Body Scan Meditation - Mindfulness Of Sensations

The Body Scan Meditation is a core practice of the eight-week Mindfulness-Based course. This practice guides the practitioner to utilize the breath and body as an anchor for the present moment experience, whilst cultivating a gentle curiosity toward the sensations they are aware of in their body, from moment-to-moment. New practitioners to the body scan are encouraged to listen to the Introduction to the Body Scan track first to familiarize themselves with how to approach the practice.

Transcript

The body scan meditation Mindfulness is about allowing things to be just as they are So let go of ideas of personal development or achieving a special state of mind just gently focus your attention on whatever arises for you from moment to moment and Acknowledging whatever arises Begin by noticing the weight of your body Each time you breathe out allowing yourself to sink a little bit deeper into the earth Allowing the earth to completely support the weight of your body Now become aware of the feeling of your own natural breath and you can feel your breathing around your nose your chest Or down in your belly in your lower abdomen feeling the whole of each in-breath and The whole of each out-breath as best you can And you don't need to change The rate of your breathing just allow it to be just as it is Allow the breath to breathe itself if you find your breathing changing as you pay attention to it.

That's okay,

Too Let your awareness ride on the waves of your breathing And as you continue to focus your mindful attention on your own breathing before long your mind will wander off into different thoughts And that's totally normal Mindfulness is not about forcing your thoughts to stop all you need to do As soon as you've noticed that your mind has wandered off is to gently guide your attention Back to whatever we were focusing on last now When you are ready Move the focus of your mindful attention From the breath down your body All the way down the left leg To your big toe on your left foot Notice if you can feel any physical sensations and the big toe of your left foot Perhaps you can feel the temperature or the contact between your toes and your socks or the other toes perhaps you Can't feel any sensation at all if this is the case.

That's okay,

Too Just become aware of the absence of sensation in this part of your body Now become aware of the little toe on your left foot See if you can feel anything at all in your little toe now include the toes in between two continue to expand your mindful awareness to the heel of the left foot and the whole of the sole of the left foot Bring a sense of curiosity to your experience as best you can Continue to expand your awareness to the upper side of the left foot become aware of the network of bones ligaments and tendons if you can Now feel the whole of the left foot both the inside and outside of the left foot and if it feels right for you as you naturally breathe in And out just imagine or feel the breath going down into the left leg and into your left foot and Feel the breath moving in and out of this area Breathing in and out of your left foot Allowing your awareness to ride on the breath and it may take a while to get used to imagining this and that's okay If this just confuses you then just let it go for now and try again later When you are ready allow the whole of the foot to fade into the background of your awareness Anytime your attention wanders off into other thoughts Gently escort your attention back to where we last left off And your mind will naturally begin to think about other things this is the nature of the mind and This isn't a problem When it does so just coming back without judgment If the mind wanders off a thousand times or for a long period of time That's okay,

Too Mindfulness happens when you notice it has wandered off and just bring it back as soon as you've noticed Now shift your attention to the lower part of the left leg Begin by exploring the most obvious sensations if you can Perhaps the contact of your clothes with your skin or the temperature How warm or cool it feels?

Maybe you can feel your shin bone or calf muscle underneath Just notice what is already there Gradually bring your attention to be more subtle to notice the movement of blood in your lower leg When you are ready breathe into the lower part of your left leg Imagine or feel the breath going down from your nose or mouth all the way into the leg and Back up and out again Breathing in a mindful awareness Breathing in warmth gentleness a sense of kindness and curiosity and when you are ready let the lower leg fade into the background of your awareness now and become aware of your left knee and Connect with the kneecap and the sides of the knee and the soft underside Feel the sensations inside the knee itself Continue to bring a sense of curiosity kindness To your experience as best you can Then when you are ready allow the knee to fade into the background of your awareness as You move your attention to the upper parts of your left leg notice the whole of The upper part of your left leg and get a sense of the physical sensations there feel the sensations of the thigh muscle above and the hamstring underneath Bring a sense of acceptance to your experience if you can Particularly if you are feeling an unpleasant sensation Just let it be just as it is Then become aware of your left leg as a whole How does it feel?

Different from the right leg Now become aware of the little toe in the right foot Is there any sensations in the little toe?

Now include all the toes in between as well.

Perhaps feeling a warmth or coolness there Or the feeling of contact of the toes with each other Now move your mindful attention to the heel of the right foot and the whole of the sole of the right foot Feel the right ankle that joins the right foot to the rest of the leg Now feel the upper side of the right foot and the fine mesh of tissue muscles tendons and fluids if you can Don't worry,

If you can't feel anything just be aware of the absence of sensation Now feel the whole of the right foot go right into the center of the foot and breathe in and out a Mindful awareness into this area of your body Breathe in a sense of curiosity and kindness Then when you are ready,

Just allow this part to fade into the background of your awareness Now become aware of the lower part of the right leg including the right knee this time become mindful of the space it occupies and The range of different sensations in this part of your body notice how the knee feels compared to the rest of your lower leg get a sense of the temperature of the lower leg and contact of the clothes with your skin Notice if the sensations are staying the same or subtly changing from moment to moment now breathe into and Out of the lower leg and knee breathe in a sense of acceptance and curiosity into This part of your body as best you can and when you are ready,

Just allow the right leg Up to and including your knee just fade into the background of your awareness And you can slowly shift your attention to the upper part of the right leg between the knee and the hip get a sense of This part of your body Now begin to notice any particular sensations that are most obvious gradually allow your attention to move up to more subtle feelings as Best you can sustain your attention on The upper part of your right leg from moment to moment Breathing in and out of your right leg Feel your breath nourishing this part of your body if that works for you Then when you are ready,

You can allow your right leg to fade into the background of your awareness Notice how your legs feel now compared to the rest of your body When you are ready move your attention to the region of the hips the pelvis the buttocks and the delicate organs in This part of your body Be mindful of the range of different sensations here.

