Scanning For The Body’s Perceptions

When we do body scan meditations, often our mind will default to visualising the areas that we are guided to explore. Teacher Anne Muhlethaler here invites us to use our attention like a sensorial flashlight, in this short 15-minute body scan.

Transcript

Find a comfortable seat and that means ideally you want to have your feet touching the ground, In contact with the ground. You want to have an upright back and whenever that feels comfortable for you, You can close your eyes and just take a moment and let yourself arrive. Before we start, I would like you to take a few intentional breaths in and out for me. So you can start by exhaling all of your air and take a deep breath in through the nose and then exhale with a long slow sigh out. Take a deep long breath in through the nose and exhale with a long slow sigh out through the mouth and take one third deep deep breath in and let it go. And now with your eyes closed, Comfortably seated, I'm going to invite to make an intention for our time together. It could be an intention of curiosity, If this practice is new for you. It could be an intention around softening, Relaxation, Letting go, Whatever it is. What is your intention? A practice. And now that you found your intention, Let's put a pin in that and let's start. Today we're going to do a short relaxing body scan. For that practice, I'm going to invite you to use your attention almost as a flashlight as if you could direct it on various body parts but instead of visualizing the body part, I would like you to feel for sensations. Really try to feel any sensations of aliveness. Some will be pleasant, Some will be unpleasant and many will be neutral. So starting at the crown of the head, Scanning for sensations, Noticing perhaps temperature, Air, Maybe tingling. Noticing what is giving you a sense that you can feel into the top of the head, Feeling into the brow, The forehead, The eyebrows, The eyes. And now I would like you to imagine that you can invite a sense of softening every time you place your attention on these different parts of the body. And now you can imagine that you can soften all four corners of your eyes. Now placing your attention right at the tip of the nose, I would like you to try and feel for sensation around the inhale. Can you feel the air as it comes into the body, Right at the tip of the nose? Can you try to follow the air as it enters the body? Now as best you can try to stay for the next breath. It may feel very subtle, But can you focus your power of attention on feeling the sensations present as air comes into the body, Right at the tip of the nostrils. Now feeling into the lips, The mouth, The tongue and imagine that you can relax the tongue all the way down from its root, Softening into the throat, Moving your attention to the front of the chest, The heart center. Again can you scan for sensations, Perhaps a sense of your heart beating? What can you sense? Can you sense the movement of the ribs, The upper ribs as the air comes into the body, A sense of expansion, Widening and similarly or rather the opposite movement. Can you connect with a sense of contraction with every exhale, Placing your attention around the belly, The abdomen, Scanning for sensations inside and out. We often call our gut the second brain and so I'd like you to explore any feelings and sensations of aliveness that are coming from within. It could be notable or very subtle, Just imagine that you are like a curious scientist exploring your own moment-to-moment experience. Now moving your attention to the feet, Noticing the contact of the feet against the ground. Perhaps you can notice temperature, Maybe you can also sense the connection with the ground, Just what is there to feel. And now for the last minute I would like you to try and scan your body from the crown of the head all the way down to the tips of the toes, Scanning for sensations, Feeling into any area that the body will call your attention to, Settle upon, Noticing perhaps itching or tingling, Pulsating, Pressure, Warmth, Gravity. As best you can taking it all in, The dance of aliveness, The moment-to-moment experience of living within this human body. And with that I'm going to conclude this meditation and that I'm going to conclude this meditation. Thank you so much for joining me. Om Shanti and Namaste.