30 minute body scan meditation.
This meditation is designed to bring relative stillness to your mind,
To increase an awareness of the sensations that lie within your body.
It's best to do this in a time and place where you are unlikely to be disturbed and where you feel comfortable in loose,
Unrestricted clothing.
This meditation is usually done lying on your back,
But you can choose any posture that is comfortable and easy for you.
It can be done on a rug or a mat,
A bed or even a reclining chair.
You may want to use a blanket to keep you warm,
And you can use a pillow for your head if you find it more comfortable that way.
Resting on your back,
Letting your arms rest by your side with your palms up towards the ceiling if that's comfortable for you,
Or lightly resting on your belly if you prefer,
Leaving your hands loose and unclenched.
Place your heels on the floor,
Allowing your feet to fall away from each other.
And as you lie here,
Begin to focus on your breathing.
Take deep breaths in,
And deep breaths out.
Go at your own pace,
Breathing deeply.
And as you relax,
Allow yourself to notice whatever comes up in your awareness,
Simply accepting what occurs in the body and the mind,
Experiencing it clearly as it is in this moment.
Observing where your body makes contact with the floor or with the mat.
You may have sensations of touch or pressure in your heels,
In your calves,
In your legs or your buttocks,
In your upper back and your arms.
And as you're becoming aware of these sensations,
Bring your attention now to the fact that you are breathing.
I want you to notice the actual physical sensations of breath.
And as you take air in,
Watch and feel your diaphragm move,
As it allows your belly to move up and expand.
And as you breathe out,
Notice how the belly flattens out again,
Watching the rhythm of your breath in your mind's eye as it moves your belly slowly and surely.
Are there slight movements in your chest?
You may be aware of how the air enters your nostrils down into your lungs,
Allowing that natural movement of the breath to continue without you having to do anything at all.
Just notice how it happens.
You may find that you want to control your breathing,
That you want to control its pace or its depth,
Or when it comes to your attention.
Instead,
I want you just to observe how the breath is,
Whether it is short or fast,
Or whether it is long and deep.
Just allowing the breath to move at its own rhythm,
Without you having to control or do anything.
Just let your breathing breathe.
In your own time,
In your next in-breath,
Allowing the breath that comes in and fills your lungs and moves your belly up,
Imagine that your whole body is a hollow vessel and is filled up with the air that comes into the lungs.
Imagine it now going all the way down into your belly and all the way down your legs,
All the way into your feet and toes with the breath as it fills you up.
Bring your awareness to your toes.
Simply notice what is present there as you move your attention to this part of your body.
You may notice temperature or coolness,
Some sensation there,
Perhaps a tingling,
Or there may be nothing there at all for you.
Notice that it's possible to have your attention on one or other of the feet or the left and right foot at the same time,
That you can hold a space of attention that includes both in your awareness.
You can easily imagine your breath moving all the way down through the toes of both feet.
Hold in your awareness now the balls of the feet,
And then include all of the flat of your foot,
All the parts that have contact with the ground as you walk.
You may notice just where your heel is touching the mat or the floor right now,
And letting your awareness move up now to your ankles,
Including the muscles,
The ligaments,
The ones inside the ankle as well as the entire circumference of the ankle.
Bring your attention all the way around the outside of the ankle.
Be aware of the surface of the skin,
And then go within the ankle area to the inner parts that move when you walk and when you stand.
Imagine your breath going down into that area,
All the way down your legs and into the ankle.
On your next out breath,
Move your awareness to your calves.
Take in the awareness of this entire part of your lower leg,
Between your knees and your ankle.
Notice what is present here for you.
And when you're ready,
Moving your awareness now to the knees,
Including the back of the knee,
The kneecap,
The joint and the ligaments inside.
Notice the skin around the whole of the knee.
Being receptive and open to whatever you feel or experience there in this part of the body.
And see if you can soften as you breathe into this area.
Moving from your knees up to your thighs,
Including noticing the areas that may have contact with the ground and the floor,
And including the upper part of your thighs.
Hold them in your attention and see if you can relax and let go.
And being aware of your thighs all the way around,
Observe the outside and then the inside of your thighs,
The muscles,
Tendons,
The ligaments inside.
Think what it is like for you to have an awareness of this part.
You may observe a weight or a throbbing or a heaviness or maybe even a tingling.
Just notice without any judgement.
Just be aware of what is there for you right now.
And as you are ready,
Move your attention higher towards the hip,
Towards the pelvic area,
The buttocks where they touch the floor or the mat.
See if you can breathe into this area.
Relaxing and softening.
Relaxing and softening.
Moving your awareness from the pelvic area to the lower back.
