Welcome to this brief body scan practice.
We invite you to choose a position or a posture that's comfortable for you,
One in which you feel relaxed,
But also able to be alert and aware.
So adjusting your spine so that your back is straight,
Aligned,
Letting your hands rest comfortably at your sides or in your lap.
Feel free to close your eyes or just have a soft gaze in front of you,
Just creating your own private space.
And then I'll invite you to begin to find your breath in your body,
Just taking a moment to notice where it is.
And then inviting a breath,
Inviting the breath that's there to leave the body,
So emptying the lungs all the way down from the bottom of the lungs,
Letting all that air out.
Then when you're ready,
Taking a breath in,
Perhaps through the nose,
Filling the lungs all the way to the bottom of the lungs,
Feeling the belly expand as you do so,
And then letting it gently escape.
Now I'll invite you to bring your attention to the top of your head,
Just noticing your scalp,
Your hair,
The space around your head,
Hearing any sounds that are falling on your ears,
My voice,
Sounds from around you in the room that you're in,
Maybe sounds from outside of the room that you're in.
And then moving your attention over the top of the forehead,
The top of the head to the forehead,
And the eyes,
The eyebrows,
Just pausing there for a moment.
And then with your next breath,
Bringing attention to the nostrils,
The nose,
And then the cheeks and the jaw,
Noticing the mouth now,
Lips,
The teeth,
The tongue.
And all we're doing is we're just becoming aware of our body at this present moment.
So you may notice tension or holding in parts of the body,
And feel free to invite that tension or holding to soften,
To let go,
Particularly as you breathe out,
But recognize it's an invitation.
It may or may not happen.
So bringing your awareness now to the throat and the neck,
Breathing in awareness of the shoulders,
And noticing your arms all the way down past the elbows,
Through the forearms and past the wrists into the hands,
Noticing each finger,
Noticing the thumbs,
And then on your next in-breath,
Bringing awareness to the chest,
Noticing how your breath lifts up,
Expands,
The chest,
The rib cage,
And notice on the out-breath how the rib cage and the chest deflate and fall.
You may notice other sensations or be aware of other things in the chest,
So notice those,
And then move your attention when you're ready,
Slowly down into the lower part of the torso,
To the belly,
To the mid-back and the low back,
To the pelvis,
Noticing what's present for you,
And then bringing awareness to your hips and then to your buttocks on the seat or the cushion,
Whatever it is that you're sitting or being supported by,
Notice the contact there,
And then extend your awareness down the legs,
Through the thighs,
To the knees,
And then the lower legs,
The ankles,
Bringing awareness into the feet,
And just taking a moment,
Maybe moving your feet a little bit,
Pressing them into the ground,
Feeling the toes,
Once again noticing your contact with the floor or the ground beneath you,
And then when you're ready,
Bringing your attention back up through the body,
Coming once again to finding the breath,
Inviting a deep relaxation breath,
A belly breath,
By breathing all the way out on your next out-breath,
And then when you're ready,
Inviting a breath deep into the lungs,
Through the nose,
All the way into the belly,
And then gently out,
And as you breathe out,
Moving your fingers,
Moving your toes,
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes and coming back to your space once again.
Thank you for sharing your practice today.
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