The body scan meditation.
We typically do body scan meditations while lying down,
But it's fine to be sitting or standing.
Choose whatever posture is most comfortable for you.
It's also fine to move during the practice and to change posture if you need to.
Take your time getting comfortable,
You might want a pillow or blanket.
If you want to lie on the floor,
Be careful about getting down to the floor and back up again.
Move slowly,
Using your arms for support so as not to injure your back.
If you're lying down,
Adjust your pillow to the right height for your head.
And you might want to support your lower back by having a cushion under your knees if you're lying down or behind your back if you're sitting on a chair.
So,
Taking a moment to get settled into whatever posture you've chosen.
Giving up the weight of your body to the surface beneath you.
Letting go and allowing gravity to hold your body.
Perhaps you're lying on a bed or sofa,
Or maybe on a mat on the floor.
Or you may be sitting on a chair or a cushion.
I'll guide this meditation as if you're lying down.
So if you've chosen a different posture,
Simply adapt my guidance to suit the posture that you've chosen.
Just noticing the contact of your body with the surface beneath you.
The weight of your body sinking gently into this surface.
You could have your hands resting gently on your belly or by your sides.
And if it feels comfortable,
You may like to close your eyes.
And I invite you to first take a moment to be with your whole body.
Noticing any sensations.
Some areas may feel intense or numb.
That doesn't matter.
What matters is that you're aware of what's happening now.
Is there any tension,
Any clenching?
Perhaps you can allow this to gently release and soften as you allow your weight to sink into gravity.
And if you're experiencing pain or discomfort,
Allow it to be massaged by your breath.
Saturated with gentleness and kindliness,
Responding to your own pain as you would naturally respond to a loved one who was hurting.
So we'll begin this body scan at the top.
Taking attention to your head.
To the top of the head,
The crown of the head.
And the back of the head.
Let the head be heavy.
What do you notice here?
What do you feel in this moment?
And moving to your forehead and your eyebrows.
What do you notice here?
Gently unfurrowing the eyebrows if there's any tension here.
I'm moving to your eyelids and your eyes behind your eyelids.
Just noticing any sensations here.
And taking your attention to the nose.
Perhaps you can notice the sensations of breathing here with your inhale and exhale.
And taking attention to your cheeks.
What do you feel here?
Perhaps you can feel the coolness or the warmth of the air against your skin.
And your ears.
What sensations do you notice in the ears?
Is there any tickling or tingling?
And taking attention to your lips.
Are they open or closed?
What do you notice here?
It's fine if you don't notice anything.
And moving to your mouth.
Perhaps you notice that your tongue is on the roof of your mouth and you can gently release it.
And taking attention to your jaw and the top of your throat.
Maybe you notice some tension here.
It's quite common to hold tension in our jaws.
If you feel tension,
You might want to give your jaw a little wiggle from side to side to just gently release it.
Allow your jaw to hang loose and your vocal diaphragm to relax as you unclench your teeth.
Just noticing any sensations in your jaw and your chin.
And then broadening your attention to the whole of your face and your head.
Just noticing any sensations here and letting any tension gently release.
And now taking your attention to your neck.
The back,
Sides,
And front of your neck,
And your throat.
What do you notice here?
If there's any tension,
Perhaps gently relaxing and allowing the neck to soften.
And moving to your shoulders.
What do you notice here?
Perhaps noticing the rise and fall of your shoulders with your breath.
Or perhaps your shoulders are tight or hunched up towards your ears.
Allowing them to gently drop and release any tension.
And if your mind starts to wander,
That's perfectly normal.
That's what minds are made for.
You can simply notice that your mind has wandered.
Acknowledge the thought and gently guide your attention back to the body,
Back to the sensations,
The physical experience and the part of the body that we're focusing on.
And remember that simply noticing that you've wandered off is a moment of awareness.
And that's the practice of mindfulness.
And now,
Taking your attention to your upper arms,
To your biceps and your triceps,
Resting against your body or the surface beneath you.
What do you feel here?
And noticing your elbows,
The back of your elbows and the inside of your elbows.
Before moving to your lower arms.
What do you notice here?
Directing your attention to your whole arms,
The upper arms and the lower arms,
Gently resting.
