Body Scan For Cultivating Presence & Kindness

This is a practice that uses the body as an anchor and trains us to stay present, to begin again, cultivate a friendly relationship to the body, and practice being kind. It enhances our ability to bring our full attention to real-time experiences happening in the present moment—helpful when emotions or thoughts feel wild. It trains us to explore and be with pleasant and unpleasant sensations, learning to notice what happens when we simply stay present without trying to fix or change anything.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided body scan meditation.

Finding a place and a time where you can be undisturbed.

Making sure that you'll be warm and comfortable and if possible wearing loose clothing particularly around the waist.

Finding a comfortable position lying down on a mat or a bed or if you prefer sitting in a chair and if lying down perhaps bending your knees letting your arms be by your sides and your feet fall away from each other.

The posture that you adopt for this body scan is not as important as your intention.

Remembering your intention is the most important quality you bring to a practice.

Your intention just to explore your experience as best you can.

So now letting the eyes close over if that feels comfortable or keeping them open if that supports your intention to be awake.

As best you can seeing this as a time for you,

A time for being with yourself for yourself.

A time for looking after yourself and a time for supporting your health and well-being.

This is a time to cultivate the possibility of being fully awake with your experience.

Letting go of our tendency of wanting things to be different and just allowing things to be as they are.

Allowing you to be as you are.

A time to practice bringing attitudes of kindness and gentleness towards yourself.

And as best you can letting go of judgment.

Letting go of there being a right way of doing the practice or a special way of feeling.

There is no right way.

All that is required from you is that you experience your experience right now in this moment.

This is a time to practice being with what is.

So not trying to be calm or relaxed although that may happen but rather just bringing your awareness to whatever sensation you find as you guide your attention to the different parts of the body in turn.

So as we start this body scan I invite you to follow these instructions only if it suits you.

Doing what is best for you.

Making this your practice.

Honoring your own wisdom.

So now gathering your attention and moving it inwards to the body.

Bringing your awareness to the back of the body and to those places where it's making contact with whatever is supporting it.

Opening up to the sensations here.

Perhaps to the back of the heels.

Parts of the back.

The shoulders.

The back of the head.

Seeing if you can allow yourself to feel really held by the floor or by the chair.

Feeling its support.

Letting your body sink into the floor with each out breath.

And now bringing the focus of your attention to the breath.

Perhaps noticing the gentle movement of the body with the inflow and the outflow of the breath.

Letting your awareness rest gently on the feeling of the breath.

So as best you can,

Not changing your breath in any way.

Just letting the breath breathe itself.

But also being interested and curious in the raw sensation of breathing.

Just being observant of the feeling of the body as the breath travels in,

Turns around and moves all the way out again.

And seeing your breath as a stable and safe place that you always have with you and that you can always return to at any time.

Like an anchor holding you and bringing you back to the present.

So now on an out breath,

Letting go of your awareness of breathing.

Letting it fade into the background.

And now guiding your attention all the way down your body.

Down your trunk.

Down the left leg.

All the way down to the left foot.

And all the way down to the big toe of the left foot.

And noticing and exploring any sensations that are in your left big toe just now.

No need to move the big toe or to try to make things different.

Just noticing what's here.

Maybe a tingling.

Maybe a numbness or heat or cold.

Or maybe the sensation of your sock touching it.

Or maybe no sensation at all.

So just noticing whatever it is that you're experiencing in your left big toe in this moment.

Just allowing your experience to be as it is.

Whatever it is.

So letting go of your awareness of your left big toe.

And moving and focusing your awareness on your left little toe.

And noticing any sensations here right now.

What's going on with your left little toe?

Maybe no sensations at all.

So just noticing that.

Then letting go of the awareness of your left little toe and moving in close into the middle toes.

Perhaps a sense of they're touching each other or touching your sock.

Just exploring in a kindly and gentle way.

And now moving your awareness to the bottom of your left foot.

The ball of the left foot.

And then the instep.

What sensations are here for you right now in the sole of your left foot?

So letting go of the sole and coming to focus on the heel.

Perhaps noticing the contact with the floor.

A sense of pressure.

Just noticing any sensation and being with your experience in a kindly way.

And then letting go of your awareness of the bottom of the foot and bringing your awareness to the upper part of the left foot.

Opening up to the experience and the structure of the upper left foot.

All the bones and ligaments and tendons and just noticing what's going on for you in this area.

And then letting go of the awareness of the top of the left foot.

And moving your awareness to the left ankle now.

What sensations are here?

Really allowing this to be a very alive exploration of your left ankle.

And moving your awareness to the lower leg,

The muscle of the calf perhaps,

Where it's touching the floor.

Or moving deeper into the bone.

What sensations are here?

And then moving around to the top of the lower leg,

The bony shin.

What sensations are here now?

Perhaps noticing the skin where it feels taut over the bone.

Or how about your clothing?

How that feels against the shin.

And if at any time you notice that your mind has wandered away from the body scan and has got involved in thoughts or plans or daydreams,

Then just very gently noticing that and bringing your mind back to the part of the body that we're currently working on.

It is the nature of the mind to wander.

So not judging this as any kind of problem,

But just noticing that you're experiencing a wandering mind.

And then bringing your attention back to rejoin the body scan at whatever point it has reached,

Which in this case is the left shin.

So now letting go of the left shin and bringing your attention to the left knee.

Exploring with awareness your experience of the left knee now.

The soft underside and the bony kneecap.

Noticing any sensation in the bony kneecap.

Bringing a sense of kindness to your knee.

And now letting your awareness of the knee just fade into the background and bringing your focused awareness to your thigh.

Notice the sensations on the surface of your thigh,

Deep down sensations.

Becoming aware of the big muscle.

Maybe exploring the bone inside.

What is your experience of your thigh in this moment?

There may be feelings of heaviness.

Just being open to sensation that is here in the left thigh.

Now expanding your awareness to encompass your whole left leg and foot.

And if this feels all right,

Imagining that you could take an in breath and bring the air all the way down through the trunk of the body,

Down the entire left leg and all the way to the toes.

As if you were feeling the length and the volume of the leg and the foot with air.

And then on an out breath,

Imagining that the air is going all the way out from the toes,

Out the foot,

Out of the leg,

Out of the torso and out of the body again.

So playing around with this possibility of breathing all the way into the left leg and all the way out from the left leg.

Seeing how this is for you.

Perhaps softening as you're breathing out and opening up to the possibility of letting go.

Playing around with this imaginative breathing and seeing how it feels for you.

Experimenting with this method as a way to explore with the breath if you feel comfortable to do so.

And then letting the breath return to its natural rhythm and letting the breath fade into the background.

And letting this expanded awareness of the left leg narrow down to focus in at the top of the left thigh and moving your awareness across the pelvis to the top of the right thigh.

And guiding your awareness now all the way down the right leg and the right foot and engaging your awareness with the right big toe.

Coming up close with your right big toe and opening up to any sensations perhaps of the nail or the pad of the big toe.

Exploring it with your awareness.

And then letting go of your right big toe and moving your awareness over to the right little toe.

What's going on with your right little toe right now?

And then guiding your awareness to the toes in between.

Perhaps noticing the spaces between the toes.

Being curious and alive to any sensations that are here.

Then moving your focused awareness to the bottom of the right foot.

The ball of the right foot.

To the instep.

The heel.

Alive to any sensations in the right heel in this moment.

And now to the top of the foot.

Surface sensation.

Deeper sensation.

Bones,

Ligaments,

Blood flow.

What sensations do you encounter here?

And now moving your attention to the right ankle.

Feeling into the right ankle as if from the inside.

Then letting go of the ankle and bringing your awareness to the lower right leg.

Feeling into the right calf and the shin.

Appreciating this area of the body.

Honouring it.

And shifting there to the right knee.

Exploring the knee with your awareness.

Opening up to any sensations that are here.

Any sensations that you're receiving in this moment right now.

And then letting go of the right knee and moving your attentiveness up to the thigh.

Exploring the right thigh with your awareness.

Perhaps exploring the connection with the knee or the connection with the hip.

Just allowing your experience to be as it is.

Exploring with curiosity.

And then expanding the focus of your awareness to the whole of the right leg and foot.

Imagining that you're breathing all the way down the length and volume of the leg and the foot.

Taking the breath all the way past the lungs,

All the way down to your toes.

So breathing all the way into the right leg and all the way out from the right leg.

Letting your breath carry your awareness through your right leg as you explore it.

And then when you're ready on an out breath letting your awareness of the right leg fade away and bringing your awareness to the pelvic area.

Noticing any sensations that are here.

Perhaps a sense of warmth,

Coolness,

Maybe a tingling,

A numbness,

A lightness,

Heaviness,

Tightness,

Maybe no feeling at all.

So bringing your awareness to the pelvic bones now.

The bones that cradle many many important organs.

So just attending to this area,

Exploring it and experiencing it.

Exploring the pubic bone,

The right hip,

The left hip.

And moving around to the tailbone,

Perhaps noticing its point of contact with the floor.

Then moving awareness now to the lower back,

The lumbar spine.

This is a place where many of us hold tension or perhaps pain.

So just noticing and acknowledging this.

Not trying to change it in any way but holding it in awareness that is imbued with kindness and gentleness.

And if at any stage you experience strong sensation of perhaps pain or maybe tension or even an itch,

Noticing that this is how things are.

Allowing the awareness to acknowledge it and experience it.

Perhaps using the breath to breathe into and out from the area of intensity.

And doing all this with a sense of gentleness towards your experience.

Remembering the anchor of the breath,

A safe haven,

A place you can always go to whenever there are strong sensations or emotions around.

Now letting go of the lower back and moving your attention up to the middle back.

Noticing the places where the back connects with the floor and the places where it doesn't.

Moving attention to where the rib cage connects to the spine.

Noticing the ribs themselves.

Noticing any sensation of movement in the rib cage as the breath moves in and out of the body.

Moving on up now to the upper back.

What's your experience of your upper back?

And shifting the attention to the shoulder area,

Feeling into the shoulder blades.

Perhaps where they're making contact with the floor.

Perhaps breathing into and softening on the out breath from the shoulder area.

Then bringing the focus of your awareness over the shoulders and into the collar bones.

And the spaces around the collar bones.

And then letting go of the collar bones and bringing your awareness to the chest area,

The pecs or the breasts.

And beneath that into the lungs.

Sensing into the expansion and release of the lungs.

And moving the awareness even deeper into the heart area.

Noticing the heart beating.

Is there a sense of tightness or openness or tenderness here in the heart area?

What are you feeling in your heart right now?

Cradling it with your attention.

And then letting your awareness let go of the heart space and moving down to the torso into the stomach area.

Noticing what's here.

Perhaps a tightness or a softness.

Is it rumbling?

Is it full?

Empty?

Possibly becoming aware of all the important organs in your abdomen.

What is your experience of the abdomen in this moment?

So now expand your awareness to include all of your trunk up from the pelvic region,

The chest,

All of the back and the front,

All of the organs,

The bones,

The blood vessels,

The skin.

And if this feels right for you,

Imagining that you're breathing into the trunk as a whole and experiencing the rhythm of the breath in and out of the entire trunk.

And then when you're already on an out breath,

Allowing your awareness of the trunk as a whole to fade into the background.

And bring the focus of your awareness down both arms all the way down to the finger and thumb tips of both your hands at the same time.

These are very sensitive parts of the body,

So bringing your awareness to see what's here right now.

Moving the awareness to take in all the finger and thumb bones and joints.

What are you experiencing in all these little bones?

Moving the awareness into the palms inside of these soft cushiony parts of the hands.

What's your experience of the palms of your hands right now?

Now moving your focus to the tops of the hands,

Noticing the bones and the tendons,

Feeling into the wrists.

Perhaps picking up the pulsating of your arteries.

And letting go of your hands now and moving into noticing what are the sensations here in your lower arms.

