Breathing Body Scan

In this relaxing meditation, we slow things way down with a full body scan. We will use our breath to focus our energy and attention on specific areas of the body, tuning in to them one by one, relaxing each area as we move our way through the body. As we follow our breath in and out, we find a way into the only true moment, the present. This meditation is intended to help you unwind at the end of a busy day or even just to take a few moments to invite some peace and stillness into your day.

Transcript

Welcome to Mindful Meditations,

For Calm the Bleep Down,

I'm Michael Beckamier,

And this time we're bringing you a relaxing body scan.

Let's get started.

Our mindfulness quote for this meditation is from Thich Nhat Hanh.

Breathing in,

I calm my body.

Breathing out,

I smile.

Dwelling in the present moment.

The only moment.

I've said it before and I will keep saying it.

The deceptively simple way to get yourself into a present moment state is to concentrate on your breath.

That is easier said than done sometimes.

But your breath only exists in the now.

When you breathe in,

You're breathing in right now.

And when you breathe out,

You're breathing out right now.

Most of the time,

Our body is doing that for us unconsciously.

In the background,

It's just part of the program.

But when we're meditating,

We take control of the breath.

And in that moment,

We take control of our life.

We put ourselves right into the present moment consciously and with intent.

And that is the beauty of meditation.

We're practicing putting ourself in the present moment.

When I started meditating many years ago,

I was taught a technique of breathing into your body.

You breathe in,

You can breathe into your heart and out of your heart.

You can breathe into your hands and out of your hands.

And the most fascinating part of that for me was that when I did it,

And you might find this too,

When I was breathing into my hands,

I was actually feeling it.

It was creating a physiological sensation in my body.

And I found it incredibly relaxing.

So if you've never taken time to do this,

Or if it never occurred to you to try that,

Let's try that now.

I want you to take a deep breath in.

And as you're breathing in,

Imagine the breath going into your hands,

You're breathing into your hands.

And then when you breathe out,

Imagine that breath breathing out through your hands and see what happens.

Let's do that right now.

Take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath into your hands.

You're picturing that breath filling your hands and exhale out from your hands.

Did you feel it?

It might take a few moments of practice because it's a peculiar thing to try to breathe into your hands.

But that's what we're going to do with this body scan.

We're going to go from head to toe.

We're going to start in the feet.

We're going to breathe into our feet,

The bottom of our feet.

And then we're going to breathe out of our feet.

And then we're going to breathe into our calves and we're going to work our way up the body.

And you'll find that it is incredibly relaxing and it might take some practice when you're breathing into your muscles.

It has a relaxing,

Calming effect.

And if you don't have the sensation I'm speaking of,

Some people don't have it.

That's okay because you're going to get a nice,

Relaxing,

Breathing body scan for the next few minutes.

And that's also very beneficial.

But the sensation that you get when you're breathing into your muscles and body parts might take some practice,

Might take some getting used to.

So let's go ahead and get started.

Okay.

As with every meditation,

You want to get yourself comfortable.

I find this meditation works best laying down,

But you can also do it sitting up if you prefer.

Get yourself very comfortable.

Start to slow your breath.

Relax.

Take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in and out.

One more time.

Let's do that again.

Breathe in and out.

Start to feel yourself sinking deeper into that place you're sitting or lying.

Maybe you feel yourself getting heavier with each breath.

Feel the connection point from your body to that seat or that mattress you're lying on.

With each breath,

You feel yourself getting heavier and more relaxed.

Remember,

Where your attention goes,

The energy flows.

And that's the point of this meditation.

If you put your attention and your focus on a certain part of your body,

Which we're going to do,

You can aim all of your relaxation,

Intent,

And all of your breath into that area and create some intense relaxation.

So place your attention on your feet.

Once your attention is focused,

You can breathe in,

Breathe in all the way in to your feet.

Feel it now.

And out through your feet.

One more time into your feet.

And out through your feet.

Now move your focus and attention to your calves and shins and breathe in to your calves and shins.

Long slow deep breath in.

And breathe out.

One more time into your calves and shins.

And out.

Slowly move your attention up to your knees and the muscles around your knees.

They get very tense from walking and running and doing our daily moving around.

Breathe into those muscles in your knees now,

Long slow deep breath in.

And out through those muscles.

Let's do that again.

Breathe in.

And out.

Slowly move your attention up to your thighs and quads,

Your legs that also probably feel very tense from moving around all day.

Take a long slow deep breath into those muscles in and out.

One more time in.

And out.

Now we'll gently move our attention up to our glutes and our hips,

That section of our body.

Breathe into your glutes.

And out.

One more time in.

And out.

Now we're moving our attention into our torso,

Our core.

Long slow deep breath in.

And out.

One more time,

Breathing into your core and out.

Now moving into our chest,

Our heart,

Breathing into our heart.

Long slow deep breath in.

And out through the heart.

One more time,

Long slow deep breath into the heart.

And out through the heart.

Now we're moving our attention into our shoulders,

Breathe into your shoulders.

And out.

Again breathe into your shoulders,

Long slow deep breath in.

And out.

Now you want to move your attention to your hands.

Breathe into your hands,

Long slow deep breath in.

And out.

Long slow deep breath into your hands.

And out through your hands.

Moving up the arm to your forearms,

Breathe into your forearms,

Long slow deep breath in.

And out.

One more time,

Long slow deep breath into your forearms.

And out.

Breathe into your elbows,

Long slow deep breath in.

And out.

One more time,

Long slow deep breath into your elbows,

Feel those muscles relax.

And out through your elbows.

Moving up to the biceps,

Long slow deep breath in.

And out.

One more time,

Long slow deep breath into the biceps.

And out through the biceps.

The back of the biceps to the triceps,

Breathe in.

And out.

One more time into the triceps,

In.

And out.

Moving up to the neck,

Breathe in to the neck.

And out.

One more time into the neck,

In.

And out.

Now I want you to breathe into your face,

Feel your cheek muscles and your temples and your forehead.

Breathe all the way into your face,

In.

And out.

One more time into your face.

And out.

This time we're going to breathe into our ears,

Feel that sensation,

That relaxation into your ears,

Breathing in.

And out.

In.

And out.

Now moving your attention to the top of your head,

Breathe in to the top of your head,

Your crown chakra,

Breathe in.

And out.

One more time in.

And out.

Now just sit in the total relaxation for a moment,

Let that settle in.

Now I want you to imagine your breath coming into and out of your entire body all at once as you breathe in.

Feel the breath come through your whole body,

Head to toe,

Shoulders to fingertips,

All the way.

We're going to do that three times.

Breathe into your entire body,

Feel it.

And out.

Again breathe into your whole body,

In.

And out through your whole body.

One last time into your whole body,

In.

And out.

Once again let that silence and relaxation settle in,

Enjoying our last few moments together.

Say you love this breath.

Now,

As you're about to go back to your day,

Wherever you are in your day,

Your week,

Your life,

Just remember all you need to do for a few moments of peace,

Even if it's just for a few seconds.

Take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in and out.

When you're ready,

You can open your eyes and go about your day.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Reviews

5' intro.
I am so glad I stayed awake for this, this time! Using the breath to guide awareness through one's body is such an effective technique! Of course I have to breathe at my own rhythm and pace; and yet the reminders are very helpful. Your gentle voice led me off to sleep the first couple of times I listened.