Body Scan Meditation
This is a classic body scan meditation. Ideally, it should be practised laying down. The benefits of body scan meditation include focused attention practice, dynamic awareness, non-judgemental awareness, interception and more.
Transcript
This is a guided body scan meditation,
A time that is totally set aside for you as an opportunity to be yourself and to be with yourself and with the body fully.
By regularly doing this exercise you are assuming an active and powerful role in improving your health and well-being.
It is best to arrange to do it in a warm and protected place,
In which you feel comfortable,
Safe,
Secure and at a time where you are not interrupted.
Wear loose and comfortable clothing,
In particular clothing that does not constrict your waist and breathing.
See if you can allow it to be a nourishing time,
A time you deserve to give yourself positive energy and attention.
In this exercise we fully accept what we are experiencing at each passing moment and just accepting what is happening in ourselves,
Looking at it clearly and without judgment.
In this exercise we will take a journey through the body and we focus on sensations and feelings in different parts of the body which I shall name.
Let go of the tendency to want things to be different than how they are right now.
Allow yourself to be exactly how you find yourself.
Allow the feelings and sensations in the body to be exactly how they are.
Let go of judging and critical thoughts and just follow the guidance.
If your attention wanders away from the exercise,
As soon as you notice,
Bring your attention back patiently and persistently,
Kindly and gently.
With regular practice your attention will last longer and distractions will be shorter.
Remember,
There is no right way to feel while you are doing this.
Give yourself permission to feel what you are feeling without any judgment.
You can do this exercise in any position that feels comfortable to you and allows you to relax.
But in the beginning,
Most people find it best to lay down.
So now let's arrange to lay down on our backs if possible and allow your arms to rest gently by your side if you feel comfortable with it,
Palms open towards the ceiling and allowing the feet to fall away from each other.
And slowly bringing your attention to the fact that you are breathing,
Not manipulating or changing your breath in any way,
Just experiencing your breath and directing your attention in particular to your belly,
Your abdomen,
And feeling the sensations in that region as the breath comes in and as the breath moves out of the body,
Just following with your mind's eye the rhythmic movements of your belly,
Simply giving full attention at each moment to your breathing,
The in-breath and the out-breath,
Breathing in you are aware,
Breathing out you are aware,
Breathing in you are aware,
Breathing out you are aware.
And now,
When you feel ready,
Shift the focus on your attention to the left toe and just becoming aware of whatever the feelings are in that region of the body.
There may be a sensation of warmth,
Moisture,
Tingling,
Pressure,
Whatever you are feeling is ok,
And if you are registering no sensations from that region of the body,
Then just be aware of that,
Whatever you are feeling or not feeling is ok.
Now expand your attention to include sensations from the rest of your toes,
Not moving your toes,
Just experiencing each sensation as it comes,
And when you are ready on the next outgoing breath,
Let go of your toes completely,
Allowing that region of the body to just disappear,
Dissolve in your mind's eye,
And bring your attention to the bottom of your left foot,
Feeling it,
Placing your entire attention on the feeling that you are experiencing in the bottom of your left foot,
Allow your attention to be focused and at the same time gentle and curious,
As best you can avoid judging what you are feeling or not feeling,
Simply accepting it,
How it is right here,
Right now,
And coming to focus now on the heel,
Feeling the contact with the surface,
Just feeling the sense of touch and pressure,
And when you are ready on the next outgoing breath,
Just let go of your heel and become aware of the feeling in the top of the foot,
Simply be with your foot,
Feeling it,
Letting it predominate in the field of your awareness at this moment,
Now let that awareness spread towards your left ankle,
Gently but persistently,
Rest your awareness on the feelings and sensations that come from your left ankle,
If you do not feel any particular sensation,
Then be aware of the lack of sensation,
Remember there is no right or wrong way to feel,
And when you are ready on the out breath,
Just let go of your ankle and the left foot,
And just rest there,
In non-specific awareness and stillness,
Breathing,
And become aware of the left lower leg,
The shin in front and calf muscles on the back,
And any sensations you may be experiencing,
Not just on the surface but also deep inside,
Up to the bones,
Experiencing this region as it is,
And when you are ready,
Just let go of that part of the body as well,
And now let your awareness concentrate on your knee,
Any sensation that comes from the region of your knee,
The kneecap,
The sides and back of the knee,
And joints inside,
And on the out breath,
Just letting it dissolve as well,
And moving now into the thigh,
On the surface and in the inside,
Just experiencing your left thigh,
And when you are ready,
As you breathe out,
Just let it dissolve from your awareness,
Let your thigh dissolve from your awareness,
Being aware of nothing in particular,
Just aware of awareness itself,
Laying here,
Breathing,
And we will move to the right leg,
And become aware of the feeling in the right toes,
Just feeling each and every sensation that comes from the toes,
Just registering the sensations that come from that region,
And when you feel ready,
On the next outgoing breath,
Let your toes dissolve,
And let your awareness shift into the bottom of the right foot,
Including the heel and the top of the foot,
Simply allowing that region of the body to become center stage in your awareness,
And let the attention slightly drift to the ankle,
Just experiencing all feelings and sensations that come from that region of the body,
And when you are ready,
Just let your ankle go,
Dissolve from your awareness,
As you become aware of feelings and sensations in the lower leg,
The inside,
As well as the outside,
And as you breathe out,
Let go,
Let go of the lower leg and become aware of your right knee,
Just registering all sensations that come from your right knee,
Without judgment,
And on the next outgoing breath,
Letting go of the knee as well,
And now,
The right thigh,
Inside,
Outside,
Top side,
Bottom side,
Feeling all the sensations that come from your right thigh,
