Settle yourself into the chair,
Floor or bed as we begin this body scan meditation.
We'll begin with the eyes open with a soft focus so that you're just aware of the space around you.
When you're ready,
Take some big deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
As you breathe in,
Feel the lungs expand as they fill with air and as you breathe out,
Just feeling the body sinking further down.
With the next out breath,
Closing the eyes and allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
As you pause for a moment,
Just noticing the weight of the body pressing down beneath you.
All the points of contact of the body.
All the points of contact of the body.
Taking a few moments to notice all the different sounds around you and allowing these sounds to come and go.
Now bringing the attention back to the body,
Scanning down from head to toe and noticing how the body feels.
First becoming aware of any physical sensations.
You may notice discomfort,
Pain or perhaps tingling.
And also take a moment to notice your mood.
And now just shifting the attention to the breath and noticing how it is at this moment.
Whether it's shallow or deep,
Fast or slow,
Without trying to change it in any way.
And now guiding your attention to your feet,
The soles and balls of the feet,
Sensing any points of contact.
And gently moving your attention to your toes,
The big toes,
The little toes and all the toes in between.
Now moving to the top of your feet,
Into your heels and ankles.
You may not be aware of any sensations and that's ok.
Now let your awareness move up your legs into your calves and shins,
Noticing any sensations here.
Moving to the knees,
The fronts and backs of the knees.
And up into the thighs,
The large muscles of the legs,
Maybe becoming aware of your clothes or the blanket.
If you find your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back to the part of the body we're focusing on.
Next gently allow your awareness to move to the hip area.
And to the abdomen,
Noting any sensations here.
Now let your attention move to your chest,
Becoming aware of your rib cage.
Noting the change in sensations as you breathe in and out.
Next move your attention to the tailbone,
The middle back,
The upper back.
And shoulder blades.
If you find your mind has wandered,
Just notice and gently bring your attention back to the area we're focusing on without judging or telling yourself off.
Next gently move your attention down your arms to the fingertips.
The palms.
The backs of the hands.
Up into the wrists.
The forearms.
To your elbows,
The outer bones and the soft inner fleshy part.
And the upper arms.
Now moving your awareness to the shoulders.
If you become aware of any tension,
Seeing if you can allow it to soften.
Guiding your attention now to the back of the neck.
Up to the back of the head.
To the top of the head.
Down to the forehead.
The eyebrows.
The space between the brows.
The eyelids.
The sockets.
The temples.
The ears.
The cheeks.
The nostrils,
Sensing the air as you breathe in and out.
The lips,
Noticing where the top lip meets the lower lip.
And into your jaw,
Another place where you may hold tension.
If this is the case,
Then allowing the lower jaw to release.
Now moving your awareness to the top of your head once again.
And imagine you have a blowhole like that of a whale in the top of your head.
Breathe in through the blowhole and allow the breath to flow all the way down the body and out through the feet.
Then breathe back in through the feet,
Allowing the breath to flow all the way up the body and back out through the blowhole in the top of your head.
Continue in this way for the next few moments,
Breathing in and out to your own natural rhythm.
.
Now starting to become aware of the points of contact of the body once more.
Noticing any sounds.
Or smells.
Bringing some small movements to the fingers and toes.
In your own time,
When you're ready,
After the sound of the gong,
Gently opening your eyes.
.
