Welcome.
This is a 10-minute body scan meditation by Allison Peet with From Within Wellness.
So getting into a posture that helps you to be both relaxed and alert simultaneously.
This could be seated in a chair,
Reclined,
Or even lying down.
Letting yourself sink into your humanness.
All is welcome here.
This practice isn't about accomplishing anything or trying to get to some specific emotional or mental state.
This is outside of goal setting.
It's very easy to be disconnected from the body and live in our heads,
Or even a few feet or even days ahead of ourselves.
So this practice calls on us to rebody,
To remember that we live in this human form.
We begin to learn how to gain a greater capacity for paying attention to physical sensations,
Directing our attention systematically to different regions and portions of the body,
And becoming more attentive to the body's communication.
The body is a stress detector.
And knowing in a very deep way of what it's like to be in your own good company.
So this aim is to rest with presence with an open mind and an open heart,
Aware of things shifting and changing all on their own.
So what's most important here is your level of awareness of what you're experiencing from moment to moment,
Especially when difficult thoughts or emotions or even physical sensations arise.
It's very important to bring a kind,
Friendly,
Curious attention to this practice.
So noticing the whole body all at once,
The full dimensionality here of this field of sensation that we call the body,
Allowing the weight of the body to release,
To be received by the floor or the support beneath you.
Noticing the length,
Width,
Body,
The space you're taking up.
See if you can get in touch with how it feels from the inside out.
This body scan practice is a way to come into our lives more fully.
And we can begin here by accessing the body slowly,
Patiently,
Like you would a shy animal or a child,
Letting them come to you,
Letting those sensations become apparent,
Without striving or straining or trying to do a really good job or doing it perfectly.
Become aware of your breath,
Becoming aware of the body breathing itself.
You are being breathed.
And notice the relative stillness.
So as you feel ready,
Dialing down your attention from this wide view of the body,
Narrowing the scope or the lens of attention,
And bringing it up to the top of the head.
And notice if there's any areas that could be released,
Muscles that are tense or holding some tension,
Feeling from the inside,
Perhaps your entire face.
Many times we hold a lot of tension that we're not realizing around the eyes,
Maybe letting yourself unfurrow the brow,
Letting the eyes close gently if they have been open,
Loosening the jaw,
Letting the tongue be soft and wide against the roof of the mouth.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go.
Nothing to control about your experience right now.
Letting it be just as it is.
Bringing attention here and now sinking down into the neck and the shoulders,
Another area where we hold chronic tension.
And without requiring yourself to relax,
Notice what it would be like to reside,
To inhabit fully,
As fully as you can.
Notice what feels easy in this area of the neck and the shoulders.
Letting your attention through the length of both arms,
And perhaps letting your attention rest in both hands.
And getting in touch with anything that's already here,
Not making something happen that you think should be happening,
Not pushing anything away that's already here.
Just observing,
Is there a sense of warmth or coolness,
Perhaps a sense of tingling or vibration?
If anything becomes too intense,
The level of the mind or the body,
Know that there can always be a choice to redirect the attention.
If breath is an anchor,
Letting your attention rest on the breath,
Letting attention come out to the soundscape.
Maybe there's a visual field that feels steady,
Shifting the attention away on purpose,
And then coming back when you feel ready.
Remembering you are the best guide for what is possible and not possible right now.
You are the expert.
Now guiding your attention into the torso,
Perhaps feeling your own heart,
Noticing the breath moving in and out,
Allowing yourself to be nourished on the inhale,
And soothed or relaxed on the exhale.
Becoming aware of the back of the body,
The breath is as accessible in the back as the front,
Shifting down into the belly and the lower torso,
The pelvis,
Organs of digestion,
Reproduction,
Elimination.
Noticing when the mind gets carried away by the thought stream,
Noting what's on the mind and then gently but firmly guiding yourself back,
Back to this body,
Back to this living experience of what it's like to be a human being.
This is what the mind does.
Noticing the activity of the mind,
Noticing the mind moving away from the body.
It's not a problem.
Knowing this,
You're actually present to what's happening now.
Mind is wandering.
Guiding yourself now down through both legs,
Noticing the weight here,
The length,
Guiding your attention down through the knees,
The calves,
The ankles,
And then to both feet.
How do you know you have feet?
As you feel ready,
Widening your attention to include the whole body,
Holding everything lightly in awareness as it is.
Resting in the awareness of the whole entire body.
Taking a couple deep breaths now and noticing how you feel.
Seeing if you can bring this more attentive,
Alert awareness into your next moments of your life.
Thank you for your practice.
