Morning Body Scan With Gentle Movement

The poet Ellen Bass talks about how she writes poetry because she doesn’t want to miss the world — what a beautiful way of describing how any contemplative practice, including the practices of yoga, can help us be more present and receptive to the daily gifts and lessons the world has to offer. Today’s Embodied Meditation is a Morning Body Scan with some gentle movement, inviting you to bring attention and reverence into the start of your day.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Paige.

The wonderful poet Ellen Bass talks about how she writes poetry because she doesn't want to miss the world.

I think that's such a beautiful way of describing how any contemplative practice,

Including the practices of yoga,

Can help us be more present and receptive to the daily gifts and lessons the world has to offer.

Today's embodied meditation is a morning body scan with movement that invites you to bring this sense of attention and reverence into the start of your day.

You can do this practice seated or if you prefer you can do it lying down.

Settle in.

If you're sitting you might extend your legs out long.

If you're lying down just lengthen through your legs and let your attention descend all the way into your feet.

Our feet were designed to be receptive,

To hug against the earth.

They underpin all of our bodily systems and they're like tap roots,

Listening,

Gathering information.

Begin to swirl your ankles around.

You can do that slowly,

Really taking your time,

Feeling your way through that circular action,

Maybe spreading through your toes.

You can swirl your ankles around the other direction,

Letting your feet awaken.

As your feet naturally move towards stillness,

Pause.

With your legs still extended,

Rest your palms on your legs somewhere,

Maybe at your thighs or wherever they naturally land.

Feel the weight and the warmth of your hands on your legs.

Letting your attention rest here on the scaffolding of your body,

Physical space in the body where we ground and balance.

Our legs responsible for how we move through the world.

Let your attention rest on your legs.

If you like you might gently squeeze and release your hands wherever they are on your legs,

Squeezing into the muscles,

The bones.

If it's easy to do you might let your hands squeeze and release down your legs a little bit or a lot.

You might pause in places that feel like they could use a little bit of extra attention or breath.

If you're sitting up and it feels comfortable you could squeeze all the way down into your shins and your calves.

Maybe just another cycle of breath or so,

Allowing your legs to awaken.

You can let that movement become still.

If you're sitting upright you could fold your legs in sitting in a cross-legged seat or in any seat that feels comfortable.

If you're on your back you can simply hug your knees in and begin to make some circles with your hips and your pelvis.

These can be organic shaped circles.

They can swirl in any way.

Feeling into the whole complex of your hips,

Feeling your thigh bones moving and their sockets in your pelvis.

You might swirl the movement around the other way a few times.

Our hips house our stability,

Our mobility and our strength.

As you feel this part of your body begin to awaken you might call in those qualities welcoming them into your day.

Stability,

Mobility,

Strength and eventually that movement can slow down and your body again can become still.

Bring your hands to your belly.

Let them rest there comfortably.

Begin to feel your breath all the way into your belly as your diaphragm presses against your abdomen and then relaxes back to its starting point.

Allowing your attention to rest on your belly.

Awakening your capacity for nourishment.

Receiving what you need from the world.

As you allow yourself a few more cycles of breath into what feels like deep in your belly you could expand your awareness into your low waist even all the way around to your low back as you breathe here.

Allowing yourself to be nourished.

As you feel ready you can move your hands up to your side ribs so your fingers might fan their way forward,

Your thumbs might rest on your back ribs.

Taking in the billowing of your breath here.

Allow it to be three dimensional front to back,

Side to side.

Fully yet gently expanding into your day.

Taking in all the possibility it has to offer.

You can relax your hands and then let one of your hands come to the space of your heart,

Right in the center of your chest.

You might let your hands simply be still there.

You could do some small circles with your hand,

A rubbing action around your heart,

Across your chest.

Subtly awakening this space.

Allowing yourself to be available for connection and support.

Available to the wonder and the beauty the world may have to offer you today.

If your hand is still moving it might just be still and rest there.

Maybe your other hand covers your first hand for another cycle of breath here.

And then let both hands rest down again.

And scoop your shoulders forward,

Way up to your ears and then maybe release a gentle sigh as you let your shoulders roll around and back and down.

And do that a couple more times.

Scooping your shoulders forward and up towards your ears.

And as you sigh and release your breath and slide your shoulder blades down your back.

Feel almost as if you're massaging the back of your heart.

Now one more like that.

Shoulders forward and up.

A releasing sigh and a washing of your shoulder blades down your back,

Spreading through the back of your heart.

Acknowledging that your shoulders,

Your arms,

Your wrists,

All the way into your hands and your fingers are extensions of your heart.

Awakening here your impulse to reach out,

To open wide when it feels right,

To touch,

Create,

Connect.

You might also acknowledge that this is the place where you hold and carry weight.

So there may be some things that you can relax your grip on,

Set down for the day.

And begin to rest your right hand on your left shoulder,

Like it's a little gentle weight.

Just your right hand naturally,

Softly weighting your left shoulder.

And let's do some half neck rolls.

Drop your chin to your chest and roll your left ear towards your left shoulder.

Let your chin drop all the way back down to your chest,

Right ear,

Right shoulder.

Cycle through that another time or so until you simply pause with your right ear,

Dripping toward your right shoulder,

The right hand still a gentle weight on your left shoulder,

Opening up the whole channel now of your neck and your throat on the left.

Space in the body where you ingest what's nourishing,

What's meaningful and what's useful.

You can drop your chin all the way back to your chest,

Relax your right hand.

And switch.

Let your left hand gently weight your right shoulder,

Like a gentle weight.

From there you can roll your right ear towards your right shoulder.

Let your chin drop back to your chest,

Left ear to your left shoulder.

Cycle through that half neck roll another time or so.

Pause when your left ear drips toward your left shoulder,

Your left hand still softly weighting your right shoulder,

Breathing into awakening the whole right neck and throat,

This passageway of taking in.

You can drop your chin all the way back to your chest,

Relax your left hand and float your face back up to upright.

Let your attention now move all the way up to the globe of your head,

Opposite where we started in the feet.

Feel the skin of your face,

The top of your head and the back of your skull,

Beneath it the muscles and the bones.

Begin to imagine that you are chewing a really sticky piece of taffy.

You start to move your entire face,

Your jaws,

Your cheekbones,

The skin around the eyes,

Maybe even the skin across your forehead and all the way up into your scalp.

As you move the skin,

Sculpting and massaging the whole space of your face and your head.

Yourself move naturally,

Organically,

Opening up,

Stretching and releasing.

And as you're ready you can relax that action and that movement,

Allowing your senses of sight,

Hearing,

Smell and taste to awaken to this intention of taking in the world and all it has to offer to you today.

You can relax any specific attention,

Just allow your whole body from the globe of your head all the way down to your feet to be receptive,

Awake,

Alive.

And you might finish with this intention,

This whisper,

This prayer for your day.

May I move into my day with attention and presence,

Receptive to the world.

May I move into my day with attention and presence,

Receptive to the world,

Not missing a moment of it.

Thank you so much for starting your day in this way.

I look forward to being with you again soon.

Reviews

A lovely way to start the day. Bookmarked for future use.

Really beautiful practice, music and movement for the morning. Gentle and calming, soothing voice. Thank you!

Lovely meditation / yoga; some on my back & some sitting upright.

May I be receptive to all the world has to offer.

Very helpful, even for those of us (ahem!) who tend to be low-energy in the morning! Recommended.

Thank you for this lovely, gentle way to start my day ❤️

A gentle and nourishing way to wake up my body and be present to sensation each morning!

Lovely to add some movement to a morning meditation. Thank you!

Very nice way to wake up! Good background music. Gentle calming voice. Thank you

Wonderful. I love the gentle movement and touch and recognizing that my body is such a beautiful vehicle for me to be experiencing this life. Much appreciation.

What a perfect way to begin the day 💛
Thank you so much.

Lovely little loosening mindful morning meditation. Ahhh.

Love it! One of my favourites

Such an incredible integration of body scan and movement. Thank you Paige!

Such a gentle way to start my day!

Perfect!!!!!!

I love starting my day with your beautiful meditations thank you!

Thank you for preparing this movement meditation. Lovely way to wake myself up.

Namaste ♥ ♡ ♥

This was beautiful and perfect for my start of my day. Thanks 💕🙏🏻