Smile: A Body Scan

This is a body scan -- with a happy twist. Overlaying the body scan will be the use of a smile, a visualization technique to help send positive messages to our subconscious and to reaffirm we are grounded and content.

Transcript

Welcome. Thank you for meditating with us today. We're going to do a body scan, But a body scan with a happy twist. There are numerous reasons why you want to do body scans. They help us to reduce stress and anxiety. They help us improve sleep and they help us deal with chronic pain as well as improve our mental focus and help us to relax. We're going to progress through the body focusing on various body parts, But we're going to add that little twist. We're going to imagine a smile on top of each body part as we get to that particular body part and we're going to put a little smile. It could be in the shape of a happy face. It could be a singular smile like a crescent moon, But it helps us to reaffirm very positive things in our life when we smile. Smiling boosts our immune system. It helps us to relax and reduce stress. It may even lower our blood pressure, But most importantly perhaps it sends that very positive message to the subconscious that we are content, That we are okay, That we are doing well. So let's get started. Because this is a body scan and we will be starting at the feet and working towards the head, You may want to lie down. Regardless if you are lying down or sitting on a cushion or a chair, Let's start with a few deep relaxing breaths just to settle in to ground and center ourselves. And we're going to start on the right side at the bottom with our toes. So we'll start with the baby toe and a little smile. Then the next toe and another little smile. Middle toe and a smile. Toe next to the big toe and then the big toe itself. Now let's put a smile on the top of our foot and the sole of our foot. Now the ankle and a smile fits nicely around our ankles. Now we can put a smile on the front of our leg and the calf, Sandwiching as it were that part of our leg between a wonderful set of smiles. Now we'll move to the knee and another smile. Finally for the leg, The quadricep and the hamstring. Smiles on either side. Now let's focus on the entire leg. Picture if you can a warm healing light. Perhaps it's yellow in color or green. Whatever color comes to mind and if no color comes to mind at all that's perfectly okay. But try to feel that warmth in your leg. Try to imagine that healing light and warmth. If there are any parts of your leg that are bothering you, Your knee perhaps, Try to focus on that part of your leg. Draw in that healing light and energy. And now we'll continue to move through our body scan. Next we'll come to the hips and the pelvis, Lower back and a smile on either side. If you can try to imagine some of that healing light internally on our kidneys, Our pancreas, Our appendix. Now we'll move to the mid-back, The upper chest and a smile in both locations. Here in the upper chest we have our lungs and our ribs. Again if we can picture that healing light that's very helpful. Now we're going to do the entire torso. Just imagine that warm wonderful light infusing your upper torso, Your organs, Your skin, Your bones and muscles. If there are sore areas, Areas that have some discomfort or that you are concerned about, Try to focus some targeted intense light and energy on those areas. Let's take a breath in and smile. And now let's move to the throat. And a big smile across the throat to help us with our own truth and to help us communicate with others. Let's move now to the right arm. Let's start with the fingers. Baby finger, Next finger, Middle finger, Pointing finger and the thumb. And a smile on each of those digits. Now let's do our wrist and a smile around our right wrist. Let us do our right forearm, A smile on either side. Our right elbow, The joint and again a smile will fit nicely around this joint. Then the upper arm and a smile on either side. Now we're going to move to the left side and we'll start as we did on the right with our toes. Let us imagine our baby toe with a small smile. Our next toe and a smile, Middle toe and a smile, Next toe and then big toe smiling all around. Try to imagine the top of the foot with a smile and the sole of the foot with a smile. Now to the ankle and again a wonderful smile that just embraces that part of the body. Now we move to the front of the leg and the calf. Perhaps you can imagine a smile resting on both sides of the leg. Here we'll now move to the knee and a smile. Finally for that left leg, Our quadricep and our hamstring, Smiles on either side reminding us subconsciously that everything is fine, We are healthy and we are doing well. Now let's try to picture that entire left leg from the tips of our toes to the top of our hamstring. That warm wonderful light may have a color, It may be yellow especially if you are using a yellow smiley face as your symbol. Any area on that left leg that causes discomfort or concern, Perhaps try to draw a little bit more intensity of light and warmth to that area. Take a breath in and now we will move up through the hips and pelvis, The lower stomach, The mid-back, The upper chest, The torso, The throat and now to the left arm. Let's start with our fingers. Baby finger, Next finger, Middle finger, Again imagining a smile on each of those digits. Index finger and thumb with a smile. Now try to imagine the top of the hand and the palm of the hand with a smile encasing and embracing the hand itself. Now we have a smile that moves around our wrist and then we move up to the forearm and a smile embracing both sides of that arm. To the elbow and a smile, The upper arm and another smile. Now if you can imagine the whole left arm and that warm healing light. Let it infuse your arm, Let it spread throughout your arm, Try to feel it, Try to see it and again any areas of discomfort bring an intensity of focus to that particular area of the body. Now we're going to move to the face. Let's start with the jaw. Let's try to relax the jaw if we can and nicely a smile fits around the bottom of the jaw. From here we're going to move to our lips and nowhere perhaps are we able to smile more easily and more fully than on our lips but let's do a little something more here. Let's imagine that smile on the inside of our lips as we picture that part of our body as well. From here we move to our cheeks, Little smiles caressing our cheekbones. From here to our ears, Our right ear and our left ear and little smiles hanging off perhaps our earlobes. From here we'd like to move now to our eyebrows and sitting gently on those eyebrows, Wonderful small little smiles. The forehead is next and a smile can run from one temple to the other temple. Now we'd like to move inside for a few seconds. If you can picture your brain, Your mind, That gray matter and that gray matter with a lovely smile resting on top of it beside it but basically cradling and caressing your mind. Now we're going to move to the top of our head, To the crown where the crown chakra sits and resting on the top of our head is a bright vibrant smile. Now let's picture our entire face. Let's envision that warm wonderful healing light spreading throughout our face, Throughout our external elements of our face and internally as well. If you're able to feel that warmth that's wonderful, Not to worry if you can't. If you're able to see a light that can help to spread the warmth and spread the understanding of your body but again not a problem if you can't. Now we've done the body in exceptions, Let's do the body as a whole. From the tips of your toes to the crown of your head just sit, Rest and breathe in that wonderful warm healing light. Perhaps you see a smile at this point, Perhaps you don't but what you want is if you can that warmth and understanding that your body is feeling good, That you are feeling good, That you're relaxed, That you're distressed, That you're more focused and that your mind now has these wonderful smiling images to carry it through the day and the week. We're through our body scan at this point and so we're slowly going to come back to our physical space. You may want to move at this point, You may want to move your arms or your legs, Wiggle your toes or your fingers. You may slowly want to open your eyes, Breathe in gently and exhale. Breathe in again and exhale. We're now complete. You may want to take a few minutes just to stretch and to contemplate what you've been through. I want to thank you for joining us. The light in me sees the light in you. We are one.