And move your attention now to the lower abdomen,
Noticing the movement of breath,
How it affects this part of the body,
How it moves and the belly expands a little as you take an in-breath,
And how on an out-breath the belly flattens out slightly.
Seeing if it is possible to maintain awareness of your breathing and how it is physically moving with your belly all the way in from the in-breath through the pause at the end of the in-breath,
And as you are ready to go in the other direction through that long out-breath.
Noticing how the expansion and contraction affects the sensation on the skin,
From the clothes you're wearing,
From the pressure and any internal sensations you may be experiencing right now as you focus your awareness on your lower belly.
And when you are ready,
Bring your attention up to the area of the diaphragm,
Including all the areas around it,
Both above and below,
To inside where some of your organs are and to your rib cage.
Bring your attention to your middle back,
Supporting this area.
Observe any holding or tension in your body.
All you have to do is notice that it's there.
You don't have to do anything about it.
Just become aware and letting your breath move through that part of the body.
Imagine your breath is going to that part and imagine it leaving at its own rhythm,
At its own pace.
And when you're ready,
Bring your attention to your rib cage and to your upper back.
Notice where it touches the floor.
Notice the rise and fall as you breathe gently and deeply in and out.
Become aware of the expansion and the contraction that happens without any effort from you,
Without any control,
Without you having to do anything.
Being aware of how the entire torso area moves very subtly with each in-breath and how it moves with each out-breath.
Appreciating that within the chest cavity,
Your heart and lungs are all working there.
Your lungs and your heart keeping you alive as you breathe right now.
Becoming aware now of your shoulders and how they may be affected with the movement of the breath.
Moving your awareness to your neck,
Bringing awareness to the movement that is happening in the neck area or any sensations within,
Any tensions you might be holding.
Notice if there is anything you can soften and let go.
Notice any movement with the intake of air.
See if you can soften,
Relax and let go.
With your next in-breath,
Allowing your attention to move from your shoulders along your arms all the way down to your fingertips.
Bring attention to your forefinger all the way to the little finger.
See if you can include your attention on the thumb as well as the fleshy part at the base of your thumb.
Imagine your breath going all the way down,
Right down into your fingertips as you breathe in.
And imagine the breath going back out from that area as you shift your attention now to the joints of your fingers.
Move to the exterior awareness of your hand,
To the skin,
The sensations,
The tingling.
Perhaps there's a pressure.
Notice what is there for you right now.
Shifting your awareness now to your wrists.
Moving to your lower arms,
Extending from the wrist all the way to the elbow,
Into your elbows and moving your focus from your elbows to your upper arms.
And back up to the shoulders.
And again to the neck.
And lifting your attention from the base of the neck to your jaw and to your throat area.
What sensations are here?
What tensions?
There's no need to judge,
Just be aware and soften if you can.
Letting go of the tension,
Letting go.
Including in your awareness sensations that you may have inside your mouth.
Your tongue,
Notice how it rests within your mouth.
The inner part of the cheeks.
The palate at the top part of your mouth.
And when you're ready,
Shifting to your gums and to your lips.
And moving to your cheeks,
On the outside,
See if you can soften.
Bringing attention to your nose and to the nostrils.
And the space within.
Observing the breath as it comes into the nostrils and how it leaves again.
Moving to include the eyes themselves and the muscles around the eyes.
The upper cheek and the eyebrows and the corners of the eyes.
See if you can soften this delicate area.
Consciously softening and releasing and letting go.
Moving to the brow now,
To the forehead,
Above the eyebrows.
See if you can soften and let go.
And at the temples.
Take in the observation of your entire scalp,
All the way across and all the way down to your ears.
Can you soften?
Is there any tingling present?
Perhaps there's some warmth.
And when you're ready,
Focusing in on the entire body,
Right from the top of your head and your scalp,
Through your body right to the bottom of your feet.
Allowing and noticing whatever sensations may appear as you include all of your body.
Your head,
Your shoulders,
Your arms and your torso,
Your buttocks,
Your thighs,
Your calves and your shins.
Your ankles and your feet and your toes.
Watch your body in your mind's eye,
The whole of your body,
As you lie here breathing,
Relaxing and letting go.
Allowing your body to be just as it is.
No need to change anything,
No need to judge anything,
No need to criticize,
No need to like or dislike parts of your body,
No need to label them as good or as bad.
Just let them be.
Seeing yourself as complete and whole,
Right here,
Right now,
Just exactly as you are.
And take a few moments now to watch your body as you breathe in and out.
At your own time,
At your own pace.
And when you are ready,
Begin to wiggle your toes and your fingers.
Stretch in whatever way feels comfortable right now.
Beginning to notice the sounds around you and the floor beneath you.
And when you are ready,
In your own time,
At your own pace,
Slowly open your eyes and come back in the room.
