Half Hour Body Scan

Become aware of the amazing vehicle in which we live. This whole body that is breathing and functioning in this moment. This practice will guide you to first wake up your 5 senses and then scan your body. It will help you to relax and become more aware of the present moment. To become aware of the calm and confidence that is always there, in your body. For you to rely on.

Transcript

Welcome,

This is the 5 senses body scan.

Sit comfortably or lie down on your bed,

A blanket or yoga mat.

Allow your body to sink into the chair or the mattress or the ground.

Feel fully supported.

Notice any discomfort and shift to make yourself more comfortable.

Now close your eyes.

Inhale normally and exhale naturally.

We'll continue breathing normally,

Not changing the breath,

Just letting it come as it is and flow naturally.

We're going to wake up the 5 senses,

Starting with sound.

As you inhale,

Notice the most subtle sound in your environment.

You can probably hear the loudest sound around you,

My voice,

But start bringing your attention to the softer sound,

The faint sounds.

Your own breath,

Your heart beat,

The small movements of your body.

Don't resist the sounds,

Just be aware of them.

On your next inhale,

What are you seeing?

Even with your eyes closed,

You may see light coming in through your eyelids or maybe it's just darkness,

That's also a type of seeing.

Sometimes you see swirling colours or points of light when your eyes are closed.

Just be aware of them,

Don't try to change them.

On your next inhale,

Let's wake up the sense of taste.

There's always some sense of taste,

Even when it's neutral.

Just be aware of what's there,

Maybe it's your toothpaste from the morning,

Maybe it's the acidity of a dry mouth.

Don't try to change it.

On your next inhale,

What can you smell?

Even if there is a strong aroma like perfume,

Bring your attention to the subtle aromas.

The wood floor,

The fabric of your clothing,

The quality of the air.

On your next inhale,

Bring your attention to your sense of touch.

You may become aware of the sensations of sitting or lying down,

The way the chair,

The cushion,

The mattress,

The mat feels under your body.

You may notice the clothes resting on your skin.

Now be aware of the sensation of air flowing into your body.

The rise and fall of your belly as the air moves in and back out.

Slightly warmer air exiting the nostrils or mouth on the exhale.

Not trying to breathe in any particular way,

Simply being aware of the process of breathing itself.

Our attention is normally like a bright floodlight encompassing the entire body.

Shift your attention to a very small spotlight that moves very deliberately down the body,

Down the left leg all the way down to the left foot and the left toes so that we are resting our awareness on the toes of the left foot.

Just noticing sensations in the toes of the left foot.

It might be coldness,

It might be tension,

It might mean numbness or maybe no sensation at all.

Extend your attention to the rest of the left foot,

In the ball of the foot,

Arch,

Heel,

Side step of the foot.

Feel your muscles,

The tendons and tissues inside the foot.

Just taking it as it is in this moment.

You may find along the way that your attention drifts and you find yourself thinking of other things,

Other times,

Having memories,

Desires,

Dreams.

Bring your attention back again to the left foot.

Allow the attention to focus upon the left ankle.

See if you can simply be aware of it as it is,

To the exclusion of the foot below.

Simply be aware of the left ankle.

You may be aware of the sensation of your ankle resting against the mat or feel your clothes against your skin.

Bring the spotlight of your awareness to the calf of the left leg.

Completely keeping your attention there as it is.

Resisting nothing,

Aware of the calf in isolation.

Bring your awareness now to the left thigh.

And each time when you notice that your attention has wandered and that if you found yourself lost in thoughts,

Return to the left leg once again to see if you can be aware of it in isolation from the rest of your body.

Just the left leg.

Move your attention to the right ankle.

Just the right ankle.

Just as it is in this moment.

Just allowing yourself to be aware.

Tune in to the right ankle and see what's there.

It might be useful to adopt an attitude of playful curiosity about your body.

What will you find here exploring this body?

Bring your attention to the right lower leg.

The calf,

The shin.

Realising any sensation that is there.

Coolness,

Warmth,

Clothes touching the surface.

Awareness of your knee.

Feel the twist of the right leg outward.

The right thigh.

Every time your mind wanders,

Simply usher it back to the place in the body where you are.

In this case the right thigh.

Patiently,

Calmly,

Firmly bring your attention back to the place in the body where you were.

Bring your awareness to the pelvis,

The groin,

The buttocks.

If there is sensation here then that's fine too.

Just as it is.

And as you move your attention to the lower back,

Many people may feel discomfort here.

What you are interested in is what is happening right now in this moment.

If you label sensation as pain,

Then be more specific.

Be aware of whatever sensation is there and just let it be.

It's there,

It is as it is.

Bring your attention to the front part of the torso.

The abdomen.

The skin of the abdomen.

The organs inside your belly.

Be more aware of the breath here as the belly rises and rises.

Moving up the torso to the ribcage.

Your lungs.

Your heart.

The upper back.

The back.

Breathing the expansion and contraction of the ribs.

The sensation on the upper back during this process.

Become aware of the shoulders.

The rocking motion of breathing on the shoulders.

That narrow spotlight of awareness.

Moving now down the left arm.

Making a journey down,

Down into the fingers of the left hand.

Slowly tracing a line up again through the elbows.

Shoulders.

Become aware of all the muscles and tissues inside.

Experiencing the left arm as one whole.

Allowing the attention to move across the chest to the right shoulder.

To the right arm,

Extending down into the fingers of the right hand.

Tune into what you feel.

Be aware of subtle temperature.

Temperature differences from the palm to the back of your hand.

Bringing awareness all the way up to the shoulder.

Experiencing the right arm as a whole.

Now become aware of the neck.

With all the muscles,

Bones and the breath passing through it.

Seeing if in this moment you can be aware of all that's going on there.

Allowing it to just be there.

Because it is.

Moving attention up into your head.

The jaw.

The chin.

The thighs.

The tongue.

Roof of the mouth.

Pure lips.

Tuning in to the sensations in your face.

Cheeks.

Nose.

Area around your eyes.

The eyes themselves.

If you feel tension in your face you may relax it.

But you can also just notice it for what it is.

Be aware of the ears.

The sides of your head.

And to the extent it's possible,

Be aware of the brain inside your head.

Now expand that small spotlight of your awareness and expand it so that it includes the entire body again.

Let it expand.

Expanding from the head down to include the neck.

The back.

The shoulders and arms.

The hips.

And thighs.

Right down into the tips of your toes.

Becoming aware of this amazing vehicle in your body.

This whole body that is breathing and functioning in this moment.

Thinking,

Feeling,

Imagining,

Yet still present.

Still here.

Good.

If you feel any tension,

Tightness or discomfort in any part of your body you may take your attention to that part of the body.

Allow that feeling to be there.

Breathe through that sensation.

Breathe through that sensation.

Now you may wiggle your fingers and toes.

Wake your body back up.

Now with greater awareness of all the sensations that are present within your body.

Shift and move your body.

As you feel ready you may slowly open your eyes.

Take your time.

It's your time.

It was good.

It was easy.

This is how we practice the 5 senses body scan.

We wake the senses and then move the awareness like a spotlight on the sensations in the body.

Now we are ready to move back into activity with expanded awareness.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for this gentle and soft body scan meditation.

Really relaxing

Deeply relaxing. Thank you Femke. Much love and blessings 💜 x

Wonderful meditation. Thank you.