Is there any tension or holding in this part of your body?

Now imagine if you can that the pelvis is like a bowl a bowl that can be filled with air and Each time you naturally breathe in just imagine the bowl of your pelvis filling with nourishing oxygen breathe in a sense of kindness and warmth into this part of your body and when you are ready,

Just allow your hips and pelvis region to fade into the background of your awareness Now shift your mindful attention to your lower back For many this is a region of tension and tightness Become aware of the region of your lower back including the spine if you can Notice any subtle changes as you naturally breathe in and out Now expand your attention around To your belly in your lower abdomen And you can feel the belly rise and fall as you breathe in and out Feel how the skin naturally stretches and your belly expands and contracts if you can Now move your attention into your stomach How does your stomach feel at the moment?

Does it feel empty or full?

Or is there a lack of any feeling there?

How does it feel to notice your stomach?

Just as it is with a sense of acceptance and gentleness This region of your body is often where you feel emotions What emotions are present here if any?

As best you can acknowledge your experience as it is even if the feeling is uncomfortable or unpleasant Mindfulness is about accepting that this is your experience Just as it is just in this moment and when you are ready,

Just take a slightly deeper breath in to your belly Holding your breath for a few moments and then breathing out allow this region of your lower torso to Fade into the background of your awareness Now move your mindful awareness to the mid and upper back Be aware of the vertebrae That make up your spine the best you can notice a range of different sensations in your back if there is a Part that is particularly uncomfortable See if you can bring a quality of curiosity to your experience To notice what the pain actually feels like from moment to moment Do this instead of criticizing or denying the sensation as stated before if you feel very Uncomfortable and you want to adjust yourself then do so with awareness This is an act of kindness towards yourself Which is what mindfulness is about?

Now shift your attention to the area of your ribcage the top of the ribcage and your chest Feel how your ribcage rises and falls as you breathe in and out Perhaps you can feel your heart beating Bring a sense of gratitude for the many vital organs housed within your ribcage that are functioning for your health and well-being in this moment Notice if you can feel any emotions in this region of your chest See if you can give space and listen to the emotion without judging or resisting No matter how uncomfortable it seems When you are ready just taking a deeper breath into the region of the chest holding your breath for a couple moments and slowly letting go of your breath Now move your attention up through your shoulders down both arms Right down to the tips of your fingers and thumbs of both your hands together Now move your attention up through your shoulders down both your arms Right down to the tips of your fingers and thumbs of both your hands together Include the fingers and the thumbs as well with all the joints and expand to the palms and the backs of both your hands Do your hands feel cold or warm?

Does one hand feel different compared to the other?

Now move your attention up both your wrists and forearms Feel the sensations in the skin and deep into the muscles and tendons if you can Now move up to the elbows Are there any sensations inside or outside of your elbows?

Now moving to both upper arms feeling the bicep and the tricep muscles Even the bones inside of your arms if you can Now moving up to include the shoulders Moving up to include the shoulders.

Here's another place where tension can be trapped Rather than getting rid of it.

Just see if you can notice the sensation there just as it is Even if it's uncomfortable Be with the sensation with a softness and a kindness and a gentleness in your attention Sustain your attention from moment to moment as best you can Now as you naturally breathe in imagine or feel your breath going down through your shoulders and your arms To your fingertips and back again breathing in and out of this region Let your breath bring a mindful awareness with it bring a sense of curiosity and acceptance of your experience as best you can And when you are ready let this region fade into the background of your awareness Now move your awareness to your neck and become aware of the back and noticing any tension that is present Then move to the sides in the front of the neck including your throat and all the organs there Perhaps you can feel the breath passing in and out of this area Now becoming mindful of your jaw Is there tightness there becoming aware of your lips and the little muscles around your mouth Inside of your mouth and your gums your teeth your tongue your cheeks and Your nose and the breath going in and out of your nose moving up the eyelids and the little muscles around the eyes and the eyes themselves and the sockets Notice your temples and forehead become aware of your face as a whole and See if you can accept the sensations just as they are moment to moment Feeling both the surface skin and the muscles underneath Bring your attention to the sides of your head including your ears Now the back of your head noticing the weight of your head Noticing your hair and any sensations that are present just as they are Now bring your awareness to the top of the head How do you feel now that you've reached the top of your head?

Is there a sense of relief?

Become curious about how you feel about this Imagine a space at the top of your head and a space at the soles of your feet Imagine or feel how your breath is Imagine or feel how your breath can sweep down and up all the way through your body Holding your whole body in your awareness now Get a sense of the breath moving down through and up and back out again as best you can Imagine all the cells in the body being nourished with oxygen as you breathe Allow each of your cells to be nourished in this mindful way Take a few moments now to do this on your own Now let go of any effort.

You've been making to practice mindfulness Simply rest in your own sense of being Just be as you are in this moment Rest with your own sense of presence Your being is whole perfect and complete Just as it is Whatever you were thinking and however you were feeling Your sense of being Your awareness is always with you rest As that solid grounded silent presence Just be