Welcome to the 15-minute body scan.
Start by bringing awareness to the various sensations in your body.
Noticing what it feels like to be lying down or sitting in the position that you have chosen.
You might become aware of the sensation of the breath rising and falling.
Allowing the body to breathe in its natural way.
Noticing,
When we allow the body to breathe just as it is,
That each breath is a little bit different.
And by staying alert to the present moment,
We can experience the uniqueness of each moment.
We'll move our awareness now away from the breath by bringing your awareness to the sensations in both feet.
And the points of contact where the feet are touching the ground.
Slowly move your awareness across the feet,
The bottoms of the feet,
The tops of the feet,
The toes and the heels.
Bringing awareness to all of the different sensations coming and going from the feet.
Next we'll move our awareness up to the ankles.
With all of your attention,
Noticing any sensation in the ankles and starting to move the attention upwards across the shins and calves in the lower legs.
You might notice tingles or pressure.
All kinds of little sensations coming and going from the lower legs.
We simply notice the sensations and allow them to be.
Continuing to move the attention upwards,
Now exploring any sensations in the knees.
Then at your own pace,
Exploring sensations in the upper legs.
Inch by inch,
Discovering what sensations are present from the knee to hip joint in both legs.
Allowing the sensations to come and go in the same way that we allow the breath to come and go without judgment and without trying to change anything.
Naturally,
Thoughts will also be coming and going.
It's normal to have thoughts enter and exit the mind.
We can simply notice that we are thinking and then turn the focus back to physical sensation.
Now starting to move towards the hips.
Exploring sensation now in the whole pelvis,
Lower belly and hips.
Moving across the pelvic region slowly to notice as much as you can in physical sensation in this area.
Allowing thoughts to come and go in the background and continuing to bring sensation into the foreground.
Moving attention up into the torso,
The belly and the mid-back.
Perhaps experiencing the sensations of the movement of breath through this area of the body.
Continuing to move the awareness up the torso,
Now to include the chest,
The upper back and shoulders.
Noticing how each moment is unique.
Just as each breath is different.
Each moment of sensation in each part of the body is a little bit different.
We're bringing awareness to the body with kindness,
A friendly curious attitude.
Exploring the changing present moment through the experience of the changing human body.
Let's move the attention away from the torso now and into the hands.
Starting from the tips of the fingers and moving the awareness upwards.
Exploring the sensations in each finger and thumb,
The palm side of the hand as well as the back of the hand.
Simply noticing and allowing it to be.
Moving the attention up into the wrist now,
Any sensation there.
And then into the forearms between the wrist and elbow in both arms.
Next attention in the elbows.
And then moving from the elbow to the shoulder in both arms,
Exploring the changing nature of sensation in the upper arms.
Each time you notice that you've gotten lost in a thought,
Simply coming back to the part of the body that we're exploring.
No problem.
We'll move now into the neck,
The throat.
Sensations coming and going from the neck and throat.
Finally,
We'll move into the head,
The scalp,
The ears,
The forehead,
Eyes,
Nose,
Cheeks,
Mouth,
And chin.
Taking time to notice the sensations in the face.
And now,
Broadening the awareness out from the head down to the neck,
The shoulders,
Including the sensations in the arms,
The torso,
Hips,
Legs,
And feet.
Experiencing the sensations in the whole body.
And congratulating yourself for taking the time to explore the body in this gentle way.
