Slow Body Scan For Relaxation

This is a slow, relaxing body scan which will bring you into a deep state of relaxation. A gentle curiosity toward body sensations is encouraged as you relax and rest deeply. There are softly spoken words through most of this practice specially designed to aid beginners, and a formal ending.

Transcript

Hello,

This guided meditation is a body scan to help you relax.

So finding a comfortable position,

You may want to lie down on your back,

On the floor or in your bed or maybe find a seated position where you can be upright but supported.

Allow yourself to begin to settle into your chosen position.

Feel the surface beneath you and allow your body to begin to surrender into that surface.

Beginning to let go,

To melt,

To soften.

We're going to travel our awareness through the body and as we come to each different part,

We're going to relax that part of the body even more deeply.

And as we travel through this meditation,

We're holding an attitude of gentle,

Kind curiosity.

Seeing what sensations are available to us in each different part of our body.

And there's no judgement with any of this.

This is your time to rest,

To relax,

To take some time for you.

And as you relax a little more deeply,

You may find your mind wanders off and begins to think,

That's okay.

This is what minds do.

Gently bring your awareness back to the meditation and carry on.

No judgement.

So bringing your awareness to your breath now and following the flow of your natural breath as it makes your chest and your belly rise and fall.

Following each breath from the very tip of the in-breath to the very end of the out-breath.

Not changing your breath in any way.

Gently watching it.

Allowing it to lull you a little deeper into rest and relaxation.

And so we bring our awareness down to our feet.

Allowing the feet to relax,

To soften.

All tension to drain away from the feet.

And as they relax,

We're listening to see if there are any sensations there.

We may be able to feel clothing or temperature.

There may be sensations inside your foot like tension or softness or numbness.

So just becoming curious about what we can feel.

And allowing the ankles to let go and to relax.

And as they soften,

Listening for any sensations that we can find in this part of the body.

Coming up into our legs,

Our calves and our shins relax.

Feeling your calves lengthen and soften.

And your shins letting go as all tension drains away from your lower legs.

Shining the spotlight of your awareness to this part of your body to see what sensations you can feel as you relax a little deeper.

And allowing your knees to let go.

Your kneecaps soften.

And any holding in this part of your body gently releases.

Noticing any sensation as your knees relax.

And allowing your thighs to soften as the strong muscles of your upper legs lengthen and relax.

More tension draining away from your thighs.

And bringing a curiosity to this part of your body as you relax a little deeper.

And curiously watching to see what you can feel in your thighs.

And allowing your pelvis,

Your hips to let go of any holding as they relax and as they soften and as they open.

All tension and tightness draining away from your pelvic bowl and from your hips.

Allowing your buttocks to soften as they too relax.

All tension draining away.

Noticing any sensations available to you in this part of your body as you relax a little deeper.

And bringing your awareness to your back now.

And allowing the whole length of your back to soften and to lengthen as it relaxes.

You might like to imagine a wave of warm relaxation travelling up your back.

Relaxing your lower back as you relax.

And warming your mid back as you relax.

And spreading through your upper back as you relax.

The whole of your back is soft and relaxed.

All tension draining away.

And noticing if there is any sensation that wants to be heard in this part of your body as you rest in relaxation.

Bringing your awareness now to your belly and allowing your belly to soften.

To let go.

To release any holding.

And as tension slips away from your belly you're noticing any sensations available to you in this part of your body as you relax a little deeper.

And this soft warm relaxation travels up into your chest now.

And as your chest and your heart space begin to relax a little deeper and to let go.

You're watching to see what you can feel in your heart space and your chest.

All tension is draining away as you relax even more.

Bringing your awareness to your shoulders now and as they sink a little further back and down you can feel the tension slipping away.

As any holding is gently released and your shoulders relax.

Noticing if you can feel anything in this part of your body as you let your shoulders relax even deeper.

And this relaxation spreads down into your arms now and your upper arms lengthen as they soften.

All tension draining away.

And as your upper arms relax deeper still you're watching with a gentle curiosity to see what sensation you can feel here.

And your elbows let go and open soften as they release.

And your forearms soften as they lengthen and relax.

And you're curious about any sensation in your forearms as they relax and let go a little more.

And your wrists are softening as they release and relax all tension draining away.

And your hands relax.

You can feel your fingers and your thumbs softening as any holding is gently released.

And bringing that curiosity to your hands.

Is there any sensation you can feel as your hands and your wrists relax and let go.

And bringing your awareness to your neck allowing your neck to lengthen as it softens.

Feeling your throat softly opening as you relax a little more.

And noticing any sensations in this part of your body as you relax your neck.

And all tension drains away from your head as your head relaxes now.

Imagining your skull releasing any holding and your scalp softening.

Allowing your face to smooth.

Your eyebrows to let go.

You may feel them rising up a little higher on your face as they relax.

All the tension released from your eyes and your cheeks are soft.

Your jaw is loose and your mouth is soft.

And bringing that soft gentle curiosity to your face and your head now.

Feeling any sensations in this part of your body as they relax even deeper.

Letting your awareness expand to include your whole body now.

Your whole body deeply relaxed.

And as you rest in this state of surrender bringing your awareness back to your natural breath.

Following the flow of your breath as it comes in through your nose or your mouth flowing down your throat into your lungs.

Feeling your chest and your belly rise and fall with every breath.

And following that flow back out through your throat and out of your body.

And we're coming to the end of our meditation now.

And so we're starting to wriggle the fingers and the thumbs and the toes.

Gently inviting a little movement back into the body.

Allowing that movement to grow to include the arms and the legs.

Be reaching into a stretch or curling up into a ball inviting movement back into the body in whatever way feels good for you.

And coming back to awakeness and awareness.

Opening your eyes and coming back into the room.

Calm and refreshed ready for the rest of your day.

Reviews

Awesome 😎 thanks 😊

This was really wonderful, Anna! 😍Thank you so much! 🙏Your voice is very soothing and you do it at exactly the right speed so I can totally relax 🙏🙏🙏 I have a question for you but I don’t see a message button on your profile page so can you please send me a message directly, and I can reply? Thank you so much.❤️❤️❤️

A beautiful, relaxing and inclusive experience. Thank you.