Coming to a comfortable meditative posture,
Close or lower your eyes.
Become aware of your body,
The surface that your body is resting upon.
Soften the muscles around your face.
Neck and shoulders relaxing,
The hands and feet releasing any tension.
Become aware of your breath flowing in through your nose,
Flowing out through your nose.
Breathing in deeper,
Breathing into the belly and chest,
Exhale,
Soften your chest,
Soften
your belly.
Inhaling,
Filling belly and chest,
Exhaling,
Relaxing into your body.
One more time,
Inhaling into the belly and the chest,
Exhaling,
Settling into the space,
Relaxing into your body.
Watch your breath as it returns back to its natural state.
As you move through the body scan meditation,
Notice any tendencies when you want to ignore
or run away from a sensation,
Or you want to attach or fixate on a sensation.
Remaining present to all that you find,
With an open and compassionate attitude towards
yourself.
Accepting and allowing your experience here,
If it helps to label a sensation such as itchy,
Fluttering,
Tingling,
That might help to detach from the sensation and maintain your presence.
Move your awareness to your toes,
Notice any sensations you feel here,
The soles of
your feet,
Sensations at the tops of your feet.
If there's no sensation,
Notice that.
Notice your ankles,
Calves and shins,
Front and back of knees.
Aware moment by moment each sensation that you're noticing,
Or lack of sensation.
Aware of your hips,
The front,
Sides and backs of your hips.
Aware of your belly and your breath moving in and out of your belly.
The belly descends down towards the lower back,
Feeling the lower spine,
The middle
back,
The ribs,
The heart and lungs,
The upper back,
The whole of your spine,
From your lower,
Middle to upper back.
Aware of the front of the chest and the collarbones.
Noticing the tops of the shoulders,
The front and backs of shoulders.
Noticing the upper arms,
Sensations in your elbows,
The forearms,
Each wrist,
The front
and back of your hands,
The fingers.
Give your attention to the neck,
The front and the back of your neck.
Noticing the scalp,
The skull,
The top of your head.
Sensations around the temples and the sides of your head.
Aware of the forehead,
The eyes,
The muscles around your eyes,
The cheeks,
The nose.
Aware of your lips,
Your tongue,
The upper and lower jaw.
Sensations around the muscles of your face.
Notice now the muscles of the entire body.
Any sensations you're noticing in the muscles.
Sensations in your bones,
The joints of the body.
Taking a breath into the body,
Holding the breath at the top,
Exhaling,
Relax into your
body.
Maintain awareness of your body.
Any sensations that you notice.
You might use your sensations as the objects of your meditation,
Investigating the sensation
if you like,
Noticing its texture,
If there's a color,
A vibration,
Its boundaries or borders.
You can always use your breath as your object of meditation,
Either focusing on the sensations
or the spontaneous flow of your breath as you stay present,
Open and compassionate while
observing in a detached manner,
Neutral to whatever you discover.
If your mind is wandering or you get distracted,
Simply bring your attention back to your body
or your breath.
As you close out your practice today,
Appreciating yourself for taking the time and the space
to observe your body in a neutral,
Compassionate and open manner.
Breathe in fully,
Exhale completely.
When you're ready,
Externalize your mind to the outer world,
Blink your eyes open.
Have a beautiful day.
