A Body Scan

This is a relaxing, guided 20-minute body scan by Bridget, a Breathworks trained meditation teacher. The guidance gently moves around the body, bringing awareness to the breath in the body and to different sensations throughout the body. Good for beginners and also for anyone looking for a northern English meditation teacher!

Transcript

This is a body scan.

I'll assume that your body scan is a body scan.

I'll come in to lie down.

I can show you in a comfortable position.

If you need a cushion under your head or if you've got any problems with your lower back,

Perhaps putting some cushions beneath the knees just to ease the lower back a little bit.

Being aware now of the whole body lying here,

The whole of your body on the head,

Right the way down to your toes.

Being aware of the weight of the body,

Aware of the body in contact with the bed or the mat or whatever you're resting on.

Noticing the air temperature on your skin and all of the different sensations calling out for your attention,

Whether they're pleasant or unpleasant or just neutral.

Being aware of all the various sensations,

The temperature on your skin,

The temperature in the room and being aware of the breath in the body,

Feeling it entering and leaving the body.

We're going to take our attention all the way around the body now,

Starting at the top of the head.

So taking your awareness now to the very top of your head,

The scalp.

It's exploring any sensations that are there.

Being curious about what's actually there.

You might not feel very much and that's okay.

Maybe you notice the warmth of the scalp or maybe a bit of itchiness or irritation,

Whatever you find.

And coming round to the back of the head,

Noticing the warmth and the pressure,

Maybe the weight of the head on the floor or the cushion.

Just allowing all the different sensations to unfold just as they are.

Pay close attention,

Noticing if sensations change or if they stay the same.

Bring your awareness to the forehead now and you feel the air maybe on your skin.

Perhaps noticing a tightness or holding in your forehead.

Not trying to change it,

Just noticing it.

Maybe you can just soften a little bit,

But whatever you find,

Noticing the subtle sensations.

Whatever you find,

It's all worthy of our attention.

And what's it like to have your eyes closed?

What sensations in the eyes or the eyelids?

And coming down to the cheeks,

The skin of the cheeks,

The cheekbones and the jaw.

Can you soften and let go a little bit more there?

And about the position of the tongue in the mouth,

Can you let it sit at the bottom of the mouth?

Can you feel the air touching the tip of the nose or maybe just inside?

Or the breath on the lips?

Just getting a sense of your own natural rhythm of breathing.

Noticing sensation and noticing the absence of sensation too.

And where have your thoughts gone?

Maybe they've gone flying out of the window.

That's fine,

That's normal.

Thoughts will take us away over and over again from the practice.

But when you notice where your thoughts have gone,

You just gently guide your awareness,

Guide your attention back to the focus of the different parts of the body.

Taking your awareness now to the back of the neck.

The muscles on either side of the vertebra.

Whatever's there,

Just allowing it to be just as it is.

Around to the front of the neck and the throat.

Maybe noticing the breath moving up and down inside the throat.

Before letting your awareness flow into the shoulders,

The tops of the shoulders and the backs.

Sometimes there's holding or tension in the shoulders.

We often hold a lot of tightness there.

Noticing that.

Seeing what's happening in this moment.

Not judging it or changing it even.

Take the breath there.

Take the breath to the shoulders.

Imagining filling the shoulders.

Maybe softening.

Flowing down both arms now.

Noticing where the arms are in contact with the surface you're lying on.

Maybe you can feel the material of your clothes against your skin.

Just being interested.

Just being a little bit curious about whatever's happening.

In the bones of the elbows.

Maybe they're in contact with the floor.

You let your arms relax and soften.

Let the awareness flow down the forearms into the wrists and the hands.

How do your hands feel?

Are they warm?

Are they dry?

Can you feel your fingers?

Are they relaxed?

Are they curled?

Do they feel a bit stiff?

Are your fingers touching each other?

Noticing sensations in the fingers,

The palms of the hands,

The backs of the hands.

Noticing the pleasant and the unpleasant as well as the neutral.

Maybe you feel nothing.

Maybe there are no sensations.

You feel the weight of the hands resting on the floor or the tummy.

