Body Scan Meditation.
Saturating your body with the breath.
To begin with,
Adopting as comfortable a position as you can.
Most people prefer to do it lying down,
But if this is uncomfortable for you,
Then by all means do it sitting in a comfortable chair or even standing.
And if you need to adjust your position during the meditation due to pain or discomfort,
Then feeling free to gently do so.
I'll lead the meditation as if you're lying down,
So adapting the instructions for yourself if you're sitting or standing.
Allowing your body to settle down onto the bed or floor as much as you can.
Place your arms at the sides of your body with your hands very gently resting on your belly.
Perhaps covering yourself with a light blanket if this will help you feel warmer and more comfortable.
Allow your shoulders to rest back towards the floor with your face soft and the eyes lightly closed if this is comfortable and your hands soft.
Have your legs outstretched?
Or if you've got a lower back problem,
You may prefer to put some cushions or pillows behind each knee to take the strain off the lower back.
Or you can bend the knees with the feet flat on the floor hip-width apart in a semi-supine position.
Just whatever is most comfortable for you at this time.
And as you begin to settle,
Can you give your weight fully up to gravity?
Allowing gravity to gently draw your body down towards the floor and the earth.
And now we're going to move through the whole body,
Resting awareness in each part,
Getting a sense of how the natural rhythm of the breath echoes throughout the whole body.
Allowing the whole body to become saturated with a gentle healing breath,
Moment by moment by moment.
And now focusing in a little more and tuning into the movement of the breath beneath the hands.
Can you feel your belly swelling a little on the in-breath and subsiding a little on the out-breath?
Being careful not to alter or force the breath,
But rest your awareness within the natural movements of the breath,
Allowing the whole abdomen to become saturated with the gentle rhythm and flow of each in and out breath.
And can you feel the breath in your chest?
Feeling the ribs expanding on the in-breath and retracting on the out-breath.
And can you get a sense of the lungs filling and emptying within the chest with each breath?
Letting the breath be natural,
Following its own rhythm.
Between the chest and the abdomen,
There's a large muscle called the diaphragm that rests across the body from side to side and front to back at this level.
On the in-breath,
The diaphragm broadens and flattens down inside the body.
And on the out-breath,
It relaxes back up to rest beneath the lungs again,
Shaped a little like an umbrella or a parachute.
The diaphragm moves ceaselessly every moment of life.
As it broadens and flattens within the body on the in-breath,
It gently pushes down on the internal organs,
Which causes the belly to swell outwards.
And as the diaphragm relaxes back up inside the body on the out-breath,
The internal organs subside back into the body again and the belly subsides.
Can you get a sense of this movement beneath your hands as they rest on your belly?
Allowing the whole belly and all the internal organs to be gently massaged by the gentle rocking of the breath.
And now bringing awareness down to the pelvic area.
Can you get any sense of an echo of the breath down on the pelvic floor?
This will be very subtle,
So don't worry if you can't feel anything at all.
But over time,
You may become receptive to a very subtle broadening and opening on the in-breath and retracting and toning on the out-breath,
With the whole pelvic floor area a little soft and relaxed.
This isn't a physical or muscular movement,
It's utterly receptive,
More like an ocean swell,
Allowing the whole pelvic area to be saturated with the gentle breath,
Moment by moment.
And now coming to the buttocks,
Allowing your awareness to inhabit the buttocks.
If you notice they're tense,
You might also notice how it's quite natural to relax and soften tension when we become aware of it.
Allowing the buttocks to be soft against the bed,
Allowing the body to be relaxed,
Allowing the buttocks to be soft against the bed or the floor.
And allowing awareness to inhabit the lower back,
For the lower back to become saturated with awareness,
Kindly awareness.
And flowing up into the middle back and the upper back as they rest on the floor or the bed,
Following their natural curves and shape.
Seeing if you can feel the breath in the whole back of the body.
As the diaphragm moves within the body,
It involves the back as well as the front of the body.
