Body Scan For Grounding & Centering

A longer Body Scan meditation, more detailed and part-by-part. It's designed to enhance a sense of groundedness and centering in the body, allowing the mind to let go of busy thinking. It allows for release of stress.

Transcript

Welcome to this body scan meditation and taking the time to be with yourself in a curious,

Open awareness.

This is an opportunity to be in your body in a very kind and attentive way,

In which the inner work of healing is greatly enhanced as you develop your ability to place your attention systematically anywhere in your body that you want it to go.

As you progress through the body scan,

You purposefully direct energy of various kinds in the form of attention,

Kindness,

Friendliness,

Curiosity,

And acceptance into each region or regions of your body.

To start,

Lie down on a mat or blanket on the floor or a firm bed.

Allow your arms to rest down by your sides,

Palms facing up,

And legs extended along the floor and hip width apart.

If this doesn't feel comfortable,

You can try placing a pillow under your knees or just raise your knees with your feet on the floor.

Experiment with your position.

If lying down is uncomfortable,

You may even prefer to sit up.

In whichever position you choose,

Adjusting yourself until you feel comfortable and that you can let your body soften into the support beneath you.

Beginning by feeling the weight of your body on the surface beneath you.

Noticing the points of contact between that and your body.

Where do you feel the most pressure?

The strongest points of contact.

And where do you notice the spaces under the body?

And each time you breathe out,

Allowing yourself to sink a little deeper into the support beneath you.

If you notice any particular tension in the body or face,

Just see if you can soften through those areas as you breathe out.

Just as best you can.

If tension persists,

Just allowing it to be there as part of what is happening in this moment.

This is what is happening after all,

So no point in fighting against it.

No need to do anything.

No need to go anywhere.

Simply abiding,

Here and now.

As you're ready,

Start to become aware of the sensations of your breathing.

You may feel the breath going in and out of your nostrils,

Or passing through the back of your throat,

Or feel the chest or belly rising and falling.

Being aware of your breath wherever it feels most vivid to you.

Following the breath in and out for a few moments.

As we progress through this body scan,

You may notice your thoughts wandering at times,

Perhaps even many times.

Without judgment or self-condemnation,

Just as soon as you notice your mind has wandered,

Very kindly and gently encourage your attention to return to whatever part of the body you are exploring.

Simply letting thoughts come and go without straining to achieve some desired state is a key aspect of any mindfulness practice.

So each time you notice a wandering mind,

You are practicing mindfulness perfectly.

Simply returning your attention to your object of focus is all that's needed.

As you're ready,

Allowing your awareness to move down the left leg,

Past the knee and ankle,

And right down into the big toe of your left foot.

Noticing the sensations in your big toe with a sense of curiosity.

Is it warm or cold?

Can you feel tingling or humming?

Moisture or dryness?

Pressure or maybe not much at all?

Now expanding your awareness all the way up to your little toe and then all the toes in between.

What do they feel like?

If you can't notice any sensation,

That's okay.

Just noting whatever you notice.

Sensations,

Lack of sensation,

Thoughts,

Feelings,

All as part of this present moment of experience now.

And following along as best you can.

Expanding your awareness now to the sole of your left foot.

Feeling into the ball and the heel of the foot.

Perhaps noticing the weight and contact point of the heel on the ground.

The outer edge of the foot.

And the inner arch.

Bringing your awareness into the top of the foot.

Across the tops of the toes.

Across the top of the arch.

Feeling right into the ankle.

Breathing into the whole of the left foot and ankle.

Then when you're ready,

Letting go of your focus on the left foot.

Moving your awareness now up into the lower part of the left leg.

The front of the shin.

And the soft fleshy calf at the back.

Curiously exploring the range of sensations you might feel here.

Moving a little further up the leg now and feeling for sensations,

However vivid or dull,

In the left knee.

Front of the knee.

Back of the knee.

Inner side of the knee.

Outer side.

Just returning your awareness with gentleness.

Whenever the mind wanders.

Back into where you are right now.

Allowing the focus on your knee to fade away now.

And moving your awareness into the upper part of the left leg.

Feeling into the back of the thigh.

And perhaps noticing the sense of weight or contact with the surface beneath you.

Feeling into the area of the inner thigh.

And the top and outer side of the thigh.

Scanning for sensations.

Vivid or not.

And simply noticing what you notice.

Everything is valid.

Now taking your awareness from the area of the upper thigh into the left hip socket.

And right across the pelvis now.

And down the right leg.

All the way to the toes in your right foot.

One by one.

Feeling through the toes of the right foot.

The spaces between the toes.

The tops and the bottoms of the toes.

Perhaps briefly noticing if the right foot feels similar or different to the left foot.

Moving awareness into the bottom of the foot.

Through the ball and the heel.

The inner arch.

The outer edge.

The top of the foot.

Scanning for sensation.

Just noticing what arises.

Bringing your attention back again and again.

Feeling into the contact point.

Under the heel of the foot.

Just noticing the weight.

The pressure.

Sense of warmth or coolness.

Whatever other sensations may be there.

Including numbness or little sensation.

And feeling now into the ankle.

The inner ankle.

Outer ankle.

And allowing the focus to shift now from the foot up into the calf and the shin of the right leg.

Sliding your awareness around the circumference of the calf into the hard ridge of the shin at the front.

Feeling into the knee.

Front and back.

And then bringing your awareness into the upper leg.

Feeling into the back of the thigh.

Front of the thigh.

The inner and outer edges of the thigh.

