Begin by finding a comfy cozy position for your body.
This can be sitting,
Laying down,
Heck even walking around if you want,
It's up to you.
Settle into any space where you can be present and start to let distractions melt away.
Keep a soft gaze,
Or if you prefer,
Gently close your eyes.
Turn your attention inward,
Beginning to notice your breathing.
Take a few comfortably full breaths,
Allowing each inhale to grow just a little deeper than the last,
And each exhale just a bit slower.
One breath at a time,
Anchor your attention into being present.
All right,
Now that you're more present and grounded,
Let's begin the body scan.
If visualizations are helpful,
You could imagine a light encompassing each part of your body as you focus on it,
Or you can simply feel what's alive within you as you hold space for whatever your body is asking you to feel.
Start at the tippy top of your head.
Feel a gentle warmth and relaxation spreading from the crown of your head,
Now down to your forehead.
Soften the space between your eyebrows.
Relax the tiny muscles around your eyes.
Then let that softness flow down your cheeks,
Down the bridge of your nose,
All the way to the tip of your nose.
See if you can detect the movement of air across your upper lip as you breathe through your nostrils.
Relax your jaw.
Allow the top and bottom rows of teeth to part,
And let the tip of your tongue settle on the ridge where your two front teeth meet your gums.
Perceive the space behind your head,
Feeling for any ridges along the back and sides of your skull.
Notice what it feels like to be in your head,
Literally and figuratively.
You've applied a lot of attention to this part of your body,
So pause to take another comfortable breath.
Whatever you experience is okay,
Even if it isn't what you prefer.
You're cultivating the capacity to be present with what is.
Bring your awareness to your neck and shoulder region.
Notice any sensations,
Allowing them to be without judgment.
Inhale deeply,
And as you exhale,
Send compassion to any lingering tension in your neck or shoulders.
Tune into the energy of your throat,
Your communication center,
If you will.
Observe how it feels.
You might even take a swallow or release an audible exhale to really immerse yourself in the feeling of it.
Take a moment and do that now.
Move your attention down to your arms,
Starting with your shoulder heads.
Then your upper arms,
The fronts,
Backs,
Outsides,
And your armpits.
Become aware of your elbows and their inner creases.
Notice your forearms,
The insides,
Outsides,
Fronts,
And backs.
Focus on your wrists,
Perhaps taking a few circles with your hands to just say hello to any cracks or kinks in these tiny joints.
Each of your wrists has eight bones and three joints,
So see how precisely you can feel into the micro sensations of this area.
Relax your hands,
Feeling for the temperature of the air in the cups of your palms and in the spaces between each finger.
Imagine your arms,
Your hands,
Your fingers are extensions of your heart space.
Understand that your arms are tools that allow you to bring action through your big,
Beautiful heart and send it out into the world.
Speaking of your heart,
Bring your awareness to your chest and upper back area.
Feel for the gentle rise and fall with each breath,
And acknowledge that sometimes it takes courage to be present with the truth in your heart.
So as you feel more deeply into your collarbones,
Your pectoral muscles,
Your shoulder blades,
Your trapezius muscles,
Even your heart itself,
You might discover sensations that you didn't expect,
So hold space for this possibility as you gently observe your chest and upper back area.
If it feels intense or sensitive,
Just ease your focus back onto the rhythmic lull of your breath.
Like butter on toast,
Allow your mind's eye to melt down into your abdomen and your lower back.
Here you might observe the functions of your respiratory system,
Digestive system,
Stomach,
Intestines,
Liver,
Kidneys,
And all the other good stuff in this lower part of your trunk.
Notice the expansion and contraction as you breathe naturally,
And give yourself the grace to observe and allow whatever you experience in your belly and low back as you quite literally listen to your gut.
Sink your attention down into your hips and pelvis.
Notice your outer hips,
Including any asymmetry from the left and the right sides.
Notice your tailbone,
Your bottom,
Your hip points,
And your intimate areas.
Scan for the sensation of gravity at work here in your base,
Your root.
Like roots traveling down from the base of your spine,
Continue this mindful journey to your legs.
Feel the contours of your quadriceps,
The fronts of your thighs,
Your inner thighs,
Hamstrings in the back,
And your outer thighs.
Feel the space where your upper leg meets your knee,
And then scan your knees,
All sides of them,
Including the spaces just around them.
If the knees have a message for you to feel,
Let yourself be the non-judgmental listener.
Feel the solid hardness of your shin bones and the surrounding muscles around the 360 degree columns of your calves and your ankles.
Feel your heels,
The arches of your feet,
The balls of your feet,
And the tops of your feet.
Migrate your attention through the pads and the tips of each individual toe,
Starting with your pinky toes,
Then your fourth toes,
Then your middle toes,
Your second toes,
And finally your big toes.
Take a moment to sense your whole body,
Not as individual parts or areas,
But as one holistic energy form,
All the way from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
You might even begin to sense the space around your body,
Almost as if you were a ball of electricity or a cloud of steam,
An energy force,
An energy field that has no physical edges,
No hard physical edges.
See if you can sense yourself as the energetic being that you are.
And at this point,
Your mind might be tempted to go somewhere else,
But lovingly,
Practice sustaining your focus on being present with your body and your life force.
Allow the breath to move through you,
To find you,
To teach your mind to be here now.
You could use the mantra,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out.
And this is it,
This is the practice.
You can continue on as long as you'd like,
And then whenever you're ready,
Gradually become aware of the space that you're in.
Invite micro movements into the smallest extremities of your body,
Your fingers and toes,
Your eyebrows and jaw,
The features of your face.
Let the movements travel into your wrists and ankles,
Your elbows and knees,
All the way up the length of your arms and legs to your hips and your shoulders.
Perhaps invite yourself into a full body stretch as you take an intentional breath in,
And release a slow breath out as you rest your arms at your sides.
If your eyes are closed,
Gently flutter your eyelids open and welcome yourself back,
All the parts of you that you discovered in this body scan meditation.
It's a big deal that you dedicated this time to cultivating calm presence and awareness in your body.
And remember that yes,
This is a gift to yourself,
It's a moment of intentional presence and self-care,
But it also ripples out and positively impacts everybody that you interact with.
Because of you,
There is more peace in the world.
