Hello and welcome to this mindfulness meditation.
In this practice you'll be moving through a body scan to connect more deeply with yourself.
So take a moment to settle into a comfortable position.
You are welcome to lie down or sit up instead.
If you are seated,
Keep your spine long,
Shoulders loose and chin slightly tucked.
If you are lying down,
Rest your arms by your sides and feel the support of the surface beneath you.
On your next exhale,
Gently close down the eyes.
We will start with a few rounds of the reset breath.
This involves two quick inhales through the nose and then four counts to exhale through the mouth.
Let's begin.
Breathe in deeply through the nose,
Take another quick inhale and an exhale two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe in again,
Take a quick sip of air and breathe out two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Take a sip of air and exhale two,
Three,
Four.
One more round,
Inhale,
Inhale again and exhale two,
Three,
Four.
Now allow the inhale and exhale to come and go naturally and find a place where you can feel the breath most clearly.
Perhaps the tip of the nose,
The throat,
The belly or the chest and just rest your focus here,
Observing the rise and fall of the breath.
Now imagine roots growing out of the base of your spine and into the ground beneath you.
Allow this image to keep you feeling grounded throughout this practice.
We are now going to move into a body scan.
If you notice any thoughts come up,
Simply recognize that this is a normal part of meditation.
Acknowledge the thought,
Allowing it to be understood and then gently shift your focus back to the body scan.
So now bring all of your focus down to the toes.
Notice any sensations that appear.
Move your focus to the ankles and now to the calves,
Letting go of any tension you might be storing here.
Checking in with the knees,
Now moving to the thighs,
Again just noticing any sensations or feelings that emerge.
Move your focus to the hips and pelvis.
Now slowly glide your awareness from the base of the spine all the way up to the neck,
Paying attention to each vertebra and the sensations that are present.
Now gently glide your focus down the spine back to the base.
Move your awareness to the stomach and notice what comes up here.
Perhaps you feel your digestion at work or maybe there's a relaxed feeling.
Move your focus to the center of the chest and see if you can notice the subtle heartbeat.
And now to the shoulders.
We often store a lot of tension here,
So give yourself permission to let go and release.
Move to the elbows,
The wrists,
The hands and the fingers.
Move to the neck,
Focus on the jaw,
Letting go of any tension here.
Move to the face and finally to the top of the head.
In the final minute of this practice,
Sense into the entire body all at once.
Just sit with any feelings or sensations that appear.
Return your focus now to the breath and invite some deeper breaths into the lungs.
When you feel ready,
Start to wriggle the fingers and toes.
And now you can gently open the eyes.
Keep your gaze soft for a couple of breaths.
See if you can maintain this sense of bodily connection as you move throughout the rest of your day.
