I'm going to walk you through a body scan meditation.
Start off by lying down on your back try to relax your posture,
Allow your eyes to close,
Try to get in touch with your breath and the feelings in your body.
When you are ready,
Focus on the feeling of your body meeting the floor.
With each out breath,
Let yourself sink a little deeper.
Remind yourself of the goal of this scan.
It is not to make yourself feel calm or feel less pain.
The goal is to bring awareness to your experience,
To the feelings as you move your focus to the different parts of your body.
Focus on the feelings in your belly.
Pay attention to the feelings as you breathe in and out.
Imagine your focus as a spotlight.
Move the light down the left leg,
Into the left foot,
And out to the toes.
Focus on each of the toes one at a time.
Try to be curious about each feeling.
It may be the feeling of touch between the toes,
Or a tingling,
Or maybe you can't feel anything.
Imagine the breath entering your lungs,
Passing down the belly and moving through the left leg and out of the toes of your foot.
On an out breath,
Imagine the breath coming all the way back up,
Out of the foot,
Into the leg,
Up through the belly,
Chest,
And out through the nose.
Try to continue this as best as you can for a few moments.
Don't judge yourself if this is difficult or you notice your thoughts straying.
Now,
Move the spotlight to the bottom of your left foot.
Bring a gentle focus to the sole of your foot,
The instep,
The heel.
Notice the feeling where the foot meets the floor or bed.
Try to be aware of your breath in the background as you note the feelings in your foot.
Now allow your focus to move through the rest of the foot,
Through the bones and joints,
And into your ankle.
Try to move your breath through the whole of your foot,
Then let go of the foot and allow your focus to move up into your lower leg.
Move your focus very slowly through the leg,
Your calf,
Your shin,
Your knee,
And so on in turn.
Focus the spotlight through the rest of the body to the upper leg,
The right toes,
Right foot,
Right leg,
Back,
Belly,
Chest,
Fingers,
Hands,
Arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Head,
And face.
In each area,
Try to bring the same level of awareness and curiosity.
Breathe into each area and out.
When you become aware of tension or an area of pain,
Try to breathe into them as well.
Focus with the in-breath,
Let yourself feel the strong feelings,
And try to let go with each out-breath.
Your mind might wander.
That is normal.
It is what minds do.
Try not to judge yourself when this happens.
Just try to notice where it has wandered to and then try to bring your focus back to your breath and body.
If your mind wanders 100 times in your practice,
Then you gently bring it back to your breath in the meditation 100 times in your practice.
Slowly try to expand your focus to your whole body.
Allow your focus to the area around you,
The sounds,
And anything else.
When you are ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Sit up slowly and gently stretch your arms and your legs.
That is the completion of the body scan meditation.
