Body Scan For Mindful Compassion

Participants will be guided through connecting the breath with the body, while being kind and compassionate when the mind wanders. This is a meditation that is useful particularly for those taking the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course.

Transcript

Welcome to the body scan meditation. Please follow along with the instructions as best you can. It's important that you take care of yourself during this meditation, Doing your best to stay awake, Alert, And present to what is here in each moment. It's helpful to see this time as a nourishing time, One that is set aside entirely for you, An opportunity to be by yourself and be with yourself fully. See if you can think of it as giving yourself the gift of your attention to what is here for you right now. The intention of the body scan is to help you learn to be fully present and awake to the physical sensations in the body, Whatever they may be in each moment. There are no particular sensations you're supposed to feel or not feel, But rather it is you're noticing what is present in each moment that's important. Some of the sensations you experience may be pleasant or unpleasant or even intense. In some regions of your body, You may notice that there is no sensation. As best you can, Stay with each sensation moment to moment, Noticing the actual sensations themselves. See if you can let go of the tendency we all have to prefer some sensations and want those to continue and the very normal desire to want other sensations to be different from what they are, Allowing things to be exactly how you find them. Please remember that there's no right way or wrong way to feel. Whatever you're feeling is what you're feeling right now. Just accepting it and giving yourself permission to feel what you are feeling. As best you can, Bringing gentleness and a kind, Investigative curiosity to this practice. It's important to remember to not try too hard to relax when doing this meditation. Striving to be in a state of mind and body other than what is here will just create tension. Instead, Allowing yourself to simply become aware in each moment of what is here right now and accepting what is happening in yourself. Looking at it clearly and seeing it as it is because it's already here and part of your experience. Allowing yourself to be exactly as you are. Using these instructions for guidance as best you can, Watching your body and the activity of the mind as we go along, Letting go of judgmental and critical thoughts, Allowing them to come and go, Neither getting caught up in those thoughts or pushing them away. Simply noticing with gentle curiosity thoughts and emotions as they come and as they go, As well as whatever may be here for you right now. Now, Doing this body scan in whatever posture or position feels best for you. It's suggested that you lie down on a mat or a cushion or even a bed, But if that's not comfortable for you, Finding a position that works best. It's really your compassionate sensitivity and level of attention that's important, Not the way you are sitting or lying. So now finding a comfortable position. For the purposes of my guidance, We will assume that you're lying on a mat or a cushion and just lying on your back, Allowing your eyes to close if that's comfortable, Or if not, Just gently lowering your gaze, Letting your gaze be soft and unfocused, Letting the arms lie alongside your body, Palms facing towards the ceiling, Allowing the feet to fall away from each other, And slowly becoming aware of where the body is making physical contact with the floor, Aware of the entire body from head to feet, Seeing if you can sense the points of contact with the floor, Perhaps the heels, Perhaps the back of the legs, The buttocks, The shoulder blades, The back of the head, Noticing the back of the body, The front of the body, Noticing where there's a sense of heaviness or lightness, And slowly bringing your attention to the fact that you are breathing, Not trying to control your breath in any way, But simply experiencing as the air moves in and out of your body, Perhaps bringing your attention to the abdomen, Noticing how the abdomen expands as you breathe in, And noticing the contraction on the out breath, Following the rhythmic movement of each breath, Letting your body become heavy as it sinks a little bit deeper. You might find it helpful to place your hands on the abdomen so you can follow the movement of the breath. And on the next breath, When you're ready, Moving the focus of attention away from the abdomen, Down the left leg, All the way to the left foot, Noticing the big toe of the left foot, Noticing what is here. You may notice sensations of tingling, Moisture, Itching, Warmth, Perhaps the feel of a sock, Or perhaps the feeling of air flowing past the toe, Just experiencing the toe as it is. And if you find that there is no sensation, Then just experiencing that. And when you're ready, Bringing your attention to all of the toes of the left foot, Noticing any sensations you are experiencing and breathing, Perhaps noticing the space between the toes, The sensation of the toes touching each other, Just breathing in and out and noticing the toes of the left foot. And when you're ready, Releasing the toes of the left foot and bringing into your awareness the entire foot, The foot as a whole, Maybe noticing the bottom of the foot, The top of the foot, Maybe noticing where the heel is making contact with the floor, And continuing to breathe. When you're ready, Releasing the left foot and bringing your awareness to the lower left leg, The region between the ankle and the knee, Noticing the shin in the front and the calf muscle in the back, Noticing any sensations in your lower left leg, Seeing if you can not only sense the surface of the leg but also deep into the muscles as well, Experiencing the lower left leg, Not trying to make it any different. And now releasing the left leg from your awareness and directing your attention to the knee, Bringing your awareness to the front of the knee, The kneecap, The sides of the knee, And deep into the joint, Any sensations in the left knee. And whatever feelings you're having in this particular region, Just breathing with them. And as we focus on different parts of the body, You may find that your mind has wandered either to a thought or story or even a sensation. And when you become aware that your mind has wandered, Just gently with kindness and compassion, Directing the mind back to the breathing. When you're ready, Releasing sensations in the left knee and bringing the attention to the upper left leg, The area between the knee and the hip, Noticing the front of the thigh, The back of the thigh, The inner and outer thighs, Not trying to change anything or release anything, Just accepting what is here in this moment. You may find that certain parts of the body are more difficult to bring your awareness