Hello,
My name is Claire Bradshaw.
I'm a holistic life coach,
A yoga and meditation teacher.
And today I'm going to be taking you through a body scan meditation.
So take a moment to set yourself up in a lying position.
This could be on your bed,
It can be on the floor,
On a couch,
Just somewhere where you're able to find comfort and you're nice and warm.
You may like to place a eye pillow on your eyes.
You may like to prop your head up with a small pillow and place a blanket over your body.
So take a few moments to get yourself comfortable.
Take any micro movements as you begin to lie down,
The palms facing up towards the sky.
And as you come into this lying position,
Notice where your body makes contact with the earth beneath you,
The bed beneath you.
Notice any sensations that you feel in the body now.
And now start to bring awareness to the fact that you are breathing.
Notice physical sensations of the breath,
The rhythm of the belly and the chest.
And become aware of how the air enters your nostrils down the windpipe and into your lungs.
And allow the breath to come and to go.
Not trying to change it in any way.
Just noticing it,
Becoming aware of your breath and how it feels.
Notice whether the breaths are short,
Fast,
Deep.
And just allow the breath to move at its own rhythm.
And with your next in breath,
Imagine your whole body is hollow.
Accept the air in through the nostrils and imagine it going down into the belly,
All the way down to the legs and into the toes.
Become aware of any tingling,
Any temperature,
Coolness or heat as you do this.
Continue to do this a few more times so every inhale that you take in,
Accept the air and imagine it going into the belly,
Down the legs and then into the toes.
And then on your next breath out,
Allow the awareness to move from your toes to the balls of your feet.
Allow the breath to move through to the whole flat part of the foot and to the heel.
Continue to breathe here.
Notice where the heel may be touching the ground,
The mat,
The bed.
Notice what you feel.
There's no right or wrong.
Just bring that sense of awareness to what you feel.
Now move your attention to your ankles.
Become aware of the surface of the skin of the inner part of the ankle and the outer part of the ankle.
Now move your awareness to the calves of your legs,
The part that is touching the earth,
The bed.
Now start to bring attention to the muscles and the tendons that run alongside the shin.
Now move your awareness up to your knees.
The back of the leg,
The knee cap,
The joints inside the skin.
Now begin to bring your awareness from the knees up to the thighs.
Bring your awareness to the circumference of the thigh,
From the top around to the back and then to the other side.
Feel into the muscles,
The bone,
The tendons,
The interior of the thighs.
Become aware of any weight,
Throbbing,
Heaviness,
Tingling,
Pressure,
Spaciousness.
Again,
There's no right or wrong.
Just notice.
Now move your awareness to your hip,
Your pelvic area and notice your buttocks where they touch the mat.
Now move your attention to your lower back.
Become aware of how the movement of breath affects this part of the body.
With each in-breath,
Notice the belly expand.
With each out-breath,
Notice how it flattens somewhat.
And notice how this expansion of the inhale and contraction of the exhale,
Notice how it affects the sensation on the skin from the clothes or from gentle pressure.
Now bring awareness higher up in your body to the area of the diaphragm and the organs all around it.
Notice the ribcage,
Notice the middle back.
Notice any holding or tension in the body and just let it be there.
Let the breath move through that part of the body.
Notice the breath going into that part of the body and then leaving in its own rhythm.
Now start to bring awareness into the cavity of the chest.
Notice how the chest may be expanding and contracting with each breath.
Become aware of how the entire torso moves with each in-breath and out-breath.
And notice that pause between the breaths.
Become aware of how your shoulders are impacted by the movement of the breath.
The upper shoulders,
Upper back.
Now move your awareness from the shoulders to where they attach to your neck.
And sense into this area of connection from that broad base of the shoulders and then into the narrowing of the neck itself.
And then with the next in-breath allow awareness to move from the upper arms all the way down to your fingertips.
Imagine the breath going from this area to the backs of the hands,
To the palms of the hands and to the base of where your finger connects to the hand.
Feel into each of your fingers.
Start to shift your awareness to your wrists,
Your lower arms,
To the elbow.
And then move your attention,
Your focus from the elbow to the upper arms.
And then back into your shoulders and the base of the neck.
And then take this focus to the jaw,
To the throat and to sensations in the interior of the mouth.
Notice your gums,
Notice your lips.
And start to notice the interior part and exterior part of the lips.
Now bring your awareness to your cheeks,
To your nose and your nostrils.
Notice how the air comes in through the nostrils.
And then notice how it leaves the nostrils.
Next notice the eyes.
Notice the muscles around the eyes and the eyebrows.
Notice the corners above the eyes.
Now move to the brow between the eyebrows.
Notice the entire scalp area from the top of the head all the way down to the ears.
Explore the ears.
Now sense into the entire body from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.
Allow and notice sensation as you include the entire body,
The head,
The shoulders,
The arms,
Torso,
Buttocks,
Thighs,
Calves and feet.
And can you allow things to be just as they are?
Beyond the tendencies of the mind for things to be a certain way.
Beyond disliking and liking.
Can you see yourself as whole and complete right here and now?
Just exactly as you are.
Can you notice and experience this fullness of life?
Acknowledging your ability to be present with whatever presents itself.
Start to deepen your breath.
Maybe take a few swallows.
Bring a little bit of moisture to your lips.
And begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.
You may like to roll over to one side,
Moving an eye pillow if you have one.
And take your time.
Absolutely no rush.
Just noticing how you're feeling.
And start to awaken from this meditation.
As you begin to reestablish your contact with the world outside of your body.
