Welcome to the body scan.
Please find a comfortable position lying down or sitting in a chair where you can be awake and alert.
Typically,
The eyes are closed,
But if you wish to keep them open,
Please do so.
Now let's take a moment to be grateful for giving ourself this gift of time,
Of space,
And of peace.
Taking this time to slow down and stop,
Whatever we are doing.
Now let's just check in with where we are right now,
Bringing our awareness to the experience of how we feel right now.
Checking in with our moods,
Emotions,
And thoughts,
Or whatever is present.
Now let's shift to some mindful breathing,
Bringing our attention to the belly and feeling the breath.
Noticing it rising and falling with each breath.
Being aware that on an inhalation we are breathing in,
And on an exhalation we are breathing out.
Now,
From time to time the mind might wander.
That's okay.
When it does,
Gently and non-judgmentally bring it back to the breath,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now shifting the focus of awareness to the body scan,
Bringing our awareness to the body and the sensations we feel.
We may be feeling soreness or pain,
Warm or cold,
Or maybe neutrality,
Or nothing at all.
Being present to these things as they are,
Physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally.
Acknowledging whatever is present,
But also acknowledging what might not be there.
The parts that we were born with might be changed in some way.
They might no longer be there,
Or something might have been added to support our systems.
Being aware and honoring this experience.
Now let's bring our full attention to the feet,
Both feet.
Moving to the point of contact with the heel on the floor.
Moving to the arch,
To the sole,
And to each of the toes.
Moving to the top of the feet,
And around down to the Achilles tendons,
And up to the ankle joints.
Feeling into the feet and the ankles with awareness.
Now from the ankles,
Moving up into the lower legs.
Up the Achilles tendons,
Into the calf muscles,
And into the back of the knees.
Over to the shins in front,
And connecting with the joints of each knee.
Sensing into the lower legs and knees with awareness.
Now from the knees,
Moving into the upper legs.
Feeling the thigh in front,
And the hamstrings in back.
And moving up into the area of the hips.
Acknowledging the experience right now,
Just as it is.
Now from the upper legs,
Coming together and bringing our awareness to the pelvis.
Feeling into this lower core area,
Which is the home of our systems of elimination and reproduction.
Bringing awareness into the genitals,
The buttocks,
And the anal region.
Feeling into the pelvis with awareness,
And being present.
Now from the pelvis,
Moving up and connecting to the belly,
And its systems of assimilation and digestion.
Feeling into the belly,
The home of our stomach and intestines.
Noticing any thoughts,
Feelings,
Or emotions in this area that might come up.
Now moving through the belly,
And sensing into the lower back area.
Becoming aware of our tailbone,
Our spine,
And our lower back.
Rising up the back into the middle and upper back.
Noticing any sensation,
And letting them be.
Now moving through the upper back,
Into the chest,
Into this upper core area.
Becoming aware of the chest,
And moving inside to the ribcage that protects our system of ventilation in our lungs.
Sensing into the heart with awareness,
And perhaps feeling your heart beating.
Noticing any sensations or thoughts,
And letting them be.
Now moving from the chest to the arms.
Beginning with the hands,
And acknowledging each finger.
Moving from the fingers to the palms.
Moving to the back of the hands,
And recognizing the hands.
Moving to the wrists,
To the lower arms,
To the elbows,
To the upper arms,
Up into the shoulders.
Now extending the awareness from the right shoulder to the left shoulder,
And its connection above into the neck and throat.
Feeling into the neck and shoulders and throat with awareness.
If there's any tension in the neck or shoulders,
Just soften and acknowledge it.
Letting it be.
Now moving up into the chin,
And becoming aware of the jaw.
This is an area that gets a lot of use for communication and for eating.
Allowing sensations to be,
And sensing into the mouth,
The lips,
And the tongue,
And the teeth with awareness.
Bringing awareness up into the cheeks,
The sinus passages,
The nose,
The eyes,
The temples,
And the forehead.
Noticing the sensations,
And feeling into the face,
Being present.
Now from the forehead,
Moving up in awareness to the top of the head,
The back of the head,
And into the sides of the head,
And sensing into the ears,
Where you're hearing this meditation now.
Sensing to the inside of the head and the brain,
Home of our thoughts.
The face and head are home to many of our senses,
Of sight,
Hearing,
Smell,
And taste,
And just acknowledging any thoughts and emotions as they become aware of the senses and thoughts that are centered in the face and head.
The face and head are connected to the neck,
Moving down to the shoulders,
The arms,
The chest,
The belly,
The back,
The pelvis,
To the hips,
The legs,
And the feet.
Bringing into the field of awareness the entire body as one integrated unit,
From head to toe.
Like the circulatory system that moves blood throughout the whole body,
Bringing our awareness to the whole body.
Experiencing the body right now.
Feeling at ease.
Now in a moment,
A bell will ring,
Signaling the end to this body scan.
May we extend compassion and generosity to ourselves,
To those we know,
And to all we meet.
