Body Scan

This is a basic body scan practice leading one's awareness through the body from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head. Can be practiced lying down or seated. Includes a reading by Norman Fischer.

Transcript

So today we're gonna do a body scan practice.

It can be done seated or lying down.

If you're lying down you might want to have some extra support beneath your head,

Perhaps something under the knees,

Allowing yourself to feel comfortable and supported.

If you're seated,

Feeling stable and alert yet relaxed,

Allowing the hips to be above the knees,

Taking off strain on the back or otherwise on a chair,

Feeling your feet flat on the floor.

I'm taking some moments now to feel the earth beneath you.

Beyond the cushion or the furniture,

Floor stands the foundation of the building.

Beyond that ultimately the earth.

You are held and supported by the earth.

With the body scan making a relationship with our body and also ultimately the earth.

At the same time there's the space above you and all around you,

Perhaps opening your eyes and looking at the ceiling.

And beyond the ceiling and the room that you're in the building,

The sky and the vast openness,

The cosmos.

I'm just making a relationship with these two energies.

I'm gently closing the eyes again.

I'm bringing your attention to your body,

The body.

All of the physical sensations that make up the experience that we call body.

All along the surfaces of the skin from head to toe,

As well as all of the internal sensations.

Now as you're ready gently bringing your awareness to the soles of your feet.

Anything you can feel along the skin,

Perhaps any areas touching floor,

Furniture,

The air temperature,

The feeling of socks or stockings.

Maybe there's a blanket on your feet,

Feeling that weight.

You might wiggle your toes a little to bring the sensation there.

As with any practice you might find yourself thinking or distracted.

You just simply notice that,

Gather your attention and gently bring the awareness back to the body.

Perhaps appreciating that in this moment there's really opportunity to experience embodiment in a deep way.

I'm gently coming back with that effort,

That openness and curiosity.

Really exploring what it's like to be in a body in this moment.

And as we scan out through the body if there's any area that I lead you to that's too uncomfortable,

Always skip over that area.

Come back to something that's perhaps pleasant or neutral.

Really empowering yourself to work with this practice in a way that keeps you in your window of tolerance,

Your zone of resilience.

Bringing the awareness to the feet,

The soles of the feet,

Heels,

Top of the feet,

The toes.

Dropping the concepts around the feet and really feeling directly into the experience.

Moving up to the ankles,

Up through the lower legs,

Shin,

Calves.

Moving up to the knees,

The kneecap,

Joints,

Back of the knees.

Bringing the awareness now to the thighs,

The upper legs,

Hamstrings,

Quadriceps.

The largest bone in the body here,

The femur bone.

This powerful area of the body used for lifting.

Anything you can sense along the skin,

Anything internally,

Numbness,

Aliveness,

Pulsing,

Tingling,

Tightness,

Tension,

Something else.

And gliding up now to the pelvic area,

The seat,

Lower belly.

Perhaps feeling the contact points between the seat and the surface that you're lying or sitting on.

I'm feeling now the whole bottom half of the body alive with your kind attention,

All the sensations.

Moving up now,

Perhaps one vertebra at a time,

Up the lower to mid-back.

Feeling the inflation of the belly,

The breath,

Diaphragm contracting and expanding.

Here we have all our digestion,

Vital organs.

You're lying down,

Perhaps feeling the pressure in the back against the surface beneath you.

Moving up to the chest area.

Back,

Rib cage expanding,

And our costal muscles that allow the rib cage to expand.

Maybe finding your heartbeat.

Gliding up to the collarbone,

Shoulder and shoulder blades.

This is an area that often carries a lot of tension.

I'm beginning to move down the arms now.

The upper arm,

Biceps,

Triceps,

Elbows,

Forearm,

Wrists,

All the way to the hands.

The top of the hand,

The fingers,

The palms of the hands.

This very sensitive area of the body,

All the sensations in the palms of each hand.

Allowing the body,

In this case the hands,

To serve as the anchor to the present moment.

Direct experience happening now.

I'm bringing the awareness to the hands,

Wrists,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulders,

Up to the neck area,

Back of the neck,

Sides,

Front.

Internally the throat,

Adam's apple.

Perhaps swallowing once or twice to feel all the sensations in this area.

The neck housing the air pipe through which we breathe.

Windpipe,

Esophagus.

Gliding up now to the head,

Back of the head,

The sides.

Exploring all the facial muscles,

The jaw,

The mouth,

Sensations of dryness or moisture in the mouth,

Cheeks,

Ears,

Temples,

Nose and the sinuses.

Perhaps feeling the air flow through the nostrils.

The eyes,

The movement of the eyes.

Sensations of moisture,

Dryness in the eyes.

Muscles around the eyes.

The brow,

The area between the brow,

Forehead,

All the way to the top of the head.

The brain,

Cranium,

Neurobiological activity of the brain.

The crown of the head.

Now if you will,

In your awareness,

From the crown of the head to the soles of the feet,

The palms of the hands,

The entire body awake.

This life force energy moving through you.

This symphony of sensation.

I'm going to read some thoughts on the body by Norman Fisher.

The actual biological human body really is,

As we discover more and more every day,

A marvelous and endlessly complex occurrence.

300 years of medical science has still only scratched the surface of its immense functioning.

The brain,

For instance.

How does it regulate everything so perfectly?

Adjusting to any and all sorts of contingencies,

Producing thoughts,

Literary works,

Skyscrapers,

Cities,

Social systems,

And so on.

The heart,

The lungs,

Cells,

DNA.

Enormous knowledge and complex communication and movement that seems to occur effortlessly within every human body.

Walking,

Running,

Jumping,

Shouting,

Singing,

Playing the piano.

There are 25,

000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.

Stretched out end to end,

They've reached the moon.

Blood flows through them ceaselessly,

Nurturing every organ in the body.

The actual functioning human body is a marvel.

No one manufactured it,

No patents exist for it.

No one knows where it comes from or exactly how it is produced.

And the consciousness associated with it.

Consciousness capable of knowing itself.

Without this,

We haven't a clue.

To close the practice,

Taking three deep breaths.

And as you're ready,

Gently opening your eyes,

Beginning to take in the room around you.

Carrying this embodied presence to this next moment.

If you're lying down,

Taking your time,

Perhaps bending your knees and letting them rock from side to side.

And slowly as you're ready,

Coming back to sit up.

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