Hello and welcome to this body scan practice today.
When you are ready you are invited to come to rest in a position that is comfortable for you.
Whether that be lying down on the floor,
Bed or couch or sitting in a chair that allows your back to be upright and your feet planted firmly and securely on the ground.
Just settling into a comfortable position here.
If lying,
Arms are by your side,
Palms facing upwards,
Feet gently falling away from each other.
Or if sitting,
Legs and feet hip distance apart,
Hands on knees,
Palms facing upwards.
There is nowhere else you need to be than right here,
Right now.
This is your time to be present,
Noticing without judgment,
Accepting what you're experiencing in each moment.
Even in moments where difficult thoughts,
Sensations or emotions may arise.
There is no right way or wrong way.
Whatever your experience is your current reality for you.
Just allowing things to be exactly as they are,
As they occur.
And taking a deep breath here,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Let's start this practice today focusing our attention on the feet.
Becoming fully aware of the feelings and sensations in the feet.
Noticing the outside,
The skin,
The nails and the inside,
The bones,
Muscles,
Blood circulating.
What is experienced here for you?
Moving to the ankles and the calves,
Taking time to tune in,
To notice the sensations that can be found here.
As we go through this practice you might find some regions of your body have no sensation at all that is experienced.
And other times there might be tingling,
Numbness.
Whatever there is,
Whatever is experienced,
Just notice without casting judgment.
Turning your attention to the knees,
Scanning the knees,
The front,
The sides,
The back,
The kneecap.
What is experienced here?
Feelings can be strong at the region of the knees but at the same time if you feel nothing at all,
That's the experience that presents itself to you.
Gently shifting your focus now towards the thighs,
The glutes and the hips.
Often areas of the body where we store tension.
Noticing the sensations in these areas of the body.
There may be times within this practice that you're carried away by your thoughts and when this happens,
As it most certainly will,
Notice the thoughts and then gently draw your attention back to your breath or to the area of the body that we are focusing on at the time.
Moving your attention now to the area of the lower torso,
The groin,
The stomach and the lower back.
Taking a deep breath into this area and then letting it go,
Letting it soften.
Just noticing the sensations here.
Moving to the upper region of the torso,
The diaphragm,
Chest,
Heart,
Lungs and ribcage.
The areas of the body largely involved in the breath.
Noticing any sensations that arise for you in this region of the body.
Can you notice your heart?
And now when you're ready,
Shifting your attention to your hands,
The sensations that are present in the fingers,
The thumbs,
The palms and the back of the hands.
Moving upwards to the wrists,
Forearms,
Elbows,
Upper arms.
Noticing what is here and resting in full awareness of the experience right now in this region of the body.
Shifting your attention now to the shoulders,
The neck and the throat.
An area of the body where tension may be carried.
Is that present here or is there softness?
Noticing any emotions or feelings that might also be experienced here.
And now moving to the final region of the body,
The face and the head.
Becoming aware of what's present in the jaw,
Tongue,
Nose,
Ears,
Eyes and forehead.
Just noticing the front of the head,
The back of the head and the top of the head.
Just noticing what is here and taking a deep breath here.
Focus in on the whole body from the tips of the toes to the top of the head.
Breathing in to the whole body.
Noticing the wave of the breath as it enters through your nose and travels right down to the tips of your toes and back out again.
Taking another deep breath here,
Straight down through your nose to the tips of your toes,
Feeling them and then exhaling the breath through the body and out through your mouth.
And as the practice draws to a close,
Just checking in to your current state with awareness.
Noticing any thoughts or feelings that you may be experiencing right now that may be present for you.
And in taking one last deep breath,
Slowly open your eyes,
Bringing your awareness back to the present moment.
Noticing what's around you,
What you can see and what you can hear and progressing with your day with increased connection to yourself and awareness of the present moment.
