of your thighs as they start to feel heavier on the floor or on the bed.
Sinking into this practice.
As this torchlight of awareness comes around the hip area.
Coming around the base of your spine.
A warm glow at the base of your spine.
Which slowly and gently moves up your spine.
Vertebra by vertebra.
Up to the middle of your back and then all the way up to the top of your back and across your shoulders.
Just allowing your shoulders to sink onto the bed or the floor even deeper.
A bit like ice melting into water.
As this torchlight of awareness now shines on the tips of your fingers and the tips of your thumbs and down your fingers and down your thumbs to the palms of your hands.
You may notice tingling in your hands and you may not.
Mindfulness is a unique experience.
Just allowing all sensations to be as you find them.
As this torchlight then comes around the wrists and slowly moves along the forearms.
To the elbows.
And then along the upper arms.
Back up to your shoulders again.
And then it comes over your abdominal area.
Shining a light over your tummy as the tummy rises and falls.
As you breathe in and breathe out.
Connecting with your breath here as this light of awareness helps to soothe your nervous system.
Just noticing the gentle subtle sensations as your tummy rises and falls.
Breathing in your own natural rhythm.
As this torchlight of awareness then moves up and over your ribcage.
As your ribcage expands and contracts as you breathe in and breathe out.
Shining a light over this area.
And perhaps noticing any extra sensations in your back or even your shoulders.
Just continuing to connect with your body.
As this torchlight of awareness then gently moves up over the throat area.
Comes along the jaw.
And just unclenching your jaw if you're holding on to any tension there.
Up over the lips.
Over the nose and the nostrils.
Shining a light on how your breath is flowing in and out of your nostrils.
And perhaps it's cooler on an in-breath and warmer on an out-breath.
And perhaps you don't notice anything.
Mindfulness is a unique experience.
There is no right way to be.
As this awareness comes up to the tip of your nose.
And along the bridge of your nose.
And over your eyelids now.
Your eye sockets.
Your eyebrows.
And the space between your eyebrows.
And around the sides of your head.
To the back of your head.
Just noticing the heaviness of your head resting on the pillow or on the floor.
Coming up to the top of your head.
The whole of your body resting here in this moment.
From your feet and all the way up your legs.
The base of your spine and all the way up your spine.
Your hands and all the way up your arms.
Back of the neck.
Back of the head to the top of the head.
Nowhere else to be in this moment.
Nothing else to do.
No one needing anything from you.
Just being in the here and now.
The present moment.
The present moment grounded and centred.
We're coming to the end of the meditation now.
Allow yourself a moment to stretch if you need to.
Stretching your arms above your head.
Stretching out your legs.
Just signalling to the body that you've finished this practice.
As we come to the end of this meditation.
