Loving-Kindness Body Scan

Inspired by Jon Kabat-Zinn's body scan practice, this guided exercise encourages kindness and gratitude toward your physical self. It invites you to foster a compassionate connection with your body by gently focusing your attention on each part. Through this practice, you can cultivate a profound sense of appreciation for your body, allowing that care to extend into every aspect of your life.

Transcript

Welcome dear friend.

Thank you so much for joining me for this guided practice.

For this special time together today,

We're going to be exploring how to be in relationship with this magnificent organism,

Entity,

Vessel we know of,

Call,

And name as our body.

And not any kind of relationship,

Of course,

A loving,

Kind,

Caring relationship.

So let's begin.

And let's notice what it's like to begin inhabiting our body with sincere hospitality,

As if we're entering into another world,

One that is full of wonder,

Full of awe,

Full of appreciation.

And maybe with the next few cycles of breath,

We can allow our body to settle,

Into stillness,

Whether resting it fully on the ground in a lying down position or supporting it in an upright position.

Noticing how the breath in the body can help with this fine-tunement and alignment of the upper and lower limbs and of the head and of the musculature.

It can be helpful to feel that presence of the breath energy throughout the body.

Maybe right now getting in touch with that.

We don't need to breathe overly deep or extend the breath for a long duration in order to notice how it travels throughout the body,

Even with the most subtle,

Soft in-breath and out-breath.

And this light touch of the breath can also help us get in touch with the softer,

Gentler,

Kinder qualities that we are intentionally nurturing as we bring the body and its various parts into awareness.

So let's begin with resting our attention and this bringing this light touch of awareness to our left foot.

Maybe starting with the toes and maybe even thanking the toes,

Whether we have all five of those toes on this foot or not.

Take a moment as we bring them into awareness.

If it's helpful,

We can wiggle them a little bit just to notice they're there.

And then noticing the sensations and resting in this quality of care,

Like I care about you toes.

And feeling that sense of care spread through the whole left foot,

The sole,

The heel,

The top of the foot.

Can we wish this foot to be well like we would a dear friend?

Can we wish it to be free of discomfort and pain?

To exist in harmony with the rest of the body and existence itself.

And spreading that sense of care through the left ankle.

First,

Experiencing sensations there.

There's tingling or vibrating,

Pulsing,

Sensations that may feel dull or sharp or even if there's no sensation.

We know this part of the body exists.

And with this knowing,

We can meet it with a sense of friendliness,

Welcoming it,

Caring for it,

Wishing it to be well.

And moving on to the lower part of the left leg.

Feeling that awareness spread and fill,

Bringing to light sensations.

In these body scans,

We're really learning how to be in relationship with the raw unedited version of our present moment experience.

And really,

We're learning how to listen deeply to the language of the body as it communicates to us through sensation.

So as we're feeling these sensations in the lower part of the left leg,

We can really meet them with that essence of care.

I care about you.

Calf,

Shinbone,

Muscles,

Tendons.

May you be well.

May you be free from pain,

Suffering.

And continuing to spread this affectionate awareness to the left knee,

Allowing sensations to be as they are.

Even if there's pain there,

Can be met with compassion,

Caring for the pains of the body as they appear and disappear.

So if it's challenging to meet it with friendliness,

We can instead meet it with a warm and tender heart.

Caring for the difficulties that this part of the body may be facing and enduring in this moment.

And by extension,

Our own mind and heart as they're all connected.

Moving to the upper part of that left leg,

The thigh,

Quad,

Hamstring,

Glute,

Hip.

I care about you.

Acknowledging all that it does.

Not even on a daily basis,

But a moment-to-moment basis,

Even as you're sitting here,

Lying here.

This part of the body is supporting you in some way.

If it feels natural with the next two to three breaths,

Just letting that breath travel up and down the left leg as you hold this body part that does so much with great appreciation and care,

Wishing for its well-being,

Wishing for it to be safe from harm and to live in harmony.

And with the help of the breath,

Maybe it takes a breath or two to have the attention travel down the right leg to where there's awareness of the toes on the right foot.

And once again,

If it's helpful,

It can move the toes around.

And hello,

Toes.

And meet them with great kindness,

Welcoming them,

Caring for them,

Caring for the sole of the right foot,

The heel,

The top of the right foot.

Caring for the right foot in its entirety.

And we're not doing anything here.

