Soften And Expand: A Tender Body Scan To Let Go

You’ve held yourself together for so long that you may have forgotten your jaw, shoulders, and belly are allowed to rest. This guided body scan meditation invites you to soften and expand, bringing gentle awareness to the places where tension lives, from your scalp and eyes to your heart space, lower back, and pelvic floor. You’ll breathe into a body with more room in it and feel what it’s like to be supported by gravity and the earth beneath you, with nothing to hold up and nothing to do. Along the way, you’ll turn toward your tender places, welcome whatever feelings or fears are there, witness them with kindness, and close with gratitude. Use this practice for stress relief, deep relaxation, emotional release, and self-compassion, whether you need a midday reset or a gentle way to ease into sleep. Soften, expand, and let yourself be held.
Music from aroshanti

Transcript

Begin to notice yourself in the room that you're in. In your own body. Maybe even noticing if there's any place in your body that has a particularly attention-grabbing something, Whether that be a symptom or pain, Tension. See if you could find anywhere and then when you find it, Just hold your energy over that spot for a moment, Inviting. It to be here. It doesn't have to try to hide. Tense up to. Resist that it can just be here. Maybe it's something in your shoulders. Or in your belly. Whatever you notice, Just bring your attention there. It could even be something that feels sweet or nice. You just want to linger there for a moment. And in the second pass, Notice if there's any place in your body that you're maybe not feeling discomfort, But that you're maybe holding on a little more. And you can notice that your jaw is a little bit more tense and tense. Just soften it, Possibly by opening it. Even your scalp. Your eyes, Can you soften them a little bit, Let them feel heavier rather than feeling like you have to hold anything up? Your shoulders or neck. Could you allow gravity to pull your shoulders just a little bit away from your ears? Maybe even offering a little spaciousness in your neck and possibly down your spine. How about your ribcage or your heart space? Can you imagine your heart? Physical heart. Softening and expanding a little more than it normally does. It's a muscle, And sometimes maybe it's a little tighter. But imagine what it would be like. To create enough space. To allow it to expand. To soften. To do its job. But not with so much effort. Perhaps you notice your breathing. What's that breathing feel like? Notice the texture of it. The depth of it. And notice if you want something. A little different or if that feels perfect right now. Notice what it feels like to allow the oxygen coming in to expand you a little. Creating more spaciousness all through your chest area, Your heart area, In the lungs and your abdomen. Allowing your belly to softly welcome the oxygen. Even noticing the expansion into your lower back. Creating some spaciousness there. Around your kidneys, Around your spine. Inviting space energetically and physically. Softening and expanding. All the while, Notice your arms. Did they get tight along the way? And see if you can let them rest a little. Softening. Notice your glutes. How about them? How can they soften? Can you soften your pelvic floor? Allow everything to drop just a little bit. Feeling the heaviness. Those organs are heavy. And we often are holding them up. Imagine what it would be like just for this moment to not have to do anything. To have no effort. No tightening of the belly, Holding of the butt cheeks, Just softening everything including your pelvic floor, And allowing all your organs to rest knowing that your body is perfectly capable of holding it all. While you're in the pelvic bowl. See if you can bring your attention with warmth. Love. Appreciation for the creation energy that is generated here. Allowing your entire body. To rest on the skeleton. The spine. All the way down to the pelvic bowl. Softening and trusting. Trusting your body. Trusting your skeleton. And trusting whatever you're sitting on. Therefore trusting Mother Earth to hold you. Holding the resting you in her arms. Between Mother Earth and the pull of gravity. Feeling the hug. The hug of the universe. Being held. Knowing gravity is always there. Holding you. Holding you close. To sweet Mama Gaia. Allowing your body to be held. Trusting you're never alone. Who are in the warm embrace. The warm embrace. Of the universe. Notice your breathing again. Notice what it's like to breathe in a softer body. In a body that feels held. And begin to notice what it is that you need right now. What do the softer, More tender parts of you need? What feelings are there? Even what fears are there. And allow them to be held in the softness and the tenderness. Don't resist. Invite them in. Witness them. And before you open your eyes, Tune into something that you feel. Deeply grateful for. It could be within you, It could be in your life. Allow that to fill you up as well. And take another breath in. A nice long, Slow exhale, Releasing everything. And when you're ready. Gently float your eyes open. Namaste.