Compassionate body scan.
So if you get yourselves comfortable.
Lying down.
Somewhere you can really just kind of let it all go.
And tune in to that support that you're getting from either the floor or a bed.
And just start by just noticing your body.
Breathing.
Noticing the air coming in.
And noticing the air coming out.
And as this is a compassionate body scan.
If you feel you've got any little aches or pains and you need to move around,
Just feel free to do what you need to do.
Now tuning into your body just lying on the surface of the floor or bed.
I'm just allowing everything to just sink in and relax.
Just taking a moment again to.
.
.
Relax your jaw,
Muscle.
We hold a lot of tension there.
And all the muscles in your face.
Just allowing everything to just loosen and open.
And it might be that over the course of the practice,
You can feel different areas of tension.
Or pain.
If you need to focus on them,
That's okay.
Might be that you want to breathe into that area.
And then relax it.
So we're going to take the different areas of the body.
Starting with lower half,
Beginning with your feet.
So,
Just have an awareness now of.
.
.
Your toes.
You might want to give them a wiggle.
To see where they are.
If you're lying down,
It should be in the air.
Can you tune into each toe?
Don't worry if you can't.
So starting with the left foot.
Just feeling your toes.
Maybe one by one.
We're all together.
And then your right foot.
One by one.
All together.
And expanding this awareness to the whole of your foot.
Feeling it from the inside.
To the outside.
And just bringing that awareness,
Extending it a little bit,
Just up to your ankle.
And see if you can.
.
.
Feel like a warm glow.
And your toes and your feet,
Your ankles.
Bring in that kind of warmth and kindness.
And then moving your attention up to your legs,
Just your lower legs.
Might want to tune into the left one.
And then the right one.
Or perhaps both at the same time.
Again,
Just feeling this warm glow.
Wrapping itself around your legs.
Just in a gentle way.
Now focusing on the knees.
This is an area we might have some stories about.
Just letting go of that and just bringing some beginner's mind.
Just feeling that energy and sensations there.
Again,
Feeling that warm glow around the knees.
Infusing them with kindness and warmth.
And now your legs,
So your thighs.
All the way around all your skin front and back and sides Maybe the left one.
Then the right one.
Or both together.
Just sensing how they feel this evening.
You might feel the material.
Wearing.
Just feeling them heavy on the bed or floor.
And now bringing in that beautiful warm glow.
Of kindness.
Now letting go of that area,
Your pelvic region and your lower tummy and your back.
All the organs just working there,
Digesting and everything else that's going on.
Just bringing some softness to that.
Might feel.
Your breath coming in.
Into a soft belly.
And just.
Letting go of any tension in the lower back as well.
Letting it sink into the bed or floor.
And then bringing that warm glow to that area.
Letting go of that area.
Bringing your focus to the chest area and the back.
On the sides.
Sensing into that aliveness from the inside out.
Your heart.
Top of your lungs.
Lot going in there,
Going on there.
Just enjoying that breath coming in,
Filling that area.
And then letting it go again.
Again,
Any stories coming up?
Just bringing it back to those physical sensations.
Now bringing in that beautiful warm glow.
Just infusing.
All of your upper body.
Front and back,
All inside.
Bringing with it a release of tension.
Just kind of melting away any tension.
Really relaxing being.
Now your shoulder.
Left shoulder.
All the sockets and muscles.
And then including your arm.
The upper arm,
Elbow.
Lower arm.
Wrist.
Hand.
Feel what your hand is resting against.
And how your left hand feels this evening.
Expanding your awareness for the whole hand and left arm,
Including your shoulder.
Feeling that warm glow again.
Now letting go of that,
Moving over to your right.
Shoulder.
Might want to Just roll it a little bit to release any tension.
All the joints,
Muscles in there.
And moving down the upper arm.
Elbow.
Lower arm.
Hands.
Fingers all the way down to the fingertips.
You might want to bring in a little appreciation of everything that your arms do during the day,
How they help us live.
Cooking and washing and cleaning and writing.
And then just bringing that warm glow all the way up your right arm.
Infusing it with warmth and kindness.
Now leaving that area.
And just focusing on your neck.
Okay.
Might want to give it a little wiggle.
So you can let go of any tension.
Just letting it drain away.
Obviously,
We breathe through here and.
.
.
Eating and talking.
Nice to just bring a sense of peace and rest to that area.
And then this warm glow enveloping the neck and all inside it.
Now your head.
Really feel it heavy on whatever is supporting it.
Tuning into that sensation maybe of your hair.
Your head whatever it's resting on.
Just feeling that support.
Enjoying that support.
And again,
Just letting go all those places where we can hold tension to the jaw.
Tongue in your mouth.
Space between your eyebrows.
Temples.
Just letting everything melt away any stress.
Just bringing a slight smile to your lips.
Just content in the fact that you're doing something to really look after yourself.
And to care for yourself.
Just allowing that warm glow.
To go from the inside out.
So if it's radiating from inside you.
Care from the inside out and the outside in.
Just enjoying that.
And now expanding your awareness.
To all of your body.
If you can.
The top of your head.
All the way down to your feet.
Including from your shoulders down to your fingertips.
And just breathing however you want.
Just breathe in.
That affection and kindness for yourself.
Having that gratitude for your body.
And all that it does for you.
All day long.
All night long.
Really focusing on what it can do.
And also focusing on what you're helping it to do.
Learning these skills.
To help your mind and your body.
Just sensing into that connection now with the floor or the bed.
Just feeling your body,
Feeling alive.
Like a big ball of energy.
And just start by bringing some slight movement.
You might want to wiggle your toes.
Move your fingers around.
Moving your neck.
Maybe having a stretch.
And just take three deeper breaths into your belly.
And if you move over to your right side.
Takes the pressure off your heart and just gently get yourself up.
I'm coming back to the chair.
I forgot to read the poem.
I got so into it.
So if you just close your eyes while you're nice and chilled out,
I'm just going to read it to you.
OK.
So it's called the paradox of noise.
It is a paradox that we encounter so much internal noise when we first try to sit in silence.
It is a paradox that experiencing pain releases pain.
It is a paradox that keeping still can lead us so fully into life and being.
Our minds do not like paradoxes.
We want things to be clear so we can maintain our illusions of safety.
Certainty breeds tremendous smugness.
We each possess a deeper level of being,
However,
Which loves paradox.
It knows that summer is already growing like a seed in the depth of winter.
It knows that the moment we are born,
We begin to die.
It knows that all of life shimmers in shades of becoming.
That shadow and light are always together.
The visible mingled with the invisible.
When we sit in stillness,
We are profoundly active.
Keeping silent,
We hear the roar of existence.
Through our willingness to be the one we are.
We become one with everything.