We're merely just resting in a loving awareness of this body part and of all the body parts that we'll be experiencing throughout this practice.

So moving on to the right ankle,

Feeling into it,

Wishing it to be well,

To be cared for.

And the lower part of the right leg,

The calf,

The shin bone,

The muscles,

The tendons.

I care about you.

You're cared for.

Spreading that loving awareness to the right knee.

Feeling into it.

Experiencing it directly with this light and caring touch of awareness.

Meeting it with great appreciation,

Whether it's functioning properly or not,

Whether it's pain-free or not.

Noticing what it's like to have this sense of tenderness for the part or each part of the body just as it is.

Just for its existence.

Feeling that awareness spread through the upper part of the right leg,

The quadricep,

The hamstring,

The glutes,

The inner and outer thigh,

The hip,

Hip bone,

Thigh bone.

So much to experience here.

And so much that we can hold in the presence of this caring quality of awareness.

Wishing the upper part of the right leg to be as well as it can be with the conditions present.

And once again,

If it's helpful,

Utilizing the support of the breath just to bring the right leg and its entirety into awareness.

Maybe breathing a few cycles of breath there.

A really caring,

Soothing breath.

I'm moving on to the pelvis.

This light touch of awareness there,

Filling into all the parts.

This includes the sex organs,

The reproductive organs,

Elimination organs,

And of course,

The pelvis bone,

That really important,

Solid bone that connects the lower part of the body and the upper part of the body,

Whether it's all intact or not.

Can we acknowledge it?

And it's very vital role of holding so many important organs in place and being that bridge between our legs and our torso.

I care about you,

Pelvis,

And all the special parts that exist in that area and their functions.

And spreading that awareness to the lower abdomen.

And again,

We can utilize the movement of the breath there just to bring awareness to that area in this very gentle,

Subtle way,

Imbued with kindness,

Caring.

So many essential,

Necessary vital organs in this area.

The large intestine,

The small intestine,

The colon,

The stomach,

The spleen,

Behind the stomach and spleen and the low back or the kidneys.

And many other parts I've probably missed,

But feeling into them and just taking a moment to rest in this acknowledgement of care and the spirit of metta,

Of loving kindness.

I care about you.

I care about your well-being,

Regardless of how you're functioning in this moment.

I can rest in appreciation for all that you're doing to sustain life.

If you feel inclined to do so,

You take a slightly deeper inhale to feel the expansion of the lungs and just resting that awareness on the exhale as the lungs contract and feeling sensations there and filling this area with care,

The appreciation.

Such a vital source of life here in the lungs,

Bringing air into the body.

I care about you.

And it's not uncommon in practices like this that we encounter certain parts of the body that maybe we haven't cared for and maybe they're suffering in some way that we might judge ourselves and be hard on ourselves for all the years of a lack of caring.

Can we meet that with compassion and recognize that we're simply doing the best we can and it's in this moment right now that we have this opportunity to strengthen and fortify this relationship with our body and begin to have it transformed into a very loving,

Nurturing relationship.

Simply in this moment,

Maybe with this breath,

When we meet the area of the chest and upper back and feeling into any sensations there,

Particularly around the heart or across the chest,

Into the breath,

Upper back and shoulders.

And if we come across any areas of discomfort or pain,

Tension,

Rather than trying to manipulate some kind of release or relaxation,

It's like,

Oh,

Noticing just what happens when we hold it with this loving awareness,

Accepting it as it is.

We might experience a more organic letting go,

A softening,

A loosening.

And if it feels okay,

Let's hang out in the experience of the torso.

It's very rich,

An area rich with sensations and parts that we can just care for.

With each mindful breath,

Care about you and all the parts in the trunk of the body here.

May you be well.

And spreading that awareness to the left arm,

Starting at the left shoulder,

That seems appropriate.

Experiencing this part of the body,

The shoulder and the upper arm,

The elbow,

The forearm,

The wrists,

Fingers,

Palm.

Oh,

The arms do so much for us.

They help us to connect,

To create,

To perform.

Noticing what it's like to abide in this affectionate,

Appreciative awareness.

I care about you,

Arm.

We even care about the armpit,

The crease of the elbow,

The center of the palm,

In between the fingers,

Our nails,

Nail beds.

Really any part that we can touch into with awareness and that becomes clear,

We know exists,

We can really just meet it with this quality of care and well-wishing.

May you be well and may you be at peace.

May you be cared for.

And hanging out with the left arm for maybe a breath or two more here.

