Welcome to the body scan meditation.
Please find a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down,
Where you can be awake and alert.
Now let's take a moment to be grateful for giving ourselves this gift of time,
Of space,
And of peace.
Now let's just check in with where we are right now.
Taking this time to slow down and stop from whatever we've been doing.
Bringing our awareness to how we feel right now.
We don't usually give ourselves a chance to slow down,
To pull away from the busyness.
Checking in now with our moods,
Emotions,
And thoughts,
And acknowledging whatever is present.
Now let's shift our attention to some mindful breathing.
Bringing our attention to the belly and feeling the breath.
Noticing it rising and falling with each breath.
There's no need to control the breath in any way.
Being aware that on an inhalation we're breathing in,
And on an exhalation that we're breathing out.
Now from time to time we may notice that our mind may wander away from the breath.
If it does,
Gently bring it back to the breath.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Like the waves of the ocean coming in and receding.
Now let's shift our awareness to the body scan.
The body scan helps us bring our awareness to the body,
Feeling into the body with all of its sensations.
We may be feeling lightness or heaviness,
Soreness or pain,
Warm or cold,
Or maybe nothing at all,
Just neutrality.
Just being present with things as they are,
Physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally.
Acknowledging whatever is present.
But also acknowledging what might not be there.
Some of the parts that we were born with might have been changed in some way.
They may no longer be there,
Or something might have been added to support our systems.
Just being aware and honoring the experience as it is.
Now let's bring our full attention to the left foot.
Moving to the point of contact where the heel touches the floor.
And moving up to the arch of the foot.
Up to the sole.
Into each of the toes.
Moving up to the top of the foot.
And around and down to the back of the foot where the Achilles tendon meets the heel.
And up to the ankle joint.
Feeling into the left foot and ankle with awareness.
Now moving up from the left ankle into the lower left leg.
Up from the Achilles tendon into the calf muscle.
And into the back of the knee.
Coming over the shin in front and moving up to the knee joint and kneecap.
Sensing into the lower leg and knee just as it is.
Now from the left knee moving up into the upper leg.
Feeling into the thigh in front and the hamstring muscles in the back of the leg.
Moving up into the hips.
Acknowledging the experience right now just as it is.
From the hip coming down to the thigh,
The knee,
The calf,
The ankle,
And the foot.
Then shifting the awareness from the left foot to the right foot.
Finding the point of contact of the heel with the floor.
Moving up from the heel to the sole of the foot.
The instep into each of the toes.
The top of the foot and down around where the Achilles tendon meets the heel.
Moving up to the ankle and feeling into the right foot and ankle.
Letting it be.
Moving up from the ankle into the lower right leg.
Up from the Achilles tendon into the calf muscle.
And into the back of the knee.
Coming over to the shin in front and moving up to the knee joint and kneecap.
Sensing into the lower right leg and knee.
Being present.
From the right knee moving up into the upper leg.
Feeling into the thigh in front and the muscles of the leg and back.
Being aware of the sides and moving up into the hip.
Acknowledging the experience right now just as it is.
Now from the right hip moving over to the left hip and encompassing this area in between.
And feeling into the pelvis,
This lower abdominal area.
Which is home of our system of elimination and reproduction.
Bringing our awareness into the buttocks,
The genitals and the anal region.
Feeling into the pelvis with awareness.
Being present and letting be.
Now from the pelvis moving up into the belly.
This lower core area.
Home of our system of digestion.
Feeling into the belly,
The home of our stomach and intestines.
Noticing any thoughts or feelings that might come up in this area and acknowledging the experience.
Now moving through the belly and sensing into the lower back area.
Becoming aware of the tailbone,
The spine.
The lower back.
The back can be an area that can hold tension.
If this is the experience just soften as you can and acknowledge whatever remains.
Now rising up the back into the middle and upper back.
Noticing any sensations and letting them be.
Now moving through the upper back area into the chest and into the upper core area.
Becoming aware of the chest with the breasts.
And moving inside to the rib cage,
The system of protection.
That covers our systems of ventilation in the lungs.
Feeling into the heart with awareness.
And seeing if we can feel the heart beating.
Noticing any sensations or thoughts and letting them be.
Now shifting the awareness from the chest to our left hand.
Noticing the thumb,
The fingers,
The back of the hand and the palm of the hand.
And its connection to the wrist.
Acknowledging the left hand and wrist.
Now from the wrist moving up to the lower left arm and left elbow.
Being present.
Now from the left elbow and its connection to the upper left arm.
Moving up into the shoulder.
And sensing into the upper left arm and shoulder with awareness.
Now from the left shoulder moving down to the upper left arm.
To the elbow,
To the forearm,
To the wrist and into the hand.
And shifting the awareness from the left hand into the right hand.
And becoming aware of the thumb,
The fingers,
The back of the hand and the palm of the hand.
And their connection to the wrist.
Acknowledging the right hand and wrist.
Being present.
Now from the wrist moving up to the forearm and elbow.
Being present and letting it be.
Now from the elbow and its connection to the upper right arm.
Moving up into the shoulder and down into the armpit.
Sensing into the upper right arm and shoulder with awareness.
Now extending the awareness from the right shoulder to the left shoulder.
And in connection above into the neck and throat.
Feeling into the neck and shoulders and throat with awareness just as it is.
The shoulders and neck can be places where tension can be present.
If it is,
Just soften and acknowledge whatever remains.
Aware of the experience.
Now moving up from the shoulders and neck into the chin.
And becoming aware of the jaw.
This is an area that gets a lot of use for communication,
For eating.
Allowing the sensations to be.
And feeling into the mouth,
The lips,
The tongue and the teeth.
All with awareness.
Now bringing the awareness up into the cheeks.
And moving deep into the face with sinus passages.
And up to the nose,
The eyes and the muscles around the eyes.
Into the temples and the forehead.
Noticing the sensations and feeling into this upper facial area.
Being present.
Now moving the 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 body scan.
Sensing into the inside of the head and the brain.
Home of our thoughts.
Being present and letting be.
The face and the head are home to many of our senses.
What we see and hear and smell and taste.
And just acknowledging any thoughts and emotions as we become aware of the senses.
Now the face and head are connected to the neck.
And down to the shoulders.
To the upper arms.
The elbows,
The forearms and hands.
Into the chest and the belly.
The back and the pelvis.
The hips.
The thighs.
The knees.
The calves.
The ankles.
And the feet.
And bringing into the field of awareness the entire body as one integrated system.
From the head to the toes.
Like the circulatory system that moves blood through our whole body.
Bringing our awareness to the whole body.
Sensing into the body.
All at once.
Just as it is.
Feeling into the entire body.
Being alive.
Feeling at ease.
Just as you are.
Experiencing the body.
Right now.
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 that we'll meet.
