So to prepare for this body scan meditation,
Take a posture where you can bring the attention with some amount of comfort but yet remaining alert.
Whether it's lying down,
Sitting in a chair,
On the floor,
On a cushion.
Just taking a moment to feel the breath in the body.
Connect with the breath.
Tip of the nose,
Rise and fall of the belly.
Wherever you can most easily come into contact with the breath.
For the purpose of this meditation I'll be guiding us through the different parts of the body as a way to both bring awareness,
Maybe ease some pain,
Discomfort.
The goal here is not to get rid of pain or discomfort but actually to be aware of it and see if we can either let it go or just let it be.
If your attention wanders off,
Just come back to the breath.
The breath in the belly.
And then listen to the next guided portion and reconnect there.
Starting with the feet.
Bring the awareness to the left foot and the right foot.
The bones,
Muscles,
Skin of the left foot and the right foot.
Seeing if you can soften or relax the left foot,
The right foot.
And then the next part of the body.
The feet.
The feet.
The feet.
The feet.
The feet.
The feet.
The feet.
The foot.
And the left foot.
The foot.
Anger addict.
Ants,
You you when you're ready let's begin to scan up the legs ankles calves shins again the bones muscles skin what can you be aware of where can you soften you you moving the awareness like a scan or an x-ray with the mind with the awareness up to the knees the connection of the lower leg to the upper leg and then moving from the knees through the thighs to the hips slowly scanning with your mind your awareness is there any tension present can we soften is there any tension present can we soften you moving up from the thighs to the hips the systems of filtration and reproduction connection the torso and the lower body what can we be aware of here when you're ready allowing the awareness to move up to the belly the torso connecting with the low back the spine the vertebra seeing if you can move the awareness up to the mid back one vertebra at a time sensing the space in between each vertebra relaxing softening expanding the awareness now out towards the guts the organs the belly seeing if we can be aware of the contents of this container the space in between the organs is the belly tight can we soften we hold much stress in our bellies can we soften the belly with the next exhale moving up now to the mid back the diaphragm feeling the breath as the diaphragm expands and contracts connecting back with the spine again seeing where the spine and the ribs are expanding and contracting with each breath the support of the ribs the protection of the ribs around the lungs and the chest the expansion of each breath the accommodation the ribs make to both be flexible you what can we notice here awareness of the heart pumping oxygenated blood throughout the whole body you you expanding the awareness now to the whole upper chest you Connecting with the shoulders,
The back,
The left shoulder,
The right shoulder,
The left shoulder,
The right shoulder,
Moving out towards the arms,
Left arm,
Right arm.
Maintaining awareness as we move down the left arm and the right arm towards the elbow.
Again connecting with the bones,
The muscles,
The tendons,
The skin.
Can we feel the contact of atmosphere on our skin or clothing as we move down from the elbow to the forearms,
Left and right?
Wrists,
Fingers,
Top of the hand,
Palms.
So complex,
This body.
Fascinating.
Can we just bring awareness to the left pinky?
See if we can pinpoint all of our attention into the left pinky.
Moving up now,
Incorporating the all fingers and hands up to the wrists,
Arms,
Shoulders.
Moving across the collarbone to the throat,
Neck.
Mindfulness of swallowing.
Circles of awareness now around the neck,
The vertebra,
Connecting with the spine and the central nervous system.
Face of the skull.
Can we soften?
Can we relax?
Right here.
Can we let go or let be?
Moving around circles of awareness with the jaw,
The teeth,
The face,
The nose,
The ears.
Softening around the eyes.
The brow.
Can we relax the face?
Just for this moment.
Circles of awareness toward the top of the head.
As if we had a blowhole like a dolphin or a whale,
Can we allow the top of the head to open?
We breathe in,
Transferring awareness now from the contents to the container,
This body.
So breathing now from the top of the head all the way down to the bottoms of the feet and then from the feet all the way up to the top of the head,
Scanning through any places we might have missed,
Any holding,
Any tension.
Letting go.
Softening.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Relaxed and alert.
Allowing the bell to ring through you.
Bell ringing.
.
You
