The Body Scan For Deeper Relaxation & Awareness

The Body Scan is a simple, yet powerful way to come out of ‘our heads’ and get in touch with our direct bodily experience. As a longer practice, it provides more opportunities to explore bodily sensations and reflect on our moment-to-moment experiences. It encourages greater openness towards, and acceptance of, whatever sensations we encounter, promoting healthy sleep, and alleviating stress, pain, and anxiety. And it generates deeper rest, relaxation, and energetic recovery for the mind and body too.

Transcript

Welcome to Waking Waves.

The body scan.

The body scan is a guided meditation which helps us build our capacity for attention.

We learn to come out of our heads and get in touch with our direct bodily experience.

It helps us build greater self-awareness of our mind and body connection,

How thoughts,

Feelings and emotions can contribute to the sensations we physically experience.

We cultivate greater openness and curiosity and acceptance towards this experience too and it generates deeper rest and relaxation for the body and brain supporting us whenever we choose to use it.

So to get started,

Find a comfortable position,

Ideally lying down on a mat or bed or sitting in a chair and bring whatever you need to feel supported,

Whether this is a blanket for warmth,

Cushions or pillows for comfort and today perhaps bringing an intention to have this time,

This space to simply be here,

Recognizing that there's nowhere else to be for the next 20 to 25 minutes ahead,

Nothing else to do.

During the practice there will be short periods of silence where you can continue with the instruction provided,

Followed by the next one.

And as we begin the practice,

Becoming aware of the whole body lying or sitting here,

The feeling of contact with the surface you're lying or sitting upon,

Sensing into the weight of the head,

Shoulders,

The back,

Torso and legs,

Feeling of contact wherever your hands lie by your sides or on your lap.

Nowhere else to be right now,

Just being here with the body.

And in the practice ahead,

If at any point you notice a mind wandering,

It's enough to just notice this has happened,

This is what the busy mind does,

What everyone's mind does,

Then with kindness,

With acceptance,

Return to whatever the focus of your attention was in that moment.

And the first focus of our attention today,

Our sensations in the toes,

Starting specifically with the big toe of the left foot.

What sensations are present in this moment?

You may notice some tingling vibrations,

Some warmth or coolness,

Or you may notice nothing at all,

That's okay too.

There's no right or wrong,

We're not seeking sensations,

Just tuning in to whatever is here right now.

And then slowly moving from one toe to the next,

And while you do this,

Pausing to notice with curiosity any physical sensations present,

However light or brief.

And moving your attention now to the base of the foot and heel,

Feeling the contact with the surface beneath,

Becoming aware of any pressure,

The texture of the materials perhaps.

Now to the top of the foot,

Part of the body we may not pay much attention to,

Resting your full attention here for a moment.

Now the ankle,

Important for our balance,

The inside and outside of the ankle.

Upwards now to the calf,

The back of the lower leg,

Becoming aware of this larger supportive muscle in the body.

What do you notice here?

Now moving around to the shin at the front,

Sensing into the whole of your calf and shin,

The lower leg.

Upwards to the knee now,

Crucial in helping us move about,

A place in the body where we might feel added weight or strain.

Taking your time here and asking yourself what sensations are present.

Now above the knee to rest our attention on the top of the thigh,

The quad muscle.

Sensing deep into the mass of this powerful muscle,

Being open to any and all sensations you experience.

Then moving behind to the hamstring,

As if you could feel or sense into the fibers within,

And noticing any sensations or movement in the moments ahead.

Again moving upwards once more towards our left hip and pelvic region,

Including the glutes,

The sitting bones which support our posture.

What do you sense here?

Welcoming whatever is present,

Greeting it with openness and acceptance,

And allowing any tension,

Any tightness or holding on to soften,

To release.

And remember that today we're not trying to change anything,

Not expecting our body to be any particular way,

Not judging,

Simply noticing then moving to the next area of the body.

When the same goes if we find we've tuned out of this guidance,

This is okay too,

But each time gently returning our attention back to the area of the body we were focusing on.

And now we'll repeat this with the right foot this time,

First by tuning into the sensations of each toe,

Starting with the big toe.

And once we've moved through each toe with as much attention as possible,

Moving to the base of the foot once more.

Noticing any tingling,

Pulsing or vibrations,

Or if there's no sensation then noticing this.

Followed now by the top of the foot,

And each side of the ankle,

Knowing that there's no right or wrong way to do this,

No judgment,

We're simply noticing the sensations from moment to moment.