Being curious about what you can feel in your back with each breath.
Can you feel an echo of the breath in the lower back?
What do you notice?
And if you've got any pain or discomfort,
Can you allow it to be massaged by the breath?
A kindly and gentle breath,
Bathing the lower back in awareness.
Responding to your own discomfort as you'd naturally respond to a loved one who was hurting.
And bringing this quality of awareness to any discomfort that you encounter during the body scan in any part of the body.
And moving up through the back,
Can you feel the movement of the ribs in the back of the body?
Expanding on the in-breath and retracting on the out-breath.
Feeling how the ribs and the lungs are as much in the back of the body as the front of the body.
And feeling the different movements in these areas of the back with each in and out breath.
And broadening out again to rest our awareness in the whole back.
Becoming aware of the movement of the breath in the back of the body is naturally calming.
Resting your awareness inside all these movements for a few moments.
Letting the whole back be saturated with a kindly breath and gently massaged by the rhythm of the breath.
And now allowing your awareness to inhabit your shoulders as they drop back towards the bed or the floor so they're fully supported.
And allowing the arms to gently fall away from the shoulders.
Allowing your awareness to flow down into the upper arms,
The elbows,
The lower arms and the hands.
Allowing your awareness to flow inside the fingers and thumbs.
Allowing your fingers and thumbs to be saturated with the rhythm of the breath as you rest here for a few moments.
Now coming back up the arms and allowing your awareness to pour into the throat and back of the neck and the sides of the neck.
Allowing these areas to be massaged by the rhythm of the breath.
And allowing your awareness to flow up to inhabit the whole head and face.
Can you let your head be heavy,
Fully supported by the cushion or pillow it's resting upon?
And what do you notice in your face?
If you notice tension,
Do you find it natural to soften and release in the light of awareness?
Soft eyes,
Soft cheeks,
Soft lips,
Soft tongue.
And perhaps you can feel the contact of the gentle wind of the breath in the nose or mouth as you breathe in and out.
And now gently guiding your awareness down through the body to the hips and allowing your legs to gently fall away from the hips.
Letting the legs be fully supported by the bed or floor.
Whether you've got your legs outstretched or you're lying in a semi-supine position.
Giving the weight of your legs up to gravity.
And allowing awareness to flow into the front,
Back and sides of the thighs.
And now allowing awareness to flow down to inhabit the knees.
The lower legs.
The ankles.
The soles of the feet.
The tops of the feet.
And can you invite your awareness right down inside your toes?
Maybe it feels intense or maybe it feels dull or numb.
Just noticing.
And now broadening out your awareness to inhabit the whole body.
The legs.
The torso.
Front,
Back and sides.
The arms.
The neck.
And the head.
Can you get a sense of the breath in the whole body?
Very gently expanding on the in-breath and subsiding on the out-breath.
If you've got pain or discomfort,
Can you let these areas be gently massaged and soothed by the gentle rhythm of the natural breath?
Allowing the breath to be saturated with tenderness and kindliness in the whole body.
As you rest within the natural and continual flow of movement in the body with the breath.
You may notice how sensations are also continually changing,
Just like the breath.
What you think of as pain or discomfort is actually changing sensations coming into being and passing away moment by moment.
And we ever only experience this flow of sensations one moment at a time.
Pain or discomfort is not as solid as we often think.
Can you get a sense of this as you rest within the breathing body?
Resting within a sense of change and flow in your whole body,
Moment by moment.
Allowing the whole body to be massaged by the gentle,
Tender and kindly breath.
Allowing your whole body to be saturated with the breath.
And now,
Gradually,
Bringing this meditation to a close,
Opening your eyes and beginning to move your body little by little.
And perhaps forming an intention to take this awareness of your body being more fluid and pliable with you as you gradually re-engage with the activities of your day.
See if you can allow your experience to be saturated with a kindly,
Gentle breath,
No matter what you're doing.
Thank you.
