Bringing Attention To The Body

This practice, led peacefully by Jivan Amara, takes the meditator through one detailed body scan from the top of the head to the bottom of their feet over 35 minutes. Your attention will be guided back into your body, leaving you feeling renewed and present.

Transcript

Relax.

This is how your breath is moving naturally.

Rest your posture so that you're sitting comfortably.

With your back straight.

Not so much as an effort.

But just having it aligned so that each piece rests on the piece below.

And adjust your head to balance delicately on top of the spinal column.

Now bring your attention to the very top of your head.

The circle from one to three inches in diameter.

And simply note what sensations you find there.

Is it a blind spot that you can't feel?

Is there a sense of warmth?

Of cold?

Of tension?

Expansion?

Tingling maybe?

Just bring your attention to this spot on your body and note what you find there.

Now move your attention to the ring just outside of this circle.

Continue to note what sensations you find.

Or if perhaps it's a blind spot in your feeling.

Notice how the sensations change and evolve as you bring your attention onto them.

And slowly let the attention continue down the head.

The forehead.

Vertical portion above the ears.

The back of the head.

The eyebrows and the eyes.

The temples.

The ears.

And down to the top of the neck on the back.

And down the cheeks and the cheekbones.

The nose.

The upper lip.

The palate.

Your tongue.

The lower lip.

The chin,

The jaw muscles.

Take note of what are the sensations you find there.

Bring your attention from the skull down to the top of the neck.

Note what you find.

Without making any attempt to change it,

Simply let it evolve in your awareness.

The back of the neck is often a spot of where tension is stored.

So you may find sensations like tension or density.

But you're the expert here.

What is it that you're finding?

Let the attention continue to slide down the neck.

Front,

Back,

And sides.

In addition to noting what you find,

Note how your attention evokes changes in the sensations you find.

How those changes may have repercussions in other parts of the body.

As something releases in your neck,

It may evoke sensations.

For example,

Down your arms or in your fingers.

Simply take note and come back to the neck.

And then bring your attention down to the shoulders.

Front and back.

The deltoids.

Then down to the arms.

Let your attention be like an armband.

Notice any difference in the sensations on the right and left.

Let the attention slide down the arms slowly.

Reaching the elbow.

The forearms.

Slowly across the forearms.

To the wrists.

And the palms of the hands.

Note if there's any significant difference in the sensations you feel in the palms of your hands versus the body up to this point.

Let your attention flow from the palms out each of the fingers to the very tip.

The thumbs.

Energy comes from the palm through the ball of the thumb.

And then slowly out to the tip.

And then the same with the index fingers.

Bring your attention slