Beginning With A Body Scan

The body scan meditation invites you to move your attention around the body, holding each part of the body center stage in nonjudgemental awareness for a while, before disengaging that attention and shifting the spotlight on to the next region, until you've scanned the whole body. Doing this you are developing your capacity to pay sustained attention and cultivating a sense of curiosity and gentle friendliness to things just as they are, in this moment.

Transcript

A body scan practice.

Begin by making yourself comfortable.

You might like to sit in a chair allowing your back to be straight but not stiff,

Your feet on the ground.

You might prefer to lie down,

Have your head supported.

There's no right or wrong way to engage with this mindful practice.

Your hands could be resting gently in your lap or at your side.

And allowing your eyes to close or to remain open with a soft gaze.

Particularly if you're worried about falling asleep.

Having the eyes be open could be a good option for you today.

Firstly checking in with your body just as it is right now.

Noticing any sensations that are present.

Feeling the contact the body is making with the floor or the chair,

The surface beneath you.

And reminding yourself of the intention of this practice.

The aim here isn't to feel any different,

To feel relaxed or calm.

This may happen or it may not.

Instead the intention of the practice is as best you can to bring awareness to any and all sensations you detect.

As you focus your attention on each part of the body in turn.

So taking a few long,

Slow,

Deep breaths.

Breathing in fully and breathing out slowly.

Breathing in through your nose if you can and out through your nose or mouth.

Breathing in through the nose warms and filters the air.

But of course if that isn't right for you today that's fine.

Always make the practice your own.

Bringing a curiosity and kindness to your experience.

So perhaps feeling the body,

The belly,

The chest expand as you breathe in.

And relax and let go as you breathe out.

Starting to let go of noises around you.

Beginning to shift your attention from outside to inside yourself.

To whenever you're distracted by sounds in the room or around you simply noticing this and bringing your focus back to your breathing.

Then slowly bringing your awareness down to your feet.

So beginning to notice any sensations in your feet.

You might want to wiggle your toes a little.

Maybe feeling your toes against your socks or shoes.

To bring an awareness there.

And noticing without judgement all the parts of the feet,

The heels,

The instep,

The balls of the feet.

The tops of the feet,

The toes.

Maybe even seeing if it's possible to distinguish one toe from another.

Noticing whether there's tension here.

Noticing any tightness or tingling,

Any numbness.

Perhaps allowing any tension to soften as you bring a gentle attention to it.

You might imagine sending your breath down to your feet.

As if the breath is travelling through the nose,

Down through the body,

Down the legs all the way down to your feet.

And then back up again,

Out through the legs,

The body and the nose.

Breathing down and into the feet and breathing out again.

As best you can,

Trying this for a few breaths.

Breathing down into the toes and back out from the toes.

Seeing if you can get a sense of this breathing into as best you can.

Perhaps you don't feel anything at all and that's fine too.

You allow yourself to feel the sensation of not feeling anything.

If you notice your mind has wandered,

Let's acknowledge this is perfectly natural,

This is what minds do.

Noticing that your mind has wandered and noticing that that in itself is a moment of awareness.

And then just gently guiding your mind back to the part of the body that you're focusing on.

When you're ready and with your next out breath,

Allow the feet to dissolve in your mind's eye and stretching your awareness into the ankles and the calves of both legs.

Noticing how the muscles feel here.

Feeling this part of the lower legs from the inside out.

The flesh and bone of the lower legs.

Again noticing any tension,

Any tightness,

Any tingling.

Breathing into and out of the lower legs.

And slowly moving the awareness,

That spotlight of your attention,

Up around the knees and into the thighs.

We can often hold a lot of tension in our thighs,

These big muscles.

Bringing awareness to any sensations.

You notice any discomfort,

Any pain or stiffness.

There's no need for judgements about this,

Just simply noticing and noticing that if by noticing any changes take place.

Observing how all sensations rise and fall.

Shift and change moment to moment.

Notice how no sensation is permanent.

And practicing,

Observing and allowing the sensations to be just as they are in this moment.

As you breathe into and out from the legs.

Experiment with,

Breathing with sensations.

It's being aware of the breath in the background,

As in the foreground you explore the sensations of the legs.

Noticing if there's any differences between the left and the right.

And then on your next out breath,

Allowing the legs to dissolve in your mind.

Move to any sensations in your lower back and pelvis.

Perhaps feeling the gentle pressure as the back or the buttocks meet the surface beneath you.

Once again acknowledging if your mind has wandered into thinking or planning or worrying.

Acknowledging where your mind is and gently guiding it back to this part of the body.

And any sensations you can feel in the lower back,

The pelvic area.

And slowly move your attention up the spine,

Up to your mid back and upper back.

Becoming curious about any sensations here.

Any feelings of contact with clothing or furniture or the floor.

Noticing if by noticing any changes take place.

Perhaps with each out breath you might let go of a little tension that you're carrying.

And then very gently bringing that spotlight of awareness around into the stomach and awareness of all the internal organs here.

This place where we feel our gut feelings.

Noticing your attitude to this part of your body.

Seeing if you can allow it to be as it is.

Taking a relaxed and accepting approach to this part of the body.

Perhaps you notice the process of digestion or the belly rising and falling with each breath.

Breathing into and out from the belly.

As you continue to breathe,

Bringing your awareness to the chest and the heart region.

Noticing your heartbeat.

Observe how the chest rises during the inhale.

Falls during the exhale of the breath.

Taking go of any judgements and noticing if by noticing any changes take place.

Acknowledging where your mind is in this moment.

And gently bringing it to the next out breath.

And shifting your focus of attention into your hands and fingertips.

And see if you can channel your breathing into and out of this area.

As if you're breathing into and out from your hands.

Really becoming aware of any sensations in the hands.

Any tingling or buzzing,

Any tightness or tension.

Breathing into and out from your hands.

On your next out breath,

Allowing that awareness to move up into your arms.

Be noticing any differences between the left arm and the right arm.

Bringing a real sense of curiosity.

Kindly awareness to what's happening,

What's present in your body in this moment.

And then with your next out breath,

Allowing your attention to move up into the neck,

The shoulder,

The throat.

An area where many of us often have tension.

You notice any sensations here.

There might be tightness or holding on.

You might notice the shoulders moving along with the breath.

Realizing any thoughts or stories you're telling yourself about this area.

Bringing a lightness of touch as we breathe out once more.

Bringing the awareness up into the scalp,

The head and the face.

Use the movement of the air as you breathe in and out of the nose or the mouth.

Maybe a slight softening of any tension as you breathe out.

Now letting the spotlight of your attention expand out to include the whole body.

Experiencing the body from the inside out.

Feeling the energy of life flowing through you.

Feeling if you can bring a gentle,

Kindly compassion for any tensions,

Any pain that might be present.

And also an appreciation for its capacities.

The wonder of this human body.

And allowing the sound of the bowl to signal the end of this practice.

And a return of your attention to the present moment and the room around you.

Your attention to the present moment and the room around you.

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