Listen to your body.
My name is Candice Temple and I will be guiding you through this meditation to get you in
tune with your body and the subtle signals it sends by practicing what's known as a body
scan.
For this practice,
Finding a comfortable position,
Whether it be in a chair,
On a cushion,
Or
lying down,
Provided that you still feel alert enough to stay awake.
Although body scans are a great way to help you fall asleep,
For this particular practice
it is better to be comfortable yet still alert,
Because we will be paying conscious attention
to different parts of the body while cultivating an attitude of mindful curiosity.
This is curiosity without the need to necessarily find the answer,
But more so finding a sense
of openness and receptivity.
So getting comfortable in whatever position you find yourself in,
Closing your eyes if
that feels comfortable or simply softening your gaze,
Allowing yourself to settle into
stillness,
Softening into the space around you,
Underneath the view,
And turning your
attention to your internal landscape.
Notice for a moment any sensations that you feel throughout your body,
Whether it's physical
sensations in the muscles or the bones,
Or perhaps more energetic sensations,
Feelings,
Thoughts.
And notice right away the mind's tendency to label or tell stories,
Resisting that urge
to change or control anything,
Just doing your best to embrace whatever you are experiencing
in this moment with compassion and kindness.
Even if it feels uncomfortable or challenging,
Even if it feels tense or heavy,
Cultivating
a sense of mindful awareness for whatever is going on right now.
And with this sense of mindful awareness,
Bring your attention to the breath.
Just notice wherever the awareness naturally falls,
Whether it's at the tip of the nose
or the chest or the belly naturally rising and falling with the breath,
Noticing its
natural pace,
Natural rhythm.
Is it slow or fast,
Shallow or deep?
Again,
Resisting the urge to change or judge or control,
Getting mindfully curious and
simply observing the breath in its natural pace.
And with our body scan today,
We will be incorporating a simple affirmation.
And while you stay with the breath for this moment,
You can say it to yourself right now
a few times over.
I'm listening.
With each breath,
I'm listening.
Staying curious,
Staying open.
I'm listening.
Now begin to bring your awareness to the crown of the head,
Searching for any and all sensation
that you feel and knowing that feeling no sensation is also an experience.
So observing whatever you feel or don't feel.
Next to crown of the head,
I'm listening.
Moving the attention to the back of the head,
I'm listening.
Noticing the forehead,
Searching for sensation,
Staying curious.
Staying aware of the right temple,
Left temple,
Searching for sensation.
Awareness to your eyebrow center,
Both eyebrows.
I'm listening.
Starting with wonder and interest,
Your right eye,
Your left eye.
Notice the sensation of the eyelids touching or the space in between.
Becoming aware of the nose.
Notice the temperature of the air as it enters the nose and it leaves.
Can you notice any smells?
Staying curious and open.
Moving the awareness to your right cheek,
Left cheek.
Notice what you feel or don't feel.
Shifting awareness now to your right ear,
Left ear.
Notice with complete nonjudgmental curiosity any sounds you hear.
I'm listening.
Trickling the awareness now to the upper lip,
Lower lip.
Notice where the lips touch.
Noticing the tongue,
Any taste in the mouth,
Your teeth,
Any and all sensation in the mouth
as a whole.
Becoming aware now of your chin,
Your jawline.
Notice what you feel or don't feel.
I'm listening.
Continuing with mindful curiosity to the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Chest.
Any sensations,
Quiet or loud.
I'm listening.
Continuing the body scan on your own.
Moving with complete nonjudgmental curiosity to each shoulder,
Down the arms,
Down to the
fingers,
Down each leg to the toes.
Piece by piece,
Mindfully curious,
Searching for sensation.
And know that it's perfectly natural for thoughts to pull at your attention.
Whenever you notice yourself getting lost in thought without any worry,
Without any
judgment,
You can simply return your awareness back to the crown of the head.
And if or when you reach the tips of the toes,
You can simply start again at the crown of
the head.
I'm listening.
And if during your scan a sensation arises at a new part of the body,
You can simply
allow that to become your new point of awareness.
I'm listening.
And I'll leave you to it for a few moments here.
Staying with your body.
Staying mindfully curious and open.
I'm listening.
Softly relaxing all effort and letting go of the body scan,
Refocusing the attention
to the natural breath.
Notice for a moment again the natural rhythm flowing in and out of the body.
And as you connect with and tune back into the breath,
You can now become aware of your
body as a whole,
Your physical existence in the space that you occupy here.
And before opening your eyes,
Can you visualize the room that you're in,
The space around
you,
Various objects in the room?
And whenever you feel ready,
You can open your eyes,
But keeping your gaze soft for
a moment and just simply looking around the room with that same sense of openness and
wonder,
Taking in the beauty of your surroundings and moving into the remainder of your day
or your evening feeling deeply connected.
And thank you so much for practicing with me here today.
Take care.
