Mindful Body Scan For Relaxation

This is an MBSR Body scan. You will be invited to bring awareness in a gentle, kind, loving way to your body, beginning with the feet. This meditation may promote relaxation. As you move through the body points, your mind may drift off which is normal. You will be gently guided back to this moment – back to your body. Should any parts of the body become difficult for you, it is okay to bring attention to your breath, remembering this body scan is for your nourishment only.

Transcript

So I'm going to invite you to begin noticing your breath with this body scan meditation.

Inviting you to notice the in and out of the breath,

The rise and the fall,

Arriving in this space,

Whether you're lying down or sitting.

Feeling the weight of your body on the mat or on the bed or in a chair.

Being aware of the space that you take up at this moment.

Also as we begin offering yourself a bit of gratitude for taking time for such self care,

For being in the world just as it is at this moment,

In this space,

With this breath.

And as we do this meditation,

It's important to remember that any time when there is a nagging discomfort that seems to be taking you away from whatever body parts we're on,

In those moments I invite you to bring your attention to those spaces.

You can bring your breath to those spaces.

So instead of resisting something that is feeling harsh or frustrating,

Bring your awareness to those spaces and then just join back in when it feels right or when you feel ready.

Or maybe when the mind has gotten bored with focusing on that specific area.

And noticing the rise and fall of maybe the chest,

The abdomen,

Shoulders,

Maybe even feeling the expansion of the ribs with the intake of the breath.

I'm going to invite you now to bring awareness to your left big toe.

Noticing what is there.

Maybe there's some tingling warmth,

Coolness.

Maybe there's no feeling at all.

And this may be true for any part that we are bringing attention to within the body,

That there's no right or wrong thing to feel or not feel.

We're just noticing what presents itself at this moment.

Then bringing awareness to the little toe.

Now is there a feeling of sock or shoe or coolness?

And then noticing all the toes in between.

You can notice these things without actually moving them.

That quite amazing that yes,

You know,

The big toe is there,

The little toe and all the toes in between.

Next bringing awareness to the ball of the left foot.

And then the arch and moving to the heel.

Noticing the difference of feeling from the arch,

Sole of your foot to the heel.

Do you notice pressure on any parts of your heel?

Just notice what's there.

Maybe noticing that pull of gravity securing the heel to the floor or to the bed.

The next bringing awareness to the top of your foot.

And noticing where the top of the foot meets the ankle.

Noticing the inner ankle bone and the outer ankle bone.

Maybe noticing that Achilles tendon that then joins with the lower leg.

Noticing the lower leg and noticing the top of the calf muscle.

Noticing that shin bone and noticing the calf muscles in the back of the leg.

Can you sense or feel coolness,

Tingling,

Warmth?

Maybe fabric,

A texture.

And again,

Maybe there's no feeling at all.

Again,

No right or wrong.

Then moving up to the knee.

Bringing awareness to the top of the knee.

To the inside side of the knee and the outside of the knee.

And noticing that softer tissue on the back side of the knee.

Knees are an area that can be tricky for many.

So just noticing what's there and that reminder again if any part is really uncomfortable or taking you away from the moment,

Make that your moment.

It's okay to bring your attention to that space a bit longer if need be.

Then we arrive to the thigh,

One of the largest muscles in the body.

Noticing the quadricep muscles on top of the thigh.

And the hamstrings in the back of the thigh.

This is an area with some of the tightest muscles in the body or can be.

Then becoming aware of where the left thigh meets the left hip.

Noticing what's there,

Is there tightness,

Comfort,

Pressure.

And then inviting you to take in the whole of the left leg and foot on an inhale and then on the exhale.

Moving to the right big toe.

Again noticing if there's coolness,

Tingling,

Any sensation at all.

Any awareness of fabric touching the left big toe.

Along with noticing the little toe of the right foot.

Becoming curious as to what is there,

What am I sensing?

And then bringing your awareness to all the toes in between.

Maybe even noticing the little dips of skin that connect all the toes together on the foot.

The next arriving to the ball of the right foot.

Noticing your arch.

And the heel of the right foot,

Noticing where it meets the ground.

And then moving up to the ankle.

It's a complex area of lots of bones,

Maybe even sensing the bones deep inside.

Noticing the skin.

Becoming aware of the muscles in the ankle.

Noticing the inner ankle bone and the outer ankle bone in the back of the ankle where it meets the heel.