What is your experience of your elbows?

These unsung heroes of the body that bring us so much flexibility and mobility.

And now moving into your upper arms,

Noticing the biceps and the triceps perhaps.

Bringing your awareness into the armpits and exploring them with your curiosity.

And now expanding your awareness to take in the whole of both of your arms and your hands all the way down to your finger and thumb tips.

And if it feels alright,

Imagining that you're breathing into and out from the entire length and volume of the arms.

And doing this for a few breaths.

And then on an out breath,

Letting go of the arms and taking the trail of attention now to the neck.

The front of the neck,

The back of the neck.

Bringing your awareness into the throat area.

Maybe even bringing your attention to the experiencing of swallow.

What do you notice about the experience of swallowing?

And now becoming aware of your skull.

Perhaps where it's making contact with the floor.

Bringing your focus to the scalp.

And now bringing your awareness to the ears,

The outer ears and into the ear canals.

What can you experience in your ear canals right now?

And moving around to the cheeks and onto the jaw.

Does it feel tight or loose?

Just experiencing your jaw,

Just as it is right now.

Now bringing your awareness to the chin.

And now bringing your awareness to the mouth,

To the lips.

Perhaps noticing where they meet each other.

Are they dry or moist?

Noticing the gums,

The roof of your mouth,

Exploring the inside of your cheeks with your awareness.

Becoming aware of your tongue.

What sensations are in your tongue right now?

Directing your awareness to the sensation around the nose and the eyes.

Can you detect any sensations around the eyeballs or the eyelids?

Perhaps the muscles around the eyes.

Perhaps the sensation of the eyelashes touching your cheeks.

Bringing a sense of kindness and respect to your eyes.

Can you experience your eyebrows and the little space between your eyebrows?

And moving up to the forehead.

Just being with whatever your experience is.

Noticing perhaps the forehead tending to hold on to tension from our agitated thinking.

And guiding the attention over to the sides of the head,

To the temples.

Perhaps noticing pulsing or aliveness here in the temples.

Seeing if you can direct your awareness deeper into the head.

Maybe getting a sense of the brain.

Then opening out the attention to include the whole head.

The mask of the face,

The skull,

All the sensory organs,

The nerves,

The muscles,

The blood vessels.

Imagining that you could bring the next breath into the entirety of the head.

Filling the volume of the head with a gentle and cleansing breath.

And playing with this imaginative breathing for a few more breath cycles.

And on an out breath,

Letting go of the head and breathing in this way and opening out your attention to include the whole of the body lying here.

The whole of the body just as it is in this moment.

So letting go of the head and the shoulders and the trunk and the legs and the feet and just being with the body connected and integrated.

And when you're ready,

If it feels okay,

Imagining the breath as a gentle cleansing breeze sweeping through the whole of the body.

Filling your head and your trunk and your legs and your feet.

Filling the whole of your body with refreshing air.

Nourishing the whole body with just what it needs.

Softening and refreshing the whole body as it sweeps through.

And experimenting with this whole body breathing for a few more breath cycles if that feels comfortable.

And now letting go of any control of the breath and just letting the breath resume its natural normal cycle.

Bringing your kind and gentle awareness back to the inflow and the outflow of the breath.

Just surfing the natural rhythm of the breath.

Being awake and present to your experience right now in the middle of this very moment.

Allowing your experience to be just as it is.

Beyond the mind's tendency to want things to be different or in a certain way.

Perhaps finding the peace that exists beyond longing things to be different and experiencing what it is just to be.

And opening up to the possibility of carrying this feeling with you in the next moments after the practice.

Acknowledging and thanking yourself for taking this time out for your health and well-being.

And in your own time,

Taking care of yourself as you make the transition from this formal practice.

And as best you can,

Bringing this kindly awareness into whatever you have left to do today.

You

Reviews

Thank you that was beautiful

Great body scan! I love how she separates the toes into big toe, little toe, and middle toes because I can never feel the middle ones individually anyways! This one is definitely in my regular rotation now!