Namaste.
This is a 30-minute guided body scan meditation.
It is designed to bring you into a state of deep relaxation and awareness.
This mindfulness meditation has its roots in Yoga Nidra and Body Scan by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Lie on your yoga mat,
A thick rug,
Or your bed,
Allowing your eyes to close or leave them open if that's what you prefer.
Placing your arms alongside your body,
Your feet falling away from each other.
If the mind wanders away,
Patiently bringing it back.
Let's begin by centering ourselves through the breath.
Two sips of air in through the nose and a long slow exhale through the mouth.
Two sips in,
Release the breath through the mouth.
Two sips,
Exhale slowly.
And last time,
Two big inhales,
Slowing down the exhale as you feel its effects on your body and mind.
And if you are working with sankalpa,
An intention for this practice or for your day,
Now you can silently repeat it to yourself a few times and let its energy echo through your whole body and mind.
Here are some of mine.
I surrender to the flow of life and suffering melts away.
I am here to be the full expression of myself.
I release those who I hold responsible for my happiness.
And we will now begin rotation of consciousness.
I'll gently scan your body from head to toe,
While acknowledging sensations without judgment.
Just as they are in each point of the body.
Sensations present inside your mouth,
The tip of the tongue,
Roof of the mouth,
The root of the tongue and over to the inside of the left cheek,
Upper lip and then lower lip.
Can you sense the space that is between your lips?
The whole jaw,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The sensation of the air flowing in through your nostrils,
Sensing the contour of your nose,
Tip of the nose and climbing up with your awareness to the clearing between the eyebrows and then sense your right eye,
Left eye,
Both Let them sink deeper into their sockets,
Releasing any tension from the tiny muscles around the eyes.
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Your entire forehead,
The sensations as you move your awareness up to the crown of your head,
Down the scalp in all directions,
The contact of your head with the surface on which it is resting on,
The back of your neck,
Inviting the awareness up to your throat,
The pit of the throat and glide it down to your right collarbone,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Right wrist,
Right thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
All five fingers on the right hand and the sensations in your whole right hand,
The radiance in your right palm and then include your whole right arm with your awareness and over to the left collarbone,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Left wrist,
Left thumb,
The index,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
The radiance and the sensations in your left palm,
The whole left hand and then the whole left arm and back to your throat.
Deepen your inquiry of the sensations in this part of your body,
The centre of your communication and then both arms simultaneously,
Right side of the chest,
Your right waist,
Left side of the chest and left waist,
Centre of your chest,
Navel,
Your belly and your chest.
And spending two more breaths on the sensations in your heart space,
Sense into your heart inviting the awareness down to your right hip,
Releasing any tension from that whole area,
Continue sensing down the right thigh,
Right knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe,
All five.
All five toes on your right foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right heel,
Sense your whole right leg and over to your left hip,
All kind of sensations are there,
Your left thigh,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Sixth,
Seventh,
Eighth,
Ninth,
Tenth,
Eleventh,
Twelveth,
Thirteenth,
Fourteenth,
Fifteenth,
All five toes on your left foot,
Sensations in the sole of your left foot,
Whole left leg,
Left buttock,
Right buttock,
Tailbone,
And inviting the awareness up to your left hip,
Up your spine,
Over the vertebrae of the lower back,
Middle part and thoracic part,
And sense your right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Left side of the back and right side of your back,
And then your whole pelvic board,
Left and right sides,
Front and back,
And sense your whole torso,
Both legs simultaneously,
Whole head and the entire body at once,
Allowing the whole body to surrender to the depth of stillness,
Peace within,
As your whole body sinks into deeper and deeper relaxation,
And I will deepen your contact with your body by visualizing the body as a strong tree,
And so begin by imagining your feet as sturdy roots,
Anchoring themselves in rich soil,
Feel those thick roots and the soil around them stabilizing you as they grow deeper and deeper into the earth,
And providing nature is cradling you as a mother,
Its beloved child,
Can you allow yourself to receive,
To be taken care of by its inexhaustible source of energy,
Imagining the vitalizing energy as a water stream winding its way through your roots,
Into your body,
Taking on curves and turns,
Going up your legs,
The trunk of your tree,
And visualize your arms as the branches of this tree you've taken form of,
Your arms radiant,
Vibrant fields of energy,
And with each breath branches of your tree gently sway in the breeze,
Can you hear the leaves on your arms that are now the branches of your tree?
Sense that subtle movement as you gather the beautiful,
Majestic earth's energy,
And sense yourself filled full by its magic,
Its beauty,
And then visualize your head as a canvas filled with stars,
Acknowledging the infinite potential within your mind,
And then focusing on your breath,
Inhale as if drawing in a sweet scent of blooming flowers,
And exhale releasing any tension or negativity,
And now zoom out your awareness to appreciate the entirety of your being,
And as you rest here in the stillness of your own being,
Connected to the spirit,
Might you repeat your intention from the beginning,
I welcome acceptance and release resistance,
I surrender to the flow of life and suffering melts away,
I release those who I hold responsible for my happiness,
And then taking a deeper,
More intentional breath,
As you inhale inviting vitality into each cell of your body,
Exhaling any traces of negativity or tension,
Allowing the stillness and peace of this mindful practice to be healing for you,
You can use this body scan as a sleep meditation to find that calm and peace within,
Or any time during the day as a mindful break to ground yourself and connect to your spirit,
And as you slowly start moving your fingers and toes,
Moving your head from side to side,
And listening to the intelligence of your body,
What would your dear body want to do now,
What way to stretch,
And as you roll on to your right side,
You might want to thank yourself for practicing,
For doing the work,
And perhaps slowly opening your eyes,
And I'd like to hear how was your experience with this body scan,
How did you feel before and after,
If you liked this body scan,
You're welcome to share it with others,
Thank you,
Namaste
