Welcome,
I'm Holly Bailey and I'm so pleased to lead you in this practice today.
Before we begin,
I'd like to share a few things about this guided meditation.
In this body scan meditation,
We'll take our attention to the sensations in our body,
Whilst also cultivating gratitude for our body and its parts.
This might feel challenging if you experience pain or chronic illness,
Or if you have a difficult relationship with your body.
If difficult thoughts,
Feelings or sensations arise,
I invite you to offer yourself and your body kindness,
Acceptance and self-compassion.
I will refer to movement during this practice.
If such movements aren't possible for you due to pain,
Illness or disability,
Please adapt the meditation to suit your situation.
As with all my meditations,
Everything is an invitation.
Please take what serves you and ignore or adapt what doesn't.
You know your own needs best.
And now,
Let's begin.
Taking a moment to arrive in this space.
Settling into a comfortable posture.
This could be sitting,
Standing or lying down.
Whatever works best for you.
I'll lead this meditation as if you're lying down.
So simply adapt my guidance if you've chosen another posture.
And closing your eyes if this is comfortable for you.
Or gently resting your gaze on one spot if you prefer.
Noticing the weight of gravity supporting your body.
And feeling the contact of your body with the surface beneath you.
Feeling your whole body.
And now taking your attention to your breath.
Noticing the sensations of breathing.
In the chest,
The shoulders.
The belly,
The front and back and sides of your body.
Feeling the whole body breathing.
Noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Where you feel this sensation most greatly in your body.
And now I invite you to take your attention to your feet.
Noticing the soles of your feet.
The toes of your feet.
On the top of your feet.
Noticing any sensations.
Perhaps the contact of your feet with the surface beneath you.
Maybe feeling warmth or coolness.
Just noticing any sensations in your feet.
These feet that hold the weight of our whole body.
That take us on millions of footsteps throughout our lifetime.
Just noticing any sensations.
And sending gratitude to your feet for all the journeys that they have taken you on.
And then I invite you to take your attention to your ankles.
Your calves,
Your shins.
Your knees.
And your thighs.
Noticing any sensations that you feel.
And the whole length of your legs or any particular parts.
And feeling appreciation for our legs that allow us to walk,
To run,
Dance,
Jump,
Climb,
Our legs have taken us to so many places over our lifetime.
And we can also be grateful that they help us do things as simple as rising from our chairs,
Our beds and our sofas.
And if you feel any discomfort in your legs or your feet.
You can gently direct a kindly breath towards the area of discomfort.
Just noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Bringing kindness to this area of your body.
Or perhaps you sometimes feel pain in this area,
But you notice an absence of pain today.
And then gently directing gratitude to this area of your body.
And if your mind wanders,
That's completely normal.
Our minds are made to think.
Simply notice that your mind has wandered.
Acknowledge the thought.
And gently direct your attention back to the body.
Or back to the breath if that is easier.
And notice that you've actually had a moment of awareness and a moment of mindfulness in noticing that your faults have appeared.
Then I invite you to take your attention to your hips,
Your pelvis and your buttocks.
Noticing any sensations in these areas.
That allow us to sit,
Support our upper body.
And that often hold our tension and our stress.
You might feel some tightness in these areas.
And they also hold our reproductive organs that create new life and give us pleasure.
So if you do feel any tension or discomfort,
Just directing some kindly breath to these areas.
And a sense of gratitude for everything that they do for us.
And now I invite you to take your attention to your belly.
On your chest.
On your ribs.
Noticing your whole torso.
Noticing any physical sensations,
Any movement.
Perhaps noticing the expansion and subsiding with your inhale and your exhale.
Our torso contains so many vital organs that keep us alive and thriving.
Our digestive systems that nourish us,
Our liver and kidneys that remove toxins and filter waste,
Our lungs that allow us to breathe,
And our heart that circulates our blood and oxygen around our body.
So I invite you to direct a sense of gratitude to your torso and all the organs within it.
And to direct a kindly breath if you feel any discomfort or tension.
And now I invite you to take your attention to your back.
Focusing on your lower back your middle back.
Your upper back.
Your spine and your shoulders.
Noticing any sensations in these areas,
Any tension or tightness that you might feel.
We have so much strength in our backs that carries so much weight for us day to day.
So it's quite common to feel some tension here.
If you feel any discomfort,
Directing your kindly breath.
Towards the area of discomfort.
Feeling the kindly breath wash over it with the inhale and the exhale.
And if you notice an absence of pain.
Then reflecting and sending gratitude to these parts of the body.
For the absence of discomfort.
And I invite you to take attention to your arms.
Noticing your upper arms,
Your elbows,
Your lower arms,
Your wrists,
And your hands.
The back of your hands,
The palm of your hands,
Your fingers,
Thumbs and fingernails.
Noticing any sensations in your arms or hands.
Which allow us to write,
To draw,
To make things,
Touch things,
Pick things up,
Hug our loved ones,
And wave goodbye.
Sending gratitude to your arms and your hands.
And sending kindly breath if there is discomfort in these areas.
And then moving your attention.
Gently back up your arms.
Towards your neck.
Our necks,
Hold the weight of our precious heads.
Allowing them to turn,
To move.
What sensations do you notice here?
Are there any tight muscles or tension in your neck?
Just noticing and giving appreciation and gratitude.
For all the work that our necks do every day.
And if your mind wanders,
That's fine.
