Hello everybody and welcome to Meditation Medicine.
This is a body scan guided meditation.
For this practice you can either sit on a chair or on a cushion with your legs crossed and you can also lie down.
When you place yourself in the position close your eyes gently and we will begin with a few slow and deep breaths.
You can focus on the area of the abdomen of your belly,
Follow the breath as it flows in and fills your abdomen and then with its outward movement the belly deflates and becomes flat again.
If you choose to practice while lying down feel how your body becomes heavy with each and every breath.
Feel how gravity pulls you downwards into the ground with every exhalation.
We will repeat now these cycles of breath for a couple more minutes.
Breathing in the belly inflates.
Breathing out the belly deflates naturally,
Effortlessly.
With inhalation belly rises and with the exhalation air goes out,
Belly falls.
Inhale,
Belly rises.
Exhale,
Belly falls.
Follow your breath with your awareness.
Let your awareness become one with the cycle of breathing.
In and out,
Belly rises,
Belly falls.
Now move your attention gently to your left foot.
Concentrate on the toes of your left foot.
Become aware of sensations and feelings that are present in this part of your body.
Whatever you find there,
Whether it is warmth or coldness,
Dryness or humidity,
Tingling,
Itching,
Discomfort or relaxation,
Allow it to be exactly as it is.
Observe it and be with it with your awareness.
It might also be that you don't feel anything particular or special.
That is okay.
Let whatever is there simply be.
Cultivate a friendly attitude towards these bodily sensations.
Continue breathing with the sensations.
Breathing in,
Feel how your breath moves down from the lungs through the belly and pelvis and into your legs and feet.
And from there it goes into your toes.
Breathing out,
Imagine or feel how it moves up from the toes to the lungs and out through your mouth or nose.
You should feel as if the air goes into your toes and then out of them.
Almost as if your toes are breathing.
Now,
On your next exhalation,
Leave the area of your toes and let it disappear from your mind and from your attention.
We will now continue with all the other parts in the body,
One after the other.
One after the other.
We sweep now with our attention through the sole of the left foot,
Scanning the sensations there,
Accepting them exactly as they are.
We don't want to change anything that we feel.
From there we move to the heel and the upper part of the foot.
We go up the left leg in the area of the calf and the shin and then the knee,
Scanning the sensations,
Being aware of them,
Not clinging onto them or not and not pushing them away.
Just being with whatever is,
Letting everything arise and fall.
From the left knee we go up the left thigh,
Scanning the thigh with its sensations,
Cultivating a friendly attitude towards them,
Towards whatever there is.
From the thigh we go up to the groin and the left hip.
Now we focus on the right foot,
On the toes of the right foot.
We place our attention,
Our awareness on the toes,
Becoming aware of whatever sensation there is in there.
Let whatever is,
Whatever is felt in the toes be as it is.
It could be nice,
It could be irritating,
It doesn't matter.
We simply let it be.
From the toes of the right foot we go up the right leg,
To the sole and then the heel,
The calf and the shin,
The right knee,
Feel the sensations in the knee and from there go up the right thigh.
Let the breathing continue in a natural way.
Air goes in,
Belly rises,
Air goes out,
Belly falls at your own pace.
We go up the right leg to the groin on the right side and the hip.
We begin the next step which is to focus on the area of the pelvis,
Sweeping with our awareness through this area,
As if our attention is like air that goes through these areas.
We sweep through the pelvis,
Also inside the pelvis.
We include in the scan also the inner organs.
We sweep through the muscles and tissues of the pelvis,
Front and back,
Going through the pelvis floor,
The inner organs and the entire area of the pelvis from the outside all the muscles that cover the area of the pelvis.
Continue breathing freely and naturally.
Now we move to the lower back and the abdomen,
The belly,
Sweeping gently with our awareness through these areas,
Being aware of all the sensations that arise from the lower back and the belly,
The lower abdomen.
Then we go up to the middle back and the upper back,
Including also the chest,
The area of the lower chest and the upper chest.
We sweep with our awareness through the entire torso,
Including all the inner organs,
The bowel,
Small and large,
The liver,
Spleen,
Lungs,
The great blood vessels,
Veins and arteries,
The heart in the middle of the chest and a bit to the left.
We sweep with our awareness through all the area of the torso,
Becoming aware of all sensations,
All the sensations that arise in the area of the torso.
We move now with our awareness through the armpits and then back to the shoulder blades and then up to the shoulders.
From the shoulders,
Let your awareness glide down both of your arms through the front side,
Where the biceps muscles are,
To the front side of the elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists and then the palms of your hands and the fingers,
Scanning all the sensations that could be found there,
Not pushing them away and not clinging onto them,
Trying to befriend them.
And then we go back up from the other side,
The back of the palms,
Wrists,
The back side of the forearms,
The elbows,
Triceps muscles and back to the shoulders,
From behind.
Continue breathing naturally on the in-breath,
Belly rises,
On the out-breath,
Belly gently falls,
Gently and naturally.
Now move through the throat and neck and then to the head.
Swipe through the muscles of your face with your awareness.
Chin,
Jawline,
Lips,
Teeth,
The entire mouth,
The nose.
Scan your cheeks and your temples and then go up to your forehead and scan with your awareness also your scalp.
Feel the roots of your hair and the hair on your head.
Last,
We move to the crown of the head.
Swipe with your awareness through your entire head,
Entire scalp.
Be aware of all the sensations that arise in this area.
It could be pleasant,
It could be unpleasant,
It doesn't matter.
We're simply aware of what is,
Not judging anything and not preferring anything.
Now we move to the crown of the head again,
Breathing through the crown,
Allowing the air and flow of energy pass in and out of it.
Feel how your breathing is going inside and outside your crown,
The crown of your head.
Now let the breathing become a whole body breathing.
Feel the air going in and out from both the feet and the top of your head,
As if your entire body has become like two huge lungs.
Feel how your entire body breathes simultaneously from above and from below.
Place your attention on this energy flow and the movement of the air and breath through your entire system.
Breathing in,
Let awareness,
Your awareness scan the entire body with all its sensations.
Breathing out two more times,
Breathe in through your entire body,
Through the crown of the head and through your feet.
And breathing out,
Belly falls gently.
And for the last time,
Breathing in with your entire body and in your own pace,
Breathing out.
Before we conclude the meditation,
You can choose to let this awareness of sensations be with you for the rest of your day.
Whatever sensation arises in your body,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Be with it without judging it.
Be aware of its quality without pushing it away or clinging onto it if it's a pleasant one.
Take this awareness with you to the rest of your day and when you're ready,
You can slowly and gently open your eyes.
