Body Scan Before Sleep

This is a gentle body scan with the intention of taking the attention away from the busyness and doing in the mind after a long day, and placing the awareness into the body to enable a peaceful and restful night's sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided body scan.

So allowing the body to land and arrive into a lying down position on a bed or on a chair.

Ensuring that the body is comfortable and warm.

Maybe placing a blanket.

Cushions behind the knees and the head maybe.

And making any little adjustments now so the body can land comfortably.

Noticing the contact points between whatever is supporting it and the body itself.

Softening the contact points.

Maybe the heels,

The glutes,

Back of the head,

Back of the shoulders,

Back of the arms.

And as the body lands,

Bringing the awareness down away from the doing mode of the mind and into the sensing and feeling mode of being.

Simply being.

Nowhere else to be,

Nothing else to do.

Just as best you can for the next while.

Placing your attention into the body.

With kindness and gentleness.

Just the intention to be with the body.

To connect in.

Having this time as a time for nourishment,

Of connection and building the relationship with the body.

Just noticing what's present as you come into this stillness.

And attending to whatever might be looking for your attention with care and compassion.

And during the practice the mind might wander or will wander.

That's what minds do.

So just for a moment connecting in with your anchor.

That safe,

Steady focus point that you can bring your awareness back to whenever you notice the mind wandering.

Or if there's any intensity in emotion,

Sticky thoughts,

Or heavy sensations that you need to rest away from for a while.

So just choosing an anchor that supports you best.

Be that the waves of the breath,

The feet,

Sensations,

Sensations in the hands or seat,

Or even sounds.

If it's the waves of the breath,

Maybe just choosing a point to focus your awareness on where you feel the breath most in the body.

Maybe the belly or the chest.

Maybe even the ribs or the shoulders.

For some it's just the sensation of air coming into the nostrils.

So just being with your anchor.

Befriending it and getting to know it.

As a place you can come home to whenever you need it,

Within or outside of practice.

To cultivate steadiness and calm underneath any waves of sensations,

Thoughts,

Emotions.

Maybe noticing the rise and the fall of the breath.

The skin expanding and contracting with each unique breath coming in and out of the body.

Each breath unique.

Each moment unique.

And expanding the awareness around your anchor to take in the full body breathing here.

Lying here,

Breathing.

Maybe the mind reacts.

Goes into thought or story.

And gently shepherding your awareness back to the body.

And as you scan the entirety of the body,

Just notice if there's any areas that are immediately calling for your attention.

And bringing your kind,

Gentle awareness to these areas.

Releasing any excess tension.

Maybe in the forehead.

Softening the forehead.

Maybe offering a gentle inner smile.

Softening the face.

Releasing tension in the jaw.

Unclenching teeth.

Noticing how the shoulders move down away from the ears.

And allowing their hands to rest effortlessly wherever they're landing.

Releasing any holding or clinging that the hands might be engaged in.

And as we move through this body scan,

Just remembering there is no special state to be achieved or attained here.

No striving.

We're simply connecting in to the body.

Practicing to listen to it.

Practicing to hear the message.

Messages arising and wisdom arising from the body.

That can only be heard in stillness.

So,

Narrowing the focus of your attention now onto the feet.

Taking your full awareness into the feet.

Feeling the toes.

Maybe making contact with a blanket.

Or a sock or a shoe.

Spaces between the toes.

Balls of the feet.

The soles of the feet and the arches.

Maybe noticing temperature.

Or internal sensations,

Pulsing or tingling.

The tops of the feet.

The ankles and the heels.

Maybe the pressure of the heels against the bed or the chair that you're lying on.

Any sensations present.

And maybe there's not and that's fine too.

Just registering a blank.

And expanding the awareness up through,

Around the ankles and into the shins and the calf muscles.

Maybe feeling the calves press against whatever you're lying on.

Pressure.

Temperature.

Internal sensations.

Muscle.

Bone connection.

Gently checking in with the mind.

Maybe it's gone off into a thought.

And gently shepherding it back if it has.

Either back to the body or your chosen anchor.

Settling and resetting again.

When you're ready,

Placing the attention into the knees.

The fronts of the knees and the backs of the knees.

Internally.

Then up through into the thighs.

Feeling the weight and strength of the thighs moving down.

Tingling.

Circulation.

Pressure.

Heat or coolness.

Sensations of the skin.

Whatever you notice.

Up through into the glute muscles.

And the pelvis.

The hips.

