This meditation is best done lying down.
So if you can find yourself in a quiet space,
Lying on your back.
Make yourself as comfortable as you can.
If you need to get a blanket to cover yourself,
Allowing your arms just to fall gently by your side,
Putting a pillow under your head,
Even pillows under your knees if that helps your low back,
Really try to settle in.
Breathe in slowly,
Inhaling and exhaling.
Do that again,
Inhaling and exhale.
Feel your abdomen move outwards as your diaphragm contracts,
Drawing the air into your lungs.
Just noticing your chest rising and falling on the exhale.
Breathing normally.
While breathing slowly,
Notice your left foot.
Feel any sensations there.
You can curl your toes,
Bring your awareness to it.
Now relax that foot.
As you breathe in again through your nostrils,
Slowly scan your left leg from foot to knee and up through your thigh.
As you breathe out,
Trace your leg down to your foot,
Noticing with your awareness.
Try this again on the inhale,
Scanning the left leg from foot to knee and up through the thigh and exhale down to the foot.
Now notice the other foot.
Become aware of them.
And try that for the right leg.
So inhaling,
Slowly scanning the right leg from foot to knee,
Up your thigh,
And then exhale,
Tracing the leg,
In your mind,
Down to your foot.
And one more time,
Inhaling through the nostrils,
Scanning the right leg this time,
Foot to knee,
All the way up to your thigh,
And exhale,
Tracing your leg down to your foot.
Now feel the sensations in that right foot.
Become aware of them.
Notice any discomfort in your right or your left foot.
Moving up,
Scanning up to your thighs.
If you notice any thoughts while you're doing this exercise,
Just notice them and without judgment,
Gently let them go and come back to your breath.
Now scanning up to your stomach,
Feel it rising as you breathe in,
Sinking as you exhale,
Nice and slow.
Continuing with that breath,
Inhaling,
Rising with the stomach as you breathe in,
And sinking as you exhale,
Nice and slow.
Your heart probably is slowing down too,
See if you can notice it.
Realizing this is normal means you're calming your nervous system.
Just keep your awareness on your stomach,
Noticing any other sensations that might be there,
Continuing to follow the breath as the belly goes up and then down.
Notice any pain or other uncomfortable sensations,
Or if you don't notice any,
Just notice without judgment.
Really relaxing as you do this.
Now moving to your left hand,
Clench your fist as you direct your awareness to your left hand.
Inhaling feeling the tightness,
Scanning up the length all the way to your chest,
And exhale going back down.
And do this to your right hand now,
Clenching,
Making a fist,
Inhaling,
Scanning up the length of the arm as you inhale,
All the way to your chest,
And exhale all the way back,
Sensing and scanning.
And don't forget to relax as you do this.
And take a moment to notice your energy.
Is it feeling lower?
Are you more energized from the breath?
Or neutral?
Just notice.
Bring your awareness to your chest,
Continue scanning,
Noticing your neck all the way to your face.
What is there?
Any sensation?
Any warmth or coolness?
Now clench your jaw and release.
Feel the sensations in your jaw,
Your throat.
Just breathe and continue scanning along your face,
Noticing any areas of tension,
Maybe in your forehead,
Your temples,
Any headache.
Feeling how your head may feel heavy as it rests against the floor.
And the top of the head,
The sides of the head,
And your ears,
Top of the neck,
Bottom of the neck,
And to the shoulders.
Seeing what's there.
What sensations stand out?
Bringing yourself into that mindful awareness.
Now detach from all body parts.
And just notice how everything is connected.
Sitting gently on the floor,
Feel yourself sinking into the floor,
Finding a place of peace and calm.
And just breathe.
Let any sensation come to you as you do this.
Come into the feeling of allowing.
Accept all parts of you.
Accept all sensations.
Return to your breathing.
Feeling the breath on the inhale and exhale.
You realize sensations are temporary.
They fluctuate and come and go.
Impermanence.
Just like life.
Nothing is permanent.
You are rested.
Feeling calm in this space.
Slowly,
Mindfully,
Bringing your awareness back to your body.
Gently wiggling your fingers,
Bringing some movement in.
If it feels good to you,
Do some wrist circles.
Gently moving them around in a circle.
Moving on to your feet.
Wiggling your toes.
Gently waking yourself back up.
Back to awareness.
If you feel like it,
Go ahead and do some ankle circles.
Just bringing the awareness back in.
If you want to,
Gently bend your knees,
Put your feet flat on the floor.
Bring your knees into your chest and give yourself a gentle hug.
Feel free to rock side to side.
When you're ready,
Shifting over to one side with your knees.
Laying on your side.
And with your hands,
Gently push yourself up to seated.
And just notice how you feel after this exercise.
This gentle body scan and awareness exercise.
Really feel in the moment,
Allowing yourself here.
And realizing you have the power to calm yourself.
You can always come back to this space when you need to.
I wish you a wonderful,
Calm,
And pleasant day.