or attention to focus on. If this happens for you, Know that it's perfectly fine to shift your attention solely to the breathing and the sensation of the breath coming and going, Knowing that you are listening to your own wisdom. And when you feel ready, You can move your attention to wherever you hear the instruction pointing. And now releasing the left upper thigh and bringing your attention down the right leg all the way down into the big toe of the right foot, Seeing if you can sense the sensations of the big toe bringing into your awareness all the toes, Seeing if you can sense the toes touching each other, The space in between the toes, Just noticing the toes, Allowing the toes to be exactly as they are right now. And when you're ready, Bringing into your awareness the entire right foot, The top of the foot, The bottom of the foot, The heel, Perhaps noticing the place where the heel or the foot makes contact with the floor, Just tuning into any and all sensations and breathing. And when you're ready, Letting go of the bottom of the top and the entire foot and bringing the attention to the area between the ankle and the knee, Becoming aware of the lower right leg, An area of the body like many others that are often taken for granted. And now just feeling this important part of your body as it is, Perhaps appreciating the lower right leg and just breathing, Noticing the shin, The calf, Not just the surface, But even into the muscles, Perhaps noticing sensations of warmth, Tingling, Heaviness, Lightness, Just sensing and feeling this area as it is. And when you're ready, Releasing the lower right leg and bringing into your awareness the right thigh, The front of the thigh, The back of the thigh, The inner and outer thigh, Just noticing the thigh and noticing where the mind is, Noticing if it has wandered into a thought or a story, An emotion, And gently bringing it back to your breathing. When you're ready, Releasing the right thigh and bringing into your awareness the area between your hips, The pelvic area, Noticing the space between the hips, Noticing the hips themselves, Noticing the bones, The organs, Sensations of contact, Perhaps heaviness, Anything you're feeling is just what you're feeling right now, And just keep breathing into the entirety of the pelvis. For some, This may be an area of sensitivity, And if that's true for you, Trusting your wisdom as to what is right for you in this moment and resting your attention here only as long as is right for you, Returning to the breath to follow sensations, And even opening your eyes if necessary. When you're ready, Releasing the pelvis and bringing the attention to the lower back, Noticing sensations in the lower back, Maybe noticing tension, Maybe seeing if you can sense the air moving through the lower back, And releasing when you're ready, Bringing your attention to the upper back, Feeling any tightness or tension, Seeing if you can sense the rib cage in the back, Maybe noticing fatigue, Not trying to change anything, Just noticing, Bringing your attention up to the shoulders, Noticing the shoulder area, Perhaps sensing the points of contact with the floor, Just becoming aware of the shoulders, And allowing your attention to release the shoulders and upper back, And bringing your attention to the front of the body and into the belly, Experiencing the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. You may find your mind has wandered, Just gently ushering your attention back to the body and breathing, And allowing your awareness to release the belly and move up into the chest, Noticing the expansion on the in-breath and the contraction on the out-breath, Seeing if you can tune into the rhythmic movement of the chest, Possibly even tuning into the beating of the heart in the chest, Just being present here, Noticing the muscles on the chest, The rib cage, How it extends from front to back, Just noticing, And allowing your attention to release the chest and bringing your awareness to the arms, Breathing down the arms, Past the elbows and into the hands, Noticing the position of the hands, Maybe noticing sensation of the hands resting on the floor, Maybe noticing sensations of warmth or coolness, Dryness or moisture, Just feeling your hands, Noticing the front of the hand, The back of the hands, Perhaps even noticing the blood flow in the hands, And when you're ready, Noticing the lower part of the arms, The forearms, Elbows, Just experiencing the body as it is. When you're ready, Bringing your awareness to the upper arms, Up to the armpits, And just noticing what you find here, Noticing if the mind has wandered, Just bringing your attention back to the body and to the breath, With kindness and compassion, Bringing your attention to the neck, Noticing the back of the neck, Noticing the throat, Noticing sensations as you breathe and the air flows through the neck, Just noticing the neck, Now becoming aware of the face, Noticing the jaw, The chin, Just experiencing as they are any sensations and breathing, Becoming aware of the lips and the mouth, Seeing if you can sense your teeth and the tongue on the roof of the mouth, And just breathing with these sensations, Just being aware as you continue breathing, Becoming aware of your cheeks, The nose, Feeling the breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils, Bringing your awareness to the eyes, Around the eyes, The eyelids, Noticing the area between the eyebrows, And noticing if the mind has wandered, Gently ushering it back to the breath, Kindness and compassion, Bringing the attention to the forehead, Noticing any sensations in the forehead, And now focusing on the entirety of your face, Just letting the face be as it is, And now becoming aware of the back of the head and the top of the head, The ears, Noticing sensations in the ears, Noticing perhaps the back of the head resting on the floor, Noticing the top of the head, And now bringing into your awareness the entire body, From the head all the way down to the toes, Breathing with awareness, Noticing the front of the body, The back of the body, Experiencing the entire body breathing, Lying here in stillness, And the whole, Open to this experience and to things as they are in each moment, And breathing, Just noticing the entire body breathing, Experiencing being fully awake right now, And now listening for the sound of a chime, Listening to the full sound until you no longer hear it. And as the audio meditation ends, Bringing your awareness back to your body, And feeling it as a whole, Wiggling your fingers, Your toes, And allowing this centeredness to remain with you as you move, And as you resume the activities of your life. You may wish to congratulate yourself on having taken the time and energy to nourish yourself in this way, And remembering that you can always attend to the in-breath and the out-breath at any moment, No matter what is happening at any time of the day.