Expanding the awareness to take in the entirety of the legs and the feet.

Noticing what it's like to place your full attention into the legs and the feet.

Maybe appreciating all that they do.

Again,

So often overlooked.

Maybe you notice some tightness around the hips.

Maybe gently offering a breath in here.

Creating space for letting go.

Simply being with whatever arises as you place your attention into the legs and feet.

With kindness and gentleness.

And then allowing the legs and feet dissolve in your awareness and bringing the area of the belly into the foreground.

What do you notice here?

Maybe you notice the rise and the fall of the breath.

Skin expanding and contracting.

With each in breath.

With each out breath.

Just noticing.

Maybe you sense the internal organs.

Sounds.

Sensations.

Maybe there's something calling for your attention in and around the belly.

And again,

Not to be judged in any way.

Welcoming this human experience.

Reminding yourself that it's okay to feel this.

Breathing with.

Being with.

Softening around as best you can.

Staying with the sensation.

Noticing how it might change or move as you bring your kind,

Gentle awareness to it.

And maybe when you're ready,

Letting the area of the belly dissolve in your awareness.

Moving the attention around into the back body.

The lower back.

Noticing anything here.

Often the lower back can feel tight or tense.

So maybe offering a breath.

Feeling how the breath creates space.

Expansion.

Softening.

Moving up through the mid-back.

And the shoulders.

Feeling the shoulders.

Sensing into them as opposed to thinking about.

Contact.

Tightness or tension.

Releasing and softening anything that might be holding in the shoulders.

Maybe the imagery of melting tension.

Like ice to water.

Letting go.

Releasing.

And expanding to take in the entirety of the back.

Maybe pressing against the chair or the bed.

Checking in with the mind.

Has it run off into a story?

A commentary?

If it has,

Just gently bringing your awareness back.

As we place the attention now into the tops of the shoulders.

And then through into the front body around the collarbones.

And the chest.

Maybe feeling the aliveness in the chest.

The heart beating.

The lungs breathing.

The breath expanding and contracting.

Maybe sensing into the openness across the heart space.

Across the chest.

Open to receive whatever emerges in your experience from moment to moment.

With kindness and gentleness.

Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant.

Being with whatever it is.

Being in the body.

Breathing.

Reminding yourself that this is all part of human being.

Nothing to be pushed away or resisted.

Just allowing whatever it is to be here.

Caring for it.

And noticing it.

With as much friendship and kindness as you can.

And then maybe letting go of the area of the chest.

And bringing the awareness onto the tops of the arms.

Maybe noticing how they fall away from the shoulders.

Maybe feeling the weight and the volume of the arms.

The wrists.

Through into the elbows.

And the forearms.

Maybe sensing the skin.

Down into the wrists.

The palms of the hands.

The wrists.

The backs of the hands.

Pulsing.

Tingling.

Temperature.

Aliveness.

Feeling into the thumbs.

And the fingers.

Up through into the fingertips.

Just noticing whatever is present.

Without judgment or criticism.

Just noticing.

Being with the hands.

The wrists.

And gently then allowing the hands and the arms to dissolve in your awareness.

As you bring and guide the attention into the neck and the throat.

Simply notice what's present here.

Maybe you notice tightness.

Dryness.

The sensation of the breath maybe even going through the throat.

And up into the jaw.

Sensing whether any tightness or tension has gathered around the jaw.

And releasing as best you can,

If it has.

Unclenching the teeth.

Allowing the tongue to soften and relax on the lower palate of the mouth.

Maybe noticing the lips.

Breath on the upper lip as it comes in and out through the nose.

Softening around the cheeks.

Noticing the little micro muscles around the eyes.

And the temples.

Softening the eyes.

The eyelids.

The eyebrows.

Up into the forehead.

Smoothing out the forehead.

And just noticing the entirety of the area that we call face.

Noticing the skin.

Maybe offering an inner smile.

Moving the attention then into the crown of the head and the scalp.

Down into the back of the head as it rests on a cushion or pillow.

The bed,

The chair.

And just noticing the sense of pressure.

And then from here expanding again to taking the whole body.

Breathing.

Simply being.

Simply noticing whatever emerges in each moment.

And each time you notice the mind jumping into some mental activity.

Planning.

To-do lists.

Worrying,

Remembering.

Just knowing your body and breath are always available to anchor your attention and awareness into the present moment.

Feeling the whole body breathe.

The whole body relax.

Release and soften.

Each breath relaxing,

Releasing and softening.