Welcome to this practice,
Body scan meditation.
Finding a comfortable and upright posture,
Sitting on a chair or on the floor with a straight spine,
Body relaxed and stable.
You can also lie down if you prefer.
Gently closing your eyes or looking down with a soft gaze.
Taking a moment to settle into your posture.
And simply bringing your awareness into the present moment.
Noticing how you're feeling right now.
Becoming more and more relaxed with each incoming breath.
And letting off any tension,
Worry or anxiety with each outgoing breath.
Our intention for this practice is to cultivate relaxation,
Presence and awareness with an attitude of kindness and curiosity.
In this practice we will scan our body from feet to head and become aware of any physical sensations in different parts of our body.
We're not looking for any particular sensation but simply observing whatever is there such as tingling,
Pulsation,
Heat,
Cold,
Heaviness,
Lightness,
Pressure,
Numbness,
Tension or pain.
We're holding these sensations in awareness without judgment,
Not making them good or bad,
Simply accepting them as they come up.
Also noticing whether these sensations stay the same or if they change and dissolve.
To begin with gently bringing our awareness into our whole body,
Sitting or lying here.
Noticing how the body feels at this moment.
Now taking a deep breath all the way down to our right foot.
Noticing any physical sensations on the right foot,
On the sole,
The toes,
On the top of the foot.
Noticing what is there,
Maybe some tingling,
Maybe some pulsation,
Tension.
And gently moving upwards towards the right ankle.
Lower right leg,
The calf and the shin muscles.
The right knee,
Back of the knee.
What kind of sensations can you notice?
And simply keep moving upwards,
Noticing the sensations in your upper right leg on those big thigh muscles.
Moving all the way up to the right hip.
Becoming aware of any sensation in your right leg at this moment.
Maybe some tingling,
Pressure,
Heat or tension,
Simply making space for whatever is there.
Taking a deep breath in and out,
Letting off the awareness of our right leg and bringing our attention to the left leg.
In a similar way,
Scanning our left leg,
Starting from the left foot and slowly going upwards.
To the left ankle,
Lower left leg,
Left knee,
Upper left leg.
All the way up to the left hip,
Noticing any sensations in your left leg at this moment.
If the mind wanders off during this practice,
Simply noticing what is on the mind and gently bringing it back into the body,
Into the body sensations.
We're shifting our awareness to the lower back,
Noticing any physical sensations in that area.
And gently moving upwards to the middle back and upper back and shoulders.
We often hold a lot of tension in these areas,
Simply noticing any sensations that show up without judgment.
What kind of physical sensations are you aware of in your back at this moment?
Now taking a deep breath in and out and gently bringing our awareness to the front part of our body,
Starting with the lower abdomen.
And moving up towards the stomach,
The belly and all the way up to the chest.
Noticing any physical sensations around the chest,
Maybe becoming aware of the sensations of breathing,
The expansion and contraction of the chest.
Slowly directing our attention to our left hand,
Palm,
Fingers,
The fingertips.
Our hands are very rich in nerves and you may feel a lot of tingling,
Pulsation,
Maybe heat or cold.
Noticing any of these sensations and gently moving upwards to left wrist,
Lower left arm,
Left elbow,
Upper left arm,
Biceps,
Triceps.
And the left shoulder.
Taking a deep breath in and out and bringing our attention to the right hand.
In a similar way we are exploring any physical sensations,
Starting from the fingers,
Palm,
Wrist,
Lower right arm,
Right elbow.
Upper arm all the way up to the right shoulder.
Gently moving our awareness to the throat area and observing any sensations in that part of your body at this moment.
And gently moving upwards to the face,
The mouth,
Jaw,
Nose,
Ears,
Eyes,
Forehead.
And the entire scalp area,
Simply noticing and observing.
Now expanding the field of awareness to the whole body once again.
Noticing any sensations arising anywhere.
What is catching your attention right now in your body?
Can you simply notice and let it be there?
Now taking a deep breath in and out,
Gently opening our eyes if they've been closed and noticing how we feel after this practice.
Allowing the qualities of relaxation,
Presence and awareness to integrate into your daily life.