And when you are ready,
As you breathe out,
Let go of that region as well,
And becoming now aware of the pelvis,
Aware of feelings and sensations from the entire region of the pelvis,
From one hip to the other,
Aware of the sensations of contact with the floor,
Or with the mat,
Aware of sensations from all sides of your pelvis,
Inside and outside,
Feeling the pressure of gravity,
And when you are ready,
With the next outgoing breath,
Release the pelvis from your awareness,
And just stay,
Just lay down,
In a state of relaxed awareness and presence,
Content to just be,
As you are,
Simply lying here,
And now,
Allowing your awareness to focus on your lower back,
Just letting yourself experience your back as it is,
Without judgment,
And as you breathe out,
Just let go of your lower back,
And move up to the upper back,
Just feeling the sensations in that region,
You may feel some motion and pressure differences as a result of your breathing,
And on the out breath,
Let go of the back and let yourself rest in a state of relaxed awareness,
And allow your attention to shift into the belly,
Feeling any sensation coming from that region,
From the outside,
From the inside,
Feeling the effect of your breathing on sensations coming from that region,
And now allowing your awareness to expand further and include the chest as well,
Also seeing if you can sense anything inside the body,
Such as your heartbeat,
And noticing the shifting patterns of sensations in that region as the result of your breathing,
So simply being aware of the movement of the belly,
The movement in the chest,
Expansion,
Contraction,
Each one unique,
Perhaps you can also feel some of your internal organs,
And if not,
That is also ok,
And when you are ready with the next outgoing breath,
Allow your belly and your chest to dissolve as well,
And move your awareness to the fingertips of both your hands,
Just be aware of the sensations from your fingers,
Perhaps the touch of the air,
Noticing if you can be aware by sensation alone as to how many fingers you have in each hand,
And let your attention also include the back of the hand,
And the palm of the hand,
And the wrists,
Perhaps you can even feel your pulse from that region,
And becoming aware as well as the forearms and elbows,
Simply registering the sensations,
Just noticing,
Without any judgment,
Without any concept of right or wrong,
Accepting things as they are,
And expand the field of your awareness to include now the upper arms,
All the way up to the armpits and shoulders,
Noticing any sensation that comes from inside your arms as well,
And whenever you feel distracted,
Or you find that your attention has wandered away,
Gently and persistently bring it back,
This time to the upper arms and your shoulders,
And when you are ready,
Letting go of both of your arms from the field of your awareness,
Just let them drop,
And just lay there in relaxed observation and awareness,
Aimed at nothing in particular,
Letting go of whatever thoughts or impulses you may experience,
If during this stage you feel that you need to move,
Do so consciously,
And move with attention and awareness,
And now let the focus of your attention move up to the neck,
To the back of the neck,
And the spine in the neck region,
The throat,
Just experiencing the sensations that come from that region,
Perhaps noticing the passage of the air,
Noticing any tightness,
And on the out-breath,
Let go of the neck,
And become aware of your face,
Focus first on the jaw and the chin,
Any sensation,
Tightness,
If you find that your jaw is tight,
You can also allow yourself to release it,
And on the next outgoing breath,
Just letting it dissolve and become aware of your lips,
Your mouth,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Gums,
Roof and back of your mouth,
Including your cheeks,
And on the next out-breath,
Let your attention dissolve from that area and become aware of the nose,
Perhaps feeling the breath moving in and out of your nostrils,
And be aware of your eyes and allow them to relax as well,
And the eyebrows,
And the space between the eyebrows,
The eyelids,
And the entire region around your eyes and temples,
And if you find any tightness in your face,
Just allow it to relax,
Now feel the sensation on the side of your head,
Sensations from your ears,
The feelings that come from there,
And now the forehead,
Allowing it to relax as well,
And from there to the entirety of your face,
Allowing it to relax,
If you find any tension there,
Simply holding your entire face in your awareness,
And let your face dissolve,
Just let it be still and natural,
And now becoming aware of the back,
And top of the head,
Noticing the sensations of your head being supported,
Just noticing any feelings that come from the area of the top of the head,
And the back of the head,
And now focused on a small spot in the top of the head,
The crown of the head,
At the very top,
And imagine that you are breathing in and out from the top of the head,
Imagine that the breath is entering your body through a small hole in the top of the head,
And now becoming aware of your feet,
Imagining the breath entering your body through each heel,
And leaving the body through the crown,
And giving you a few moments to practice this in silence,
Breath coming in through the feet,
And leaving the body through the crown,
And just remain in this relaxed awareness of the breath going in and out,
Just feeling your body breathing,
Breathe with your entire body,
Experiencing your entire body breathing,
And when you are ready,
Feeling your body as a whole,
Allow yourself to just be a relaxed awareness and presence,
Just lying,
Breathing,
Allow yourself to experience your body right here,
Right now,
As it is,
Complete,
Become one with your body,
In silence,
Stillness,
Peace,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Know that this stillness and relaxed awareness is healing,
It is a time of healing,
And know that this space of stillness,
Awareness,
Peace,
And completeness is always available to you,
Just experiencing being totally awake and aware,
Right here,
Right now,
And as we come close to the end of the body scan,
Gently move your body,
Wiggle your toes and fingers,
And take a moment to congratulate yourself for taking the time and energy to take care of yourself,
You have just completed a 45 minute meditation,
That is something to be proud of,
And shows a real commitment to your well-being,
Remember that this state of relaxed awareness is always available to you,
Through the activities of the day,
By shifting your attention and expanding your awareness to include the in and outgoing breath,
Using your breathing as an anchor for your awareness,
Let it be a source of constant strength and energy,
Balancing and well-being.