Next we move again to the right calf and shin,

The front and back of the lower leg.

Feeling the sensations of contact with the surface,

Any lightness,

Any heaviness,

Warmth or coolness.

And upwards to the right thigh,

Front and back,

Quad and hamstring muscle,

And pausing here for a moment.

Did you notice any difference between the right and left leg?

And now from here to the right hip and pelvic region,

Giving it some space and attention,

And allowing whatever is here to be as it is.

And remembering if we find a mind distracted or caught up in a story or a plan,

Gently returning our attention back to this region of the body with kindness and without judgment.

And now shifting to the lower belly below the navel,

Sensing into this space and anything we notice in this moment,

Taking the whole belly area into our awareness,

A busy part of the body where we digest our food,

Also where we can feel excitement,

Tension or worry.

Noticing how it feels now,

What is present for you in this moment.

And being open towards whatever you find,

Letting it be as it is,

Not attempting to change anything.

And upwards once more to the ribs and chest area,

Keeping safe your vital organs,

The heart,

The lungs.

You might feel your heart beating or notice particular sensations or movement as you breathe,

Your chest rising and falling away with each in-breath and each out-breath.

What is most noticeable for you?

Allowing your attention to rest now in your collarbones and shoulders,

An area that can hold a lot of tension,

Especially when we're busy or tired.

Letting them rest and settle.

Now we take in both upper arms,

The muscles here,

The elbows and forearms,

Feeling their weight,

Knowing the work they do for us.

Moving to both wrists and hands now,

Left and right.

Letting your attention travel from the thumbs to the forefingers.

Ring finger,

Middle finger and little finger,

Pausing and noticing the space between each.

Next the palms of each hand,

Any tingling vibration or pulsing in either hand.

Any differences between each hand.

No right or wrong here,

No expectation,

Just noticing.

And again checking in to see if our attention has wandered at any point and gently escorting it back if needed.

And with a full attention we leave the hands and move down now to the lower back,

To the base of the spine.

Noticing the shift in awareness as we move to this area of the body,

Pausing here.

Then moving slowly vertebrae by vertebrae upwards,

Deliberately pausing to take in the middle of your back.

What do you sense here?

If anything at all.

And now to the upper back and shoulder blades,

An area of the body where we sometimes carry weight,

Responsibility or expectation.

What arises when we observe the whole of the back?

Continuing up now and pausing at the top of the spine,

The base of the neck,

The front and back of the neck.

Now the muscles of the face,

The cheeks,

Mouth and nose,

The eyes and the space between the eyes.

Now the forehead where we tend to hold a lot of tension.

And if there happens to be any tension right now,

Gently letting go,

Inviting a softening of the brow.

And moving around the temples to the back of the head.

And climbing slowly to the crown of the head,

The very topmost point.

And now in this final stage of the practice,

Inviting you to zoom out and take in the whole body,

The entire landscape of the body here,

Right now in this moment.

The head,

The whole torso and arms,

The legs and feet.

What do you notice when you take this wider view?

What sensations or movement are present?

What if anything has changed since you started?

And as we come to the close of the practice,

Resting your attention wherever suits you,

On this wider view or a particular part of the body in the short silence ahead.

When you're ready,

Slowly and gently moving your body,

Flexing or wiggling the fingers or toes,

Extending the legs or arms,

Gently pulling your knees to your chest or perhaps rolling to each side.

And if you like,

Blinking open your eyes if you haven't already.

No rush.

Perhaps taking a moment to congratulate yourself for investing this time,

To pay attention and be fully aware of your experience as it folds moment by moment,

Supporting your health and well-being in the process,

And remembering that this sense of direct connection with the body this openness and acceptance of what is here is available to you in any moment you choose,

Letting you bring feelings of calm,

Awareness and presence into the next moments of your day.

Reviews

Excellent meditation! The time was perfectly balanced to take consciousness of the whole body. Thank you!

Felt deeply into my body, warm pulsing sensations. A relief to get out of my head space. Thank you 🙏

So relaxing thank you so much for the meditation 🦘🙏❤️

Brilliantly paced body scan. Derek has a beautifully gentle style and, combined with his deep expertise, guides this meditation in a way that leaves me feeling peaceful, grounded and very connected to my physical presence. Thank you 🙏

Very calming. I began to relax immediately. I will continue to do this nightly before I go to bed