Healing into it.

Breathing that healing energy,

That healing breath into it.

And then noticing that transition from the left arm to the right.

Following that pathway,

Maybe with the help of the breath,

To where you feel that right shoulder come into the foreground of awareness.

And then that connection to the right arm begins.

Connecting to the shoulder blade,

Upper arm,

Armpit,

The elbow,

The forearm.

Feeling that awareness spread through the right wrist,

Fingers,

Palm,

Very tips of the fingers,

Nail beds.

I care about you.

Thank you for all that you do for me.

Whether we have all our fingers or not,

Whether we have the full range of motion or mobility,

It doesn't matter.

What really matters here is that we can learn how to be in a healthy,

Caring relationship with this body just as it is.

No judgment for all those previous moments when it may have been otherwise.

Hanging out with the right arm for a couple more breaths here.

And then feeling that awareness spread on the lower part of the neck,

Upper part of the shoulders,

Whole back of the neck,

Front of the neck.

Another part of the body that carries so much for us can often be one of the main stations for stress and tension.

Can we care about it in this moment?

Just offering it,

That kindness,

Warmth,

Even if there is still tension.

And feeling that awareness spread at the back of the skull and really taking a moment to appreciate how there's this protective layer that protects our brain,

Another very essential organ.

And as we bring this area into awareness,

We can bring awareness to our brain.

And our brain is often a part that we associate with ourselves more than other parts,

More than our big toe.

We think of our brain as being me,

And it's where we create,

Co-create this sense of me.

But the brain does so much.

It's in charge of all the functionings of the body.

And of course,

It's in charge of all our mental faculties,

All our sense stores.

So can we meet it with a sense of care and even just say,

I care about you,

Brain?

And we can even include in that a sense of brain is the mind,

More of that expansion of consciousness.

I care about you.

Can we see that in this moment that this practice is a way of caring by directing our attention towards the body in an intentional way?

We're caring for the mind deeply.

We're letting the mind rest and abide in a more peaceful state of being,

Less agitation.

But if we notice a lot of mental activity and that restless,

Agitated energy,

We can care about that.

We can still care about the mind exactly as it is.

And feeling that sense of care just spreading through the face,

Another area or region of our body rich with sensation and so much to explore and appreciate.

So as we feel into the forehead and the space between the eyes and the eyes themselves,

Can we meet that with great care?

May you be well.

May you be at ease.

May you know peace.

And even offering that to our nose,

Our cheeks,

Our ears.

And as we connect to these different sense doors,

Maybe taking a moment to appreciate this faculty that brings life to life.

And if it's intact in this moment,

We can deeply appreciate it.

And even if it's not to its full extent,

We can deeply appreciate it.

And appreciating our mouth and jaw and teeth,

Gums,

Tongue,

Roof of the mouth,

Base of the mouth,

Throat.

Feeling that presence of awareness.

Expanding through our entire head and face and neck and like a bright light.

Abiding in friendliness.

And if it feels natural in doing so,

Let's utilize the breath again to simply sweep the attention from our head to our feet.

From our feet to the top of our head.

It's a whole body awareness again.

Feeling the aliveness there.

The whole spectrum of sensations that have their own unique flavors of pleasant,

Unpleasant,

And neutral.

But even that is mind made.

And also we can appreciate that we have those different experiences.

If not,

Life would be utterly dull.

So for the final few moments of this practice,

Let's just hold the entire body in awareness.

Ending with a few phrases,

Loving kindness phrases.

A few moments of well-wishing for this body.

May you be well,

Body.

We can also include the heart and mind as this body is the vessel for these other dimensions of our being.

May you be happy,

Peaceful,

And free,

Body,

Heart,

And mind.

May you be cared for with each mindful breath,

With each mindful moment.

May you feel that you're changing and you're continually in this process of transformation.

So may I learn to relate to you much more lightly with that spirit of appreciation and of gratitude.

And of care.

So in a few moments,

I'll ring the bell and maybe you can relate to the sound of this bell as it washing over your body.

These pleasant,

Wholesome,

Good vibrations that soothe not just the body but the heart and mind when we are in line,

Aligned with those vibrations,

When we're aware and attentive of them,

Really have a profound effect on our being.

Thank you,

Dear friend,

For your practice.

May you be well.

Reviews

Helpful body scan. Thank you. Quality audio. Creative discussion about the body and our gratitude for it.