Welcome everyone.
In this short practice I will guide you through a simple body scan and we will do that in a seated position.
So please I'm inviting you to find a comfortable seat,
Maybe on a chair,
On a cushion on the floor.
And while you take this moment to settle in,
Remembering to straighten your back,
Relaxing the shoulder down and away from the ears,
Maybe gently tucked in the chin,
Giving space into the neck,
Resting your hands in your thighs,
In your lap and allowing the eyes to close gently.
If closing the eyes is not in your practice,
Allowing a soft gaze to rest on an unmoving object in front of you.
And we will begin this practice by taking three full breaths at our own rhythm.
So when you feel ready,
Inhaling fully and deeply,
Maybe pausing at the top of the inhale and then gently releasing the air slowly and also maybe releasing tensions in the mind and in the body or anything that is not serving you in this present moment.
Doing so two more times at your own rhythm.
Allowing the body to settle down in the present moment,
In the space and allowing the mind to slowly relax.
Once you completed three full breaths,
Allowing your breathing to come back to its natural rhythm and taking this moment first to rest in awareness of the present moment.
If your mind wanders around during the practice,
No worries,
Notice that your attention went away and simply come back to wherever we are in the practice at that moment.
It's all fine.
The practice is to develop our awareness and simply to be in the present,
Remembering kindness and non-judgment.
So I'm inviting you now to please bring your attention onto your feet.
Noticing your feet resting on the floor or beneath you if you are seated on a cushion.
Noticing the part of the feet in contact with the floor or your body and noticing any sensation arising in the feet.
You might be pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral and always remembering to refrain from judgment.
Strain from the feet moving the attention up onto the calves,
Becoming aware of any sensation in the calves.
Maybe taking this moment to relax your muscles and then moving up onto the knees and the back of the knees,
Noticing any sensation arising and passing away.
And bringing your attention onto your thighs and see if you can relax your muscle an extra one or two percent,
Not much,
And simply releasing the grip of the muscles around the bones and allowing your legs to become heavier and noticing sensations arising,
Falling away,
Always changing.
And if there's nothing to be noticed at the moment,
Simply note no sensation.
Then inviting your attention onto your buttocks and the hips,
Noticing the sit bones in contact with the chair,
Noticing the space and air around your hips and noticing any sensation of pressure,
Maybe the touch of your clothes on the skin,
There might be some vibrations,
Some heat,
Simply notice what is there.
And then moving up onto the back,
Becoming aware of your whole back,
Lower,
Middle and upper and see if you can relax your back gently a little more,
But still keeping your stand straight.
If you notice any tensions or aches in the lower back or anywhere else in your back,
You can use your breathing to soften the edges of the ache,
Imagining that with each exhale you release any sensation that do not serve you in this moment.
They may not disappear,
But they may soften.
And if at any time the sensations are too strong,
Be kind and show yourself some care by gently adjusting your posture,
Being mindful of each movement that you do.
And then becoming aware of the shoulders and the neck,
Relaxing the shoulder a little more,
Allowing space between the vertebra of your neck by maybe lengthening the spine a little bit and welcoming any sensation,
May they be pleasant or unpleasant.
And from the neck and shoulders,
Gently bringing your attention onto your arms and hands,
Noticing the weight of the arms alongside the body,
The hands resting in your thigh and allowing both hands and arms to be heavier,
Relaxing the muscles consciously and feeling whatever sensation arise in the arms and hands.
And then gently bringing your attention onto the belly,
The chest,
The breast and see if you can soften the belly a little bit,
Softening the space around the heart,
Feeling the movement of the breath and becoming aware of any alive sensation in your front torso.
And then gently moving the attention up,
Becoming aware of the whole scalp,
The whole scalp,
Noticing any sensations from tingling to itching to warm or coolness,
Tension maybe,
Tightness or ease.
And then moving onto the forehead,
Relaxing and softening the forehead,
Softening the middle of the brows and the brows,
Allowing the eyeballs to rest in their eye socket still,
Giving permission to the eyelids to soften,
The cheeks to relax,
The skin around the mouth to soften,
The jaws to be relaxed and the tongue heavy in the mouth.
And once you find your whole face more relaxed,
Gently bring a smile,
A gentle smile onto your lips and notice the effect of the smile on your face,
On your state of mind and heart and on the whole body.
And gently noticing your breathing,
Feeling the whole body breathing from head to toe and toe to head,
Expanding your awareness to your whole body,
The posture of your body and any physical sensation arising in the body.
And from the whole body awareness coming back onto your breath,
Feeling the inhale and the exhale and gently shifting your attention onto your feet,
Reconnecting with your feet on the floor,
Becoming aware again of the chair or the cushion supporting you,
The sound in the room and one last time coming back onto your breath,
Maybe deepening it for a moment.
And whenever you feel ready,
On your next exhale gently bringing the chin to the chest,
Licking the eyes open when you are ready,
Bringing back into awareness the colors,
The light,
Your environment and on an inhale gently bringing the head straight and welcome back.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you in this little practice.
I wish you a wonderful rest of your day or evening.
May you be well,
May you be safe,
May you be healthy and may you be happy.