Simply notice your mind wandering,
Acknowledge the thoughts,
And gently direct your attention.
Back to the body.
Back to the neck.
Or to the breath if that's easier for you to focus on.
And this too,
Is practicing mindfulness.
Redirecting your attention.
And now I invite you to focus on your jaw.
Your mouth,
Lips,
Teeth and tongue.
Together they allow us to eat and drink.
To fuel our bodies,
To taste and enjoy food,
To speak and have conversations,
And to smile.
Noticing any sensations in these areas.
Perhaps there's some tingling,
Some warmth or coolness.
Just noticing what's there.
Undirecting gratitude towards these areas of the body.
Perhaps gently wiggling the jaw to release tension if your jaw is clenched.
And unsticking your tongue from the roof of your mouth.
And then take your attention to your nose.
Our noses allow us to smell and to breathe in clean air.
To enjoy beautiful scents.
So simply noticing any sensations here.
Perhaps the flow of air through your nostrils as you breathe in and you breathe out.
Perhaps you can feel cool air as it's entering and warm air as it's leaving.
Simply noticing the temperature and any sensations.
And directing gratitude to your nose.
And then taking attention to your eyes.
Our eyes that allow us to see colours,
Depth,
Experience the wonders of natural landscapes,
Art,
Architecture,
To recognise our loved ones and to read.
Simply noticing the sensations.
Is there any twitching?
Perhaps you can notice light on your eyelids if you have them closed.
Just taking your attention there.
And noticing your eyebrows and your eyelashes that protect your eyes every day.
Take a moment to unfurl your eyebrows if they're scrunched up a little.
And offering gratitude and appreciation to our eyes,
Eyebrows and eyelashes.
And then taking attention to your ears.
Our ears that allow us to hear sounds,
Music,
Birdsong,
To recognise voices.
What sensations do you notice here?
What sounds do you hear?
Perhaps noticing any signs in the space around you.
And sending gratitude to your ears.
Or kindly breath if there's any discomfort there.
And now taking your attention to your whole face.
Are faces that allow us to show emotions and allow others to recognise us and our emotions.
Noticing any sensations that you feel in your face.
Perhaps you can feel contact with the surface if you're resting your face on anything.
Maybe feeling the temperature on your skin,
Or perhaps noticing a bit of tension.
So directing kindly breath if there's any tension or discomfort and offering gratitude to your face.
And if your mind wanders,
Simply notice that and gently direct attention back to the body,
Back to your face.
Or focusing on your breath if that's easier for you.
And then I invite you to take your attention to your head.
Feeling your whole head.
Perhaps feeling contact with the surface beneath you if you're lying down.
Feeling the weight of your head just being gently held by gravity.
Our skull cradles and protects our precious brain,
The body's control centre.
The home of our thoughts and feelings,
Our imagination,
Our memories and our personality.
Noticing any sensations here in your head and offering gratitude to your head.
Directing kindly breath if you feel any tension,
Discomfort or perhaps you have a headache.
Just sending kindly breath with your inhale and your exhale.
And also taking a moment to reflect and offer gratitude for our skin,
Our hair and our nails that protect us.
Noticing any sensations.
Perhaps you can feel your skin brushing against the surface that it's in contact with.
Or maybe your hair feels warm and protective.
Just noticing any sensations.
Sending gratitude and appreciation to our skin,
Hair,
And nails for their protection.
And thinking about our bones,
Our muscles and our joints that support us and enable movement and mobility.
Noticing any sensations.
In your muscles or your joints or your bones.
There might be some tension,
Maybe some achiness.
If there is,
Simply direct your kindly breath towards the area of discomfort.
And sending appreciation and gratitude.
And acknowledging our nervous system that enables our sensory experiences,
That coordinates and communicates our body's actions and reactions.
And through mindfulness.
We gain the ability to shift from automatic pilot and choose how we respond.
So offering gratitude to our nervous system.
And how it supports us every day,
Every moment of our lives.
And then I invite you to broaden your attention to the whole body.
To the sensations that you feel in this moment.
Noticing any messages that your body is sending you.
Listening to your body.
This body that carries you through life.
That sometimes we're unkind to our bodies.
Sometimes we're judgmental about our bodies.
Sometimes we're critical of our bodies.
Instead offering gratitude,
Kindness,
Appreciation,
Love,
And self-compassion.
Recognizing its strength.
And recognizing its beauty.
Taking a moment to direct kindly breath to our whole body.
Directing it with the inhale and the exhale.
As you breathe in,
Feeling your whole body.
Filling with kindly breath.
And as you breathe out,
Feeling it expand to the edges of your body.
Feeling kindness flow through your body with every breath.
Saturating the body with kindness and gratitude on the in-breath and the out-breath.
Breathing in.
And breathing out kindness and gratitude.
Are now beginning to expand the attention.
Noticing the space around your body.
Noticing the contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
If you're lying down,
Noticing the contact of the whole of the back of your body.
With the bed or the mat or the floor.
Or perhaps if you're sitting,
Noticing the contact of your feet with the floor,
Your buttocks with the chair underneath you,
And your back with the back of the chair.
Noticing the temperature of the air around you.
Noticing any signs around you.
And any smells around you.
And if you have your eyes closed.
Noticing the light on your eyelids.
And then gently blinking them open.
Taking a moment to come back to the space that you're in.
Perhaps gently stretching as we bring this practice to a close.
And thank you for practicing today.
