Welcome to this body scan meditation.
Start by getting yourself in a really comfortable position.
It would be wonderful if you could do this lying down in a really comfortable spot where your body can just completely relax.
And if you're seated,
Maybe up against a wall or if you're back firmly supported by a chair with your feet flat on the ground,
You can also do this seated cross-legged or with your head forward on your hands at the edge of a desk if you're in a classroom.
Start by noticing all the parts of your body that are in contact with the floor.
And imagine that your breath is entering up from the earth into your body since that rising up through your body and that as you exhale you release and relax and ground more deeply back into the earth as your breath goes back down into the earth.
Start with this really grounded feeling of being connected and held and supported.
Start by bringing your attention down to your right foot and hone your attention in on your right big toe and your second toe,
Your third toe,
Fourth toe,
And your pinky toe.
Not needing to do anything,
Not expecting anything,
Just simply shifting your awareness from point to point.
Now notice the bottom of your right foot,
The sole of the foot,
Any sensations you notice there,
And the top of your right foot,
And then your right heel,
Perhaps you can notice where it's in contact with the ground.
Lift your attention to your right ankle,
Your right calf,
Your right shin bone,
The back of your right knee,
The inside of your right knee,
The outside of your right knee,
And the top of your right knee.
Notice the back of your right leg.
What's it in contact with?
Do you notice any sensations at those contact points?
Notice the top of your right upper leg,
The inside of your right upper leg,
And the outside.
Can you sense where your thigh bone is on the inside of your leg and where it ends up at the hip?
And then hold your whole right leg,
Knee,
Ankle,
And foot in your awareness and say thank you,
And then bring your awareness over to the left foot,
And notice your left big toe,
And second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the pinky toe.
Notice the bottom of your left foot and the top of your left foot.
Notice your left heel,
And then your ankle,
And your calf muscles,
And your shin bone.
Notice the back of your left knee,
The inside of your knee,
The outside of your knee,
And the top of your knee.
Notice the back of your left upper leg,
And the top of your left upper leg,
The inside of your left knee,
The inside of your left hip,
And the outside.
Can you sense where your thigh bone is on the inside of your leg and where it connects up into the hip?
And expand your awareness to take in your whole left leg from your hip to your toes and say thank you.
Bring your attention to the very bottom tip of your spine,
Your tailbone.
Notice your right glutes and your left,
Your right outer hip,
And your left outer hip.
Can you sense the bones of your pelvis,
Pubic bone,
The hip points,
The sense of space on the inside of your pelvis,
Like a bowl?
Do you sense any movement of the breath there?
Notice your navel center,
The right side of your waist,
The left side of your waist,
And the curve of your lower back.
Notice the space just underneath your ribcage,
And can you follow the sense of where the bottom edge of your ribcage is all the way around your body,
Your back,
Your sides,
And your front?
Notice all the parts of your mid and upper back that are against the floor,
Perhaps,
Or against the wall of the chair.
Notice any movement as you breathe into the right side of your ribs,
And notice the left side of your ribs.
You sense where the very center of your chest is,
Heart center,
Any movement there,
Perhaps any sense of your heartbeat.
Notice your right shoulder blade,
Then your left shoulder blade,
Your right collarbone,
And your left collarbone,
And your awareness to your right upper arm,
Your right elbow,
Right forearm,
Right wrist,
The back of your right hand,
The front of your right hand.
Notice your right thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
And your pinky finger.
Then scan your awareness through your whole right arm from your fingertips up to the shoulder,
And say thank you.
Bring your awareness over to your left upper arm,
Left elbow,
Left forearm,
Left wrist,
And the back of your left hand,
The front of your left hand,
And your left thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger.
Then scan your awareness from the tips of your fingertips all the way up through the left arm,
Holding your whole arm in your awareness,
And say thank you.
Bring your awareness to the hollow at the base of your throat,
And the curve at the back of your neck,
And any sensations as you breathe in and out here through your throat,
Windpipe base of your throat.
Notice where your neck meets your skull,
And from up inside your skull,
The very top of the spine,
Scan your awareness all the way down through the curve of your neck,
The curve of your upper back,
The curve of your lower back,
And down to your tailbone.
Hold your whole spine in your awareness,
And say thank you.
Bring your attention to the back of your head.
Perhaps it's in contact with the floor.
Notice your right jaw,
Your right ear on the right side of your head,
And then notice your left jaw,
Your left ear,
And the left side of your head.
Notice your right cheekbone,
Left cheekbone,
The inside of your mouth on the right,
The inside of your cheek,
And the inside of your left cheek.
Notice your lower teeth and gums,
Your upper teeth and gums,
And notice your tongue on the upper palate,
And then bring your attention to your nasal passages,
Any sensations as you breathe in and out.
Notice your right eye,
The bones around your eye.
Notice your left eye,
The bones around your eye.
Notice the very center between your eyebrows.
Notice your forehead.
Finally,
Bring your attention to the very crown of your head,
Resting your attention,
And any sensations that might be present.
And scan your awareness through your whole body.
Try to hold your whole body in your awareness at once.
Open alive and alight with your awareness,
And say thank you.
What an amazing thing it is to be embodied in this gift for this lifetime.
You may rest here for as long as you wish.
And when you're ready,
Bring one hand to heart and one hand to your lower abdomen.
Notice the flow of your breath.
Notice how you feel.
I will ring the bell to close our practice together.
I wish you a wonderful,
Relaxed,
And fully embodied day.
