Body Scan

From a relaxed,

Alert posture,

Close your eyes and take a few nice deep breaths.

It can be helpful to generate feelings of goodwill at the beginning of a meditation,

To help set a tone and intention of well-being.

Begin by generating goodwill for yourself.

May I be truly happy.

Now,

Starting with the people closest to you,

Expand your wish for true happiness.

Your loved ones,

Acquaintances you are fond of,

People you don't know,

And difficult people.

Consider that true happiness is independent of conditions,

And that the world would be a better place if everyone were truly happy.

Finally,

Let this wish extend to all beings,

Above,

Below,

And all around,

To infinity.

Now,

Bring your attention to your breath.

Allow your breathing to move in a way that feels most natural and comfortable right now.

Notice the entire inhalation and the entire exhalation.

Bring your attention to the area around your navel.

Notice how your breathing affects this part of your body.

If there is any tension here,

Try to let it relax.

You can imagine tension leaving with the out-breath.

Notice how a sense of relaxed comfort expands as you give the entire region of the lower abdomen your attention.

Next,

Allow your attention to move to your solar plexus.

Breathe in and out here,

And notice how it feels.

Allow stress to diminish,

And comfort and ease to grow.

Your awareness expands to fill the entire area of your stomach,

Diaphragm,

And lower ribs.

Bring your attention to the area around your heart.

Breathe gently into this area,

And notice how it is affected by the breath.

Attention fades as well-being grows.

Allow your focus to expand all the way out to your shoulders and your entire upper rib cage.

And now,

Moving up to your throat,

Let each inhalation and exhalation soothe and relax this area.

Let it become filled with the breath.

Now,

Bring your attention to the center of your head.

Notice how the breathing affects this area,

From your eyes,

Nose and mouth,

Your ears,

Down from the top of your head,

Allowing any discomfort to diminish,

Allowing ease and relaxation to grow.

Bring your attention to the back of your head,

Where it meets the top of your neck.

As you breathe in and out,

Let your awareness go down your neck,

Out to your shoulders,

And down your arms,

And all the way to the fingertips.

Imagine your breath filling these channels.

Now,

Starting at the same spot,

Allow the breath to move from the top of your spine to the bottom.

With each in-breath and out-breath,

Allow your attention to fill your whole spine and the whole back of your torso.

Allow any stress you feel to lessen and allow ease and comfort to grow.

Bring your attention to your pelvic region,

Breathing in and out,

Any relaxed or uncomfortable way.

Move your awareness all the way down your legs,

To the tips of your toes,

Filling this area with ease.

Now,

Reflecting on this exercise,

Return your attention to any place in your body where you are able to notice the breath and identify the most ease and comfort.

For a moment,

Keep your awareness of your breath in this spot.

With this as your anchor,

Allow your attention to expand slowly.

With each inhalation and exhalation,

Your attention expands and eventually covers your whole body.

Your body,

Mind,

And breath are unified in the purpose of creating ease,

Comfort,

And well-being.

As we leave meditation,

Return to thoughts of goodwill.

Set the intention to bring any ease,

Comfort,

And well-being you found here into the world with you.