Just noticing any sensations without judgement.
And if you don't feel anything,
That's also fine.
Simply noticing this.
If you feel any tension,
Perhaps directing a kindly breath towards the area of discomfort and allowing it to gently release.
And then moving your attention to your wrists and your hands.
To the backs of your hands,
The palm of your hands,
Your thumbs and your fingers.
What do you feel here?
Is there any tingling?
Perhaps warmth or coolness?
Maybe you notice your fingers and thumbs pressing against each other.
Or perhaps you have your hands lying in your lap and you can notice the sensation of their weight.
Just taking a moment to focus your attention on your hands.
And then moving your attention back up from your hands to your lower arms and your upper arms and back up to your shoulders.
And now moving to your upper back.
What do you notice here?
And taking attention to your middle back and lower back.
What do you notice?
We often carry tension in our backs.
If you feel this,
Allowing your back to sink into the surface beneath you,
With gravity cradling your weight.
Perhaps feeling the back press against the surface beneath or behind you with each in-breath.
Noticing the movement of the breath in the whole back of your body.
And if your mind wanders,
Gently guiding your attention back to the body,
To your back and any sensations that you notice.
And now moving to the front of the torso.
Taking attention to your chest,
Stomach and abdomen.
What do you notice here?
Perhaps noticing that your ribcage expands and contracts with your inhale and exhale.
Maybe feeling the rise and fall of your chest.
Or maybe noticing the swelling and subsiding of your belly with each in-breath and out-breath.
Simply noticing the movement of your natural breathing.
No need to change it.
Noticing the in-breath.
And the out-breath in this moment.
And now taking attention to your hips,
Pelvis and groin.
What do you notice?
Often we hold stress or tension in this area.
If you feel discomfort,
Directing kindly breath towards it.
And if you don't notice anything,
That's also fine.
I'm now taking your attention to your buttocks.
Perhaps here you notice some clenching.
And maybe in noticing this,
You're able to gently release it and allow the buttocks to soften,
To relax into the surface beneath you.
And if you don't notice anything,
That's also fine.
And now I invite you to take your attention downwards to your legs,
Giving them up to gravity.
First taking attention to your thighs,
These large muscles in our body that carry so much of our weight.
What do you notice here?
If you're carrying any tension,
Can you allow it to simply soften?
And moving to your knees.
What do you notice here?
If there's any discomfort,
Directing your kindly breath towards it.
And moving to your lower legs.
Your shins at the front and your calves at the back.
Feeling the weight of your legs sinking into the surface beneath you.
What sensations do you notice here?
And your ankles.
What do you notice here?
And now to your feet.
Noticing any sensations in your feet.
The heels,
The soles of the feet,
The tops of the feet,
And the toes.
What do you feel here?
Perhaps there's warmth or coolness,
Or you might notice some tingling,
Or the contact of the toes with each other.
And if you don't notice anything,
That's okay.
And now taking a moment to notice your whole body.
Feeling the weight of your body and the contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
Noticing the breath flowing in your whole body.
Allowing your kindly breath to massage and soothe any areas of discomfort.
Feeling the body relax with the in-breath and the out-breath.
The sensations in our body are fluid like the breath,
Constantly changing.
What we feel in this moment may be gone in the next.
So our pain or discomfort is not as solid as we might first think.
We experience sensations one moment at a time,
But they flow like the breath.
So simply noticing any sensations in this moment.
And in this moment.
And now,
As we begin to bring this practice to a close,
Expanding your attention further.
Perhaps noticing the contact of your skin with the fabric of the clothes that you're wearing.
Noticing the temperature of the air around you.
And gently expanding your attention to the space around you.
Noticing any signs.
Any smells.
Perhaps the light on your eyelids if they're closed.
And when you feel ready,
You can gently blink your eyelids open and return to the space you're in.
If you've been lying down or seated,
You might like to give yourself a bit of a stretch,
Just gently,
Not stretching too hard.
Maybe have a bit of a jiggle to re-energize your body.
Recognizing the investment you've made in your well-being by practicing today.
And bringing an attitude of kindly,
Gentle awareness to the rest of your day as we bring this practice to a close.
Thank you for practicing.
