Welcome to this short body scan.
And making your way into a comfortable position,
Perhaps lying down,
Sitting,
Making sure you feel comfortable for the next 15 minutes to be able to practice this body scan.
Where we'll move through each part of the body,
Experiencing the body as it is,
As best we can.
Sensing into the body.
Seeing what there is to feel.
And there's no particular goal or outcome for this practice.
There's no right or wrong.
And there's no particular sensations that you need to find with this practice.
As best we can,
We're going to be with this body as it is,
With each sensation as it arises,
As best we can.
And as you're comfortably in this position,
Noticing what meets the ground,
The earth.
What connects you to the ground?
Noticing the sensations of your clothing.
And any other sensations as well.
Perhaps the touch of the air,
The pressure from the ground.
Any other sensations or perhaps no sensations at all.
Noticing the whole of the body lying here.
What is there here to notice,
This whole body resting here?
Bring your attention now to your breath.
Noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Perhaps noticing the rise and fall of your belly.
On the inhale,
The belly may expand a little.
And as you exhale,
Release the breath.
You may notice the belly softening,
Lowering,
Falling as the air is released from your body.
Being here with the breath as best you can,
Knowing that any time throughout this body scan practice,
You can return to the breath.
And now starting to bring your attention to your left leg.
From the sole of your left foot all the way up to your left hip.
What is there here to notice?
What can you experience?
Are there any sensations here in this left leg?
We're not trying to relax the body or achieve any other particular outcome.
We're simply noticing what there is here in this moment.
And taking some fuller breaths,
Fuller and deeper breaths into this left leg.
And then letting the left leg go.
Can you notice the difference between the left and the right leg now?
And now moving your attention to the right leg.
From the sole of the right foot,
Feeling into the different parts of the right leg,
All the way up to the right hip.
What can you experience here in the parts of your right leg?
And now expanding that awareness to the whole of your right leg.
Feeling in and out of that right leg.
And then letting go of that right leg,
Moving to your left arm.
From the left shoulder to the left fingers and thumbs.
What is there here to know in this left arm?
Any sensations,
Tingling,
Pulsing perhaps,
Pressure,
Temperature,
Hot or cold.
Or no sensations at all.
And everything is welcome here in this practice,
This body scan practice.
Taking some deeper breaths in as you bring your attention to the whole of the left arm.
And then let it go.
And then shifting your attention to your right arm.
Seeing if there's any difference between the left and the right arm.
And finding your attention on the right arm,
Fingertips,
Each part of the right arm to the shoulder.
Noticing any sensations.
And if the mind wanders off during this practice,
That's perfectly fine.
Without criticism or judgment,
Without overthinking,
Gently come back to where we're at in the practice,
Over and over again.
Breathing in now to the whole of the right arm and breathing out,
Letting go.
Bringing your attention to your trunk,
To the front of your body,
Your stomach,
Chest,
To the back of your body,
Your buttocks,
Lower back,
All the way up to the upper back and shoulders.
What sensations are here to experience in your trunk,
The front and the back?
Letting go of any ideas about how things should be and being with the sensations and also the thoughts and emotions that might be arising.
Even being with any difficult thoughts and emotions,
Tiredness,
Irritation,
Boredom,
Frustration and distraction,
Coming back to the practice over and over again.
Coming back to explore this body with curiosity,
With aliveness,
With a sense of adventure,
And as best we can,
Allowing and accepting the body,
Its sensations as they are in each moment.
Taking some deeper and fuller breaths,
Breathing into the front and back of the trunk and breathing out,
Letting go of the trunk as you move to the face and the head.
Noticing the sensations that are strong and that are easy to notice in the face and the head,
The heaviness perhaps,
Tightness,
Stinging,
Or no sensations at all.
What is here to notice in the face,
The top of the head and the back of the head?
And now letting go of the face and the head as you take some deeper,
Fuller breaths,
Feeling into the face and the head and then beginning to let it go.
Exhaling,
Letting go of the face and head.
Taking these fuller,
Deeper breaths as you bring your attention to the whole of your body now.
Breathing in and breathing out to the whole of the body.
What is there here to notice?
What sensations?
What is there here to experience with the whole of the body?
Feeling things to be as they are without the need to change or fix or have your experience any other way than what it is right here and right now.
Feeling with the whole of this body in this moment with the breath,
The inhale and the exhale.
And now beginning to transition from stillness to movement.
Perhaps bringing some movement into your fingers and toes and perhaps into the rest of your body.
And taking a moment here to offer yourself some gratitude for taking this time to practice and be with your body,
Thoughts and emotions that are arising over these last 15 minutes.
Thank you for your practice.