Being aware of all of the sensations in the arms,

From the shoulders right the way down to the fingertips.

Taking your awareness now,

Gather it up and take it round to the back of the body,

To the top of the back,

The back of the shoulder blades,

Back of the shoulders.

All across the top of the back.

We're down the vertebra,

Down the spine,

Middle of the back,

Lower back,

The lumbar region.

Maybe you can feel the bottom of the back in contact with the floor or the bed.

Just explore whatever's there.

And if there's any pain or tightness or holding in the back anywhere,

Just seeing if you can gently,

Gently move towards that.

Moving towards anywhere that's uncomfortable.

Gently,

Tentatively,

Just attending to whatever you're feeling.

Allowing it to be there as best you can.

Taking the breath there if you like.

Being aware of the sensations in the whole of the back.

Lying here,

Gently breathing.

Coming round now to the front of the body,

The top of the chest,

On the top of the shoulders,

All the way across the front of the chest.

Realising the movement of the chest,

Rising and falling with the breath.

On the surface of the skin,

Down to the ribs and right deep down within.

Can you get a sense of how the lungs are expanding to welcome the breath in?

Noticing also the movement in the sides of the body.

And coming down to the soft,

Soft area beneath the ribs,

So the soft belly area.

Noticing them falling off the tummy.

And what sensations and feelings do you find there?

And where's your mind gone off now?

Has your mind wandered?

I'm sure it has many times.

It doesn't mean anything's gone wrong at all,

That's what minds do.

Your mind's got lost in the train of thought,

It's flitting all over the place,

That's okay.

As soon as you've noticed where it's gone and what it's doing,

Invite your mind,

Invite your thoughts back to the body.

Deep down,

Back in the centre of the body.

Deep down in the abdomen.

Feeling all of the sensations there.

Flowing down into the hips and the whole of the pelvis.

Maybe feeling a tiny,

Quiet echo of the breath deep down in the pelvis.

Maybe not.

What sensations in the buttocks,

Are they hot,

Are they cold,

Do they feel soft?

Can you feel a sense of pressure where they're meeting the floor?

And coming down to the backs of the thighs,

The fronts of the thighs,

The sides of the thighs.

Feeling the material of the clothes against your skin.

Dropping the awareness beneath the skin.

Can you explore the sensations in the muscles,

Even deep down into the bones.

Take your awareness now down to the knees,

The fronts of the knees,

The backs of the knees,

Deep inside the knees.

Coming down to the calves,

The shins,

The lower legs.

Exploring whatever's there,

Just as it is.

Coming down to the ankles.

The thin skin that covers your ankles.

Moving down to take your awareness right into the centre of the feet.

The tops of the feet,

Soles of the feet.

Maybe your heels are resting on the floor,

The pressure there.

Or maybe you've got your knees bent and it's the soles of your feet that are touching the floor.

Just being aware of all of the contact with the floor.

All of the sensations in the feet.

And four,

Coming down to the toes.

All of the toes.

The big toes,

The little toes.

All of the toes.

All of the sensations in the feet.

Broadening out now to include not just the feet but the whole of the legs.

The pelvis and the torso,

The front and the back,

The sides.

Shoulders all the way down,

Your arms and hands.

Your neck,

Back of your head,

The face and the throat.

Holding all of your body in your awareness.

Resting back in all of the sensations.

Reclining,

Resting back in this sense of flow,

Of experience and sensation.

Letting go now.

Letting go of any focus at all.

Just lying here.

Nothing to do.

Nowhere to be.

Just lying here.

Starting to be aware of the weight and the shape of your body lying here.

The sound in the room.

Maybe sound outside of the room.

The texture of the body and the air in the room.

There's no rush but whenever you're ready to start moving a little bit around the edges.

Perhaps wiggling your toes and your fingers.

Starting to move.

Setting your knees up.

Maybe rocking side to side to wake up the back.

Stretching up the arms.

Taking a deep,

Deep breath.

Stretching,

Yawning.

Whatever your body wants to do.

And rolling over onto the side.

Gently,

Gently,

Gently coming back up to sit.

And when you're ready,

Moving on to the rest of your day.

Good night.