Body Scan Meditation

A restorative body scan for giving yourself some time to intentionally relax and ground yourself. Accompanied by soft music and guidance this practice is ideal for calming anxiety, relaxing the body, and winding down before bed.

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Maryam Aisha and I thank you so much for being here.

Today's guided meditation is going to be a body scan.

This is a beautiful thing to do right before you're getting ready to go to sleep,

To wind down,

To release any tension in the body.

If you just need a moment to check in with yourself,

If you just want to come down into your body and really ground,

This is a beautiful practice for that.

So I'll give you a moment to find a comfortable space.

I would say the best place I would recommend to do it is in the bed,

Snuggled up under your covers because I have noticed that sometimes you get a little chill and all that's fine,

But I like to be nice and comfortable,

Nice and warm.

But whatever you choose,

I'll give you that moment now.

Now that you're in your most comfortable space,

I just want you to close your eyes and just slowly begin to breathe naturally.

Don't force it in any way,

But just bring your awareness to the breath.

How does it feel?

Is your breathing tight or restricted?

Do you feel rushed at all?

Where do you feel the breath?

Do you notice your stomach rising or your chest?

Do you naturally breathe with your mouth closed or with your mouth open?

Just noticing.

Now we're going to move down all the way to the feet,

Turning our attention to our toes.

What sensations do you feel?

Do they feel relaxed?

Do you feel the blanket brushing up against it?

Just noticing.

Slowly bring your attention down the bottom of the foot to the arch and then to the heel,

Just noticing how things feel.

Do your ankles feel heavy?

Just noticing how it feels to really relax in those areas and to give attention to those areas that we may not give that much attention to on a daily basis.

Our feet have so many bones,

So many intricate connections.

Slowly we're going to move up into the calves,

Just noticing any sensations,

Any tingles,

And just sending our breath down into those areas.

Let's move up to our knees.

Noticing our joints,

Our skin,

Noticing any tension here and breathing into it,

Noticing any sensations on the underside of the knee.

Moving up from the knee to our thighs,

Feeling the skin there,

Noticing any little sensations,

Any tingles,

Any tension,

Any coolness.

Let's take a deep breath in here.

And as we exhale,

We're going to release it down into the thighs,

To the knees,

To the calves,

To our ankles,

To our feet.

One more deep breath in.

And on this exhale,

We're going to release any tension that were in any of these areas.

We're going to release these areas completely and allow them to fully relax.

Now we're bringing our attention up slowly to our pelvic area,

Noticing our hip bones,

Feeling how our bladder feels here.

Are we holding our bladder tight?

Are we able to relax?

Feeling ourselves sinking down into the surface that we're lying on,

Releasing the buttocks,

Releasing the hips,

Breathing into those areas.

Bringing our attention a little higher to our belly button and then up to our ribs and to our heart,

Noticing the rhythm of our heartbeat,

The expansion of our lungs as we breathe in and out.

Feeling any sensations that you feel here,

Any heaviness,

Any tightness,

And intentionally breathing deeper into those areas,

Intentionally releasing tension.

Take a deep breath in.

Bringing our entire abdomen and chest area into focus,

Our back,

Our spine,

Our hips,

Our waist.

Exhale,

Sending healing breath to those areas.

And on the next breath,

We're going to exhale,

Releasing any of that tension,

Sending newness,

Sending healing,

Sending relaxation down through those areas.

Gently,

Fully release,

Let it go,

Bringing your attention up to the shoulders,

Your collarbone,

Your neck.

Just noticing any sensations,

The feeling of your back against the surface that you're relying on,

Any heaviness in your shoulders.

Now we're sending our attention down to our fingertips,

Noticing any tension,

Any resistance.

Are we clenching or are we fully relaxed?

Feeling any of the tingles,

The cool sensations,

The air,

Our fingers rubbing against the fabric that we are relying on.

Feeling up through the hand,

Noticing any sensations through the wrist,

Noticing any tension,

Any tingles.

Slowly moving up our arms to our elbows.

Breathing into these areas,

Over our biceps and back to our shoulders.

Taking a moment to notice and just witness all the sensations that you feel.

Take a deep breath in.

Bringing in the shoulders,

Neck,

Arms and hands into our awareness.

Soak in water.

And again,

Noticing any tension and as we exhale,

Sending newness there,

Sending healing energy there.

And on our next breath,

Setting the intention to release and fully let go of any of that.

And then,

We take a little bit of a deep breath to close that Vitaр gamut and then let go.

Moving our attention up,

Our neck,

All the way up to the top of the spine.

Noticing our jaw,

Brushing over our cheekbones,

Our lips,

Our cheeks.

Noticing our eyes,

Our eyebrows,

Our forehead,

Our temple.

All the way up to the top of the crown.

Noticing our eyes,

Our eyes,

Our cheeks.

Noticing our eyes,

Our eyes,

Our cheeks.

Noticing if we are holding any tension in our eyebrows,

In our eyes,

In our eyes,

In our jaw.

Noticing our ears.

Noticing how it feels along the back of our head as we rest and relax into this moment.

Relaxing our eyes.

Relaxing our eyes.

Relaxing our eyes.

Taking a deep breath in.

Feeling our body up all the way to the top of the head.

And releasing it.

Noticing anything toxic,

Anything heavy,

Anything tense or restrictive.

And again,

Taking another deep breath in,

Expanding within ourselves.

And exhaling,

Relaxing and completely letting go.

And just noticing how it feels here to just be,

To just exist.

Having paid attention to ourselves on every little level.

After giving ourselves the time and the attention that we deserve.

Noticing you to breathe.

And you can choose now.

To wiggle your fingers and your toes.

To open your eyes.

Or relax further into this moment.

Allow yourself to drift off into a beautiful,

Healing sleep.

Ashe.

And so it is.

Thank you.

Reviews

Fresh and relaxing approach Thank you for the gentleness and the spaces.

Relaxing!

So soothing and the perfect way to start this restful, intentional vacation

Very relaxing, I feel amazing. Thank you

Body scans have a special place in my heart because they're the first type of meditation exercise I ever practiced. They really taught me how to return to stillness. It's nice to do one with someone who looks like me. #blackmeditators Thank you, Maryam. ❤

Soothing voice really calms and relaxes you. Perfect for nighttime or morning to help you slowly wake up…