The Body Scan Practice Our intention is practicing waking up to automatic pilot,
Befriending the body as we gather our scattered minds into the senses with calm attention.
We focus our attention on practicing coming back,
Gently turning towards,
Inhabiting and checking in with each area of the body,
Staying a while and then noticing what it feels like to move on.
Our attitude is one of practicing curiosity,
Openness or beginner's mind,
With acceptance and kindness.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position,
Lying down,
Perhaps feeling the ground beneath the back,
Stretching the arms and legs out to a distance which feels comfortable,
Noticing if the palms of the hands want to lie up or lie palms down,
Maybe feeling more comfortable with the knees bent and the soles of the feet on the floor,
Making a choice to allow yourself to be exactly as you are in this moment.
The intention of the Body Scan is to practice coming back to the body,
Clearly aware of thoughts and emotions,
Paying particular awareness to sensations in the body as we encounter them,
Without wanting anything to be different,
Not wanting anything at all,
Not even relaxation.
It's nice to relax and it's great if it happens,
But letting go of any need for our experience to be anything other than as it is.
If at any time sensations in the body become too uncomfortable,
Thoughts or emotions arise that are too difficult,
Remembering that it is always possible to return to the rhythm of the breath as a safe place,
Until you are ready to venture again into the Body Scan,
Tuning in and listening to the sound of my voice once again,
Perhaps opening the attention now to include the entire body lying here,
From the soles of the feet to the top of the head,
Noticing the movement of the breath,
Perhaps sensing the rising and falling of the tummy,
And if you care to,
Placing your hands on the tummy,
Feeling the movement of the breath,
Rolling in and rolling out,
Simply riding the waves of the breath from moment to moment,
And when the mind wanders,
Which it will,
Just noticing and without judging,
Gently bringing the awareness back to the sensations in the body,
Feeling the floor beneath you,
The breath rolling in and rolling out,
Starting with the feet,
Feeling both feet right now,
Feeling into the areas where the feet are touching the floor,
Maybe feeling the toes,
Maybe a feeling of tingling,
Warmth or coolness,
The touch of socks,
The spaces between the toes,
The soles of the feet,
And the tops of the feet,
And now moving the attention to the ankles,
What is here to feel,
If anything,
At all,
The lower legs,
Perhaps noticing the pressure of the calves against the mat,
Perhaps noticing the fabric of the clothes against your skin,
And if your mind has wandered,
Just gently and without judging,
Returning the awareness to the legs,
And when you are ready,
Letting go of the lower legs and shifting the attention to the knees and the thighs,
What is there here to feel,
As best we can,
Bringing a beginner's mind,
Exploring what is here now,
Noticing getting caught up in thinking about an area,
Or picturing it in the mind's eye,
Both are different from actually feeling it,
And now maybe letting go of the thighs and moving the attention to the lower trunk,
To the pelvis,
To the stomach,
Is there sensation,
A feeling of the breath in the lower stomach,
Just investigating the experience of the body,
Now moving the attention into feeling the stomach area,
Is there any tension there,
Any tightness,
Breathing into what is there,
And now moving the attention to the chest,
Perhaps feeling the sensations of the breath here,
With each inhalation,
And each exhalation,
Feeling the breath rolling in and rolling out,
Without any need to do anything,
And when you're ready,
Bringing the awareness to the spine against the floor,
Noticing any sensations that are here,
Pressure,
Tightness,
Feeling the lower back,
The middle back,
The upper back,
And now moving the attention to the hands,
Noticing how well we can feel the hands without having to see them,
What do the fingers feel like,
Are they relaxed or curled,
Warm or cool,
Perhaps noticing the spaces between the fingers,
And when you are ready,
Letting go of awareness of the hands,
And moving the attention to the wrists and forearms,
What is here to feel,
Touch,
Pressure,
Warmth,
Maybe something,
Maybe nothing,
Moving the attention to the elbows,
The upper arms,
Noticing sensations here,
And if you notice that the mind has wandered off to some past event,
Or jumped into the future,
With kindness,
Just bringing it back to wherever we are,
Just taking a breath and starting again,
Without judging,
And if it feels right,
Perhaps congratulating yourself for noticing that you have wandered away from your body,
And now moving the attention to the shoulders,
What is there to feel in the muscles here,
Maybe tightness,
Looseness,
Can you feel your shoulders on the floor,
And then into the neck,
Does the neck feel tight,
Or relaxed,
Does the head feel heavy or light,
Feeling into the scalp,
The forehead,
The cheeks,
The eyes,
The jaw,
There is no need to change anything,
Just to observe,
Bringing awareness now to the mouth,
The tongue,
The nose,
The cheeks,
The forehead,
And now the entire face,
Letting go now of the awareness of the face,
And allowing to open to the entire body,
Lying here,
From the soles of the feet,
To the top of the head,
Investigating the feeling of being alive,
Inhaling,
Exhaling,
Noticing how the breath has been a constant companion,
How it brings the whole body together,
Perhaps imagining a wave of breath flowing from the tips of the toes,
To the top of the head,
And all the way back down again,
Feeling the back of the body on the floor,
A sense of being grounded,
Here,
In the present moment.
As we draw this practice to a close,
I invite you to take a few moments to reflect on your experience of the body scan,
Without judging the experience as good or bad,
Allowing it to be what it was.
Maybe you have learned some new things,
Ideas of the body,
To nurture and be kind to.
Perhaps some sensations were not what you expected.
Starting to bring some movement back into the body now,
Whatever feels good.
Maybe wiggling your fingers and toes,
Stretching the body in any way it wants,
And when you are ready,
Turning your attention to the sounds in the room,
To the sounds outside of the room,
And gently opening the eyes,
And coming back.
The body scan is now complete.