Scanning for sensation.

And then bringing your awareness right up into the right hip socket.

Just curiously attending.

Returning attention whenever you need to.

Whenever you notice the mind's habit of wandering off without judgment.

With kindness.

Becoming aware of your pelvis now.

Feeling into sensation through the pelvis.

The hips.

The buttocks.

And the area of the genitals.

Scanning for sensation through these sensitive areas of the body.

You may notice the gentle rise and fall of the lower belly as you breathe.

And as you scan through this whole area of the pelvis and lower belly,

Just noticing any thoughts that may arise.

And any emotions that may surface.

Simply noticing and accepting whatever arises as part of your experience now.

No need to do anything or go anywhere.

Easing your awareness up into the area of the lower torso.

The abdomen.

And the lower back.

Breathing into this area.

Breathing out of this area.

Perhaps feeling the gentle movement of the abdomen.

And noticing the parts of the lower torso that touch the surface beneath you more heavily.

And the parts that may feel a little lighter.

Or spacious.

If sensations of pain arise.

Noticing those.

Again as sensation.

Simply as best you can observing the changing nature of sensation.

Now bringing your awareness into the area of your chest.

Across the front ribs.

Feeling into whatever is present here.

Perhaps the rising and falling of the chest as you breathe in and out.

Perhaps feeling the sense of your heart beating inside your chest.

The gentle touch of clothing on the skin.

Warmth or coolness.

Just feeling what's present here in the chest.

And then taking your awareness around into the back of the body.

The sensation of the upper back.

Shoulder blades.

Feeling the contact with the floor.

And just noticing what other sensations may be present here.

And just in these moments of awareness.

This part of the body where the lungs and the heart reside.

Perhaps being grateful that all these vital organs are currently functioning to keep you alive and conscious.

Letting thoughts and emotions arise and pass away.

Gently returning attention to where you feel your shoulder blades.

And the upper shoulders on the support beneath you.

And then sliding your awareness into both your shoulders at once.

And bringing your awareness down through the arms.

Coming to rest in the fingertips of both hands.

Just feeling the position of your fingers initially.

The places where they touch each other.

Our fingers are very sensitive parts of the body.

So just noticing what other sensations of warmth or moisture.

Tingling or humming.

Touch of clothing.

Buzzing.

Whole array of sensation in the fingers.

Moving your awareness now through and into the palms of both hands.

Feeling into the fleshy pad at the base of the thumb.

And into the soft hollow in the center of the palm.

Just resting your awareness here for another few moments.

Sensing.

Exploring.

Being curious.

Now taking your awareness around into the backs of your hands.

Simply attending to whatever arises here.

Breathing into and out of each body part before you move to the next one,

If that feels helpful.

Feeling the whole of each hand now.

The fingers,

The palms,

The backs of the hands.

And then sliding your awareness into the wrists.

The forearms.

The elbows.

Inner elbows.

And outer elbows.

And right up into the upper arms.

Perhaps noticing where the upper arms may touch the side walls of the torso.

Where they rest on the floor.

And whatever else you may notice.

Regarding the whole of your arms now.

With care and full awareness.

And then gently allowing the sensations of the arms to recede into the background.

And bringing your focus up into the shoulders.

Tracing your awareness along the tops of the collarbones.

And into the column of your neck.

Feeling deep into the internal structure of the neck.

The cervical spine.

The esophagus.

All the tendons and muscles.

The blood flowing through the neck.

The breath moving in through the throat and out through the throat.

Sensing into the front and the back of the neck.

And both sides.

Perhaps noticing if there's any sense of tension or tightness.

And just experimenting with softening and relaxing through the neck as you breathe out.

And just noticing what happens.

Then moving your mindful attention to your jaw.

Noticing if it's clenched or relaxed.

Feeling into the face.

And the whole of the head where so many of our sense organs are located.

Noticing sensation in the area of your lips.

Inside your mouth.

The tongue.

The cheeks.

The nose.

Your eyelids and eyes.

Your temples.

And across the forehead.

Just noticing and releasing tension around the forehead if you can.

As well as through the area of the eyes.

Feeling the back of your head resting on its support.

And taking your awareness into the very top of your head.

The crown.

Taking your time to be with each part of your head in a mindful way.

Now imagining a space in the very top of your head.

And down into the very soles of your feet.

Imagining your breath sweeping up and down the body as you breathe in and breathe out.

Feeling the breath sweeping up through the soles of your feet.

All the way up through the legs and torso.

The neck and head and out through the crown of the head.

And then breathing out bringing the breath from the crown of the head down through the body.

And out through the feet.

Just doing this sweeping action of the breath a few more times.

Getting a sense of each cell in your body being nourished with energy and oxygen and your awareness.

Now letting go of all effort to practice mindfulness.

Simply sensing into your whole body.

Feeling yourself as complete just as you are.

Remembering this sense of being is always available to you when you need it.

Resting in this stillness.

Acknowledging the time now that you've taken to nourish your body and mind.

Being with yourself in this quiet and gently inquiring way.

As you're ready,

Coming out of this meditation gently.

And as you move into your next activity,

Bringing this mindful awareness with you.

Reviews

Previously used to a slightly faster paced Yoga Nidra body scan, it took me a while to settle into this and release a slight impatience. By the end I felt so blissfully calm and refreshed, physically and mentally. Much needed as I’m in the middle of doing my Tax Return!
Thank you- I’ll definitely be returning to this again and again… 😊🙏

Thanks so much!

Great meditation. Thank You