Then inviting you to move to the lower right leg.

Becoming aware of the muscles in the back of the calf.

Are they tight?

Are there any sensations there?

Coolness,

Warmth,

Discomfort.

And then moving to the shin bone,

Becoming aware of the skin of the lower leg.

Then moving to the right knee.

What is there?

What do you notice in the right knee?

And again,

No right or wrong.

We're not looking to change anything,

But just be with it as it is.

So noticing the top of the knee.

And then moving to the back of the knee.

Does the back of the knee touch the floor or is there a space between the back of the knee and the floor?

Then moving up to the right thigh.

Becoming aware of the top of the right thigh.

Again,

Noticing if there's any tightening or tension,

Discomfort,

Coolness,

Warmth.

Noticing the inner right thigh.

Moving around to the back of the thigh.

Noticing those hamstring muscles.

And again,

Noticing is there tightness,

Tension,

Comfort.

And then moving up to the right hip.

Hips are another area that can be very tight for many.

Noticing what's there.

Where does the hip meet with the thigh and where does it meet with the floor or the bed or the chair?

And then on an in-breath,

Noticing the whole of the right thigh.

And on the exhale,

We're going to move to the pelvic region.

So again,

In the pelvic region,

Noticing the areas of reproduction and elimination.

Becoming aware of the internal organs in this area that allow for reproduction and elimination.

And then maybe also noticing the sit bones or the end of the tailbone.

And then wrapping around,

Noticing the navel area.

What is there?

Can you notice any sensations inside of the body just doing what the body does?

Or is there no feeling at all?

Or maybe there's even discomfort.

So just bringing your mind's eye to these spaces.

Just becoming aware of what is there.

At times you might notice that you may flee from those areas.

And we just note that is interesting.

It's not right or wrong.

We're just noticing what is present in this moment.

And then moving up to the waist and chest,

Noticing the rib cage as it protects some vital organs.

And here again,

You might notice the breath even more.

So you might notice the expansion of the lungs,

Feeling those ribs rise and fall.

Being aware of vital organs,

The pancreas,

Maybe small intestine,

Stomach,

Lungs.

So noticing the rise and fall of the breath and maybe even feeling the expansion of the lungs on the floor or the bed or the chair.

And then moving to the lower back.

So noticing the lower back,

Again,

An area that can hold tension for many.

And also a note here that if at any point something becomes so uncomfortable,

It is okay to shift or move,

Doing so mindfully,

Purposefully.

Because pain can become very distracting and then take one away from the moment.

So it is okay.

But it's also encouraged,

I also encourage you to sit with something for a bit before immediately wanting to change it to better know it.

So we're kind of studying what is here right now.

Then moving to mid-back,

Becoming aware of the spine,

Noticing where the back meets the floor or the bed or against a chair.

Moving to the upper back.

And again,

The back as a whole can be an area that holds lots of tightness,

Sometimes discomfort.

And bringing awareness to those spaces.

And then notice the shoulder blades.

Maybe notice where the shoulders or back of the shoulders meet the floor.

Then inviting you to bring awareness to the left shoulder.

And then to not forget the left armpit.

Just notice what sensations are there.

Moving to the bicep or the upper arm.

And then the forearm,

Noticing the forearm.

Moving to the wrist.

Then noticing your hand.

Noticing the left thumb.

Noticing the second finger.

The third finger.

The fourth finger and the fifth finger.

Hands are an area that can hold lots of sensations.

Maybe even noticing the movement of blood or heartbeat,

Tingling,

Coolness,

Warmth.

Noticing the palm of the hand in comparison to the top of the hand.

You might even notice or sense air touching the hand,

The skin of the hand.

And then next moving over to the right shoulder,

Bringing awareness to the armpit.

And the upper arm or the bicep area.

Noticing where the arm meets the floor or the chair.

Noticing the elbow,

The inner elbow and the outer elbow.

And moving to the forearm.

Noticing if there's any tension,

Tightness.

Maybe noticing clothing.

Bringing awareness to your wrist.

And then to the fingers of your right hand.

Noticing the thumb.

And again,

Any sensations in the fingers.

So noticing the thumb and then the second finger.

The third finger.

The fourth finger and the fifth finger.

Inviting you to bring awareness to the top of your hand.

And then also noticing the palm of your hand.

Just noticing what's there.

Maybe noticing tingling if it's there.

And again,

If there's no sensation at all,

That is just fine.

We're not trying to create anything.

We're just noticing what presents itself right now.

And then now we're going to move to the neck and throat.

So noticing the back of the neck.

Maybe noticing whether it touches a pillow or if there's space.

Moving to the front side of the neck.

Maybe noticing a want or the body's want to swallow.

Noticing coolness or warmth.

And then from the neck,

Moving up to the chin and the jaw.

So maybe noticing the tip of the chin.

What's there?

What's presenting itself right now?

And from the chin,

We move to the lips.

There can be lots of sensations in the lips.

Maybe noticing the coolness of air,

Dryness or moisture.

And then noticing where your teeth touch your lips.

And then also noticing the inside of your cheeks,

Where your cheeks touch your teeth.

What's there?

Noticing the tongue.

Is the tongue pressed up against the roof of the mouth or sitting low or touching teeth?

Just becoming curious.

No need to change anything.

And again,

Unless it keeps distracting you or taking you away,

But inviting you to just be with what is here.

Then noticing the outer cheeks.

And then noticing that space between the upper lip and your nose.

Maybe noticing,

Seeing if you can sense air with the in and the out of the breath.

And then moving up to the nose.

And again,

This area where we can really experience the breath.

Maybe noticing one nostril is more plugged than another.

Noticing the sensation of air on the inside of the nostrils.

Then noticing the skin on the top of the nose.

And then next moving to the eyes.

Just sensing the eyes as they fall back in the head,

As the eyelids cover and protect the eyes.

Maybe sensing eyelashes.

Inviting you to bring awareness to the corners of your eyes.

The inside corner of your eyes to the outer corner of your eyes.

Noticing the eyelids.

And then moving up to the eyebrows.

Noticing the right eyebrow and the left eyebrow.

Again,

Noticing if there's any tension there,

Tightness,

Maybe a feeling of laid back,

Comfortable,

Comfort,

Coolness.

And noticing that space in between the eyebrows,

Sometimes called the third eye.

And then the forehead.

What's there?

Right at this moment.

Hello forehead.

Noticing maybe a sensation of air,

Maybe tightness,

Maybe pain.

And instead of resisting,

We're just saying,

Hello.

I feel this right now.

Then moving to the crown of the head.

Maybe possibly noticing a feeling of hair on the top of your head or maybe a feeling of coolness or warmth or a tickle sensation.

Just allowing what's there.

And then noticing the ears.

Noticing the left ear.

Noticing the ear lobe.

And bringing awareness to the canal of the left ear.

Then moving to the right ear.

Bringing awareness to the cartilage in this area,

The right lobe of the left ear and the inner canal.

Noticing any sensations.

Then inviting you to notice the back of the head.

So if you're lying down,

Noticing where the head meets the floor or the pillow.

Also maybe again noticing a sensation of hair.

Noticing what's there.

Then we move to the base of the skull where it meets the neck,

Sometimes an area holding tension.

And again,

Maybe there's no feeling at all.

So just arriving at the base of the neck or the base of the skull.

And at this moment inviting you to bring into awareness the whole of your body from the head,

Neck,

Shoulders,

Torso,

Legs,

Feet.

The whole of the body,

Maybe experiencing the breath rising and falling through the whole of this body right here in this space.

Bringing awareness to the sensation as the breath moves through the body as it oxygenates the blood that keeps this body going.

Also inviting you to possibly notice that sense of that gravity securing you in this space.

And possibly offering your body some gratitude for doing what it's doing without you even thinking about it.

It just does what it needs to do.

It's not always just as we like,

But it continues on,

The heart pumps on.

And then coming back to the breath.

Noticing the in and the out.

The rise and the fall.

Right here in this moment.

This breath and this body in this space.

As thoughts come in,

Noticing the thoughts and then coming back to the breath.

And inviting you now to maybe take a couple of deeper breaths in as you bring awareness into the whole space or the room.

So out of the body,

Kind of into the room.

And sensing the body beginning to wake up a little bit,

Maybe bringing small movements,

Touching thumbs lightly to fingertips.

Slowly moving the body in your time.

There's no rush.

No need to hurry.

Maybe just even the need just to kind of be here a bit more with the stillness.

And in your time,

Very slowly and gently in your time,

Opening your eyes as you are comfortable and ready.

Thank you.

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Was asleep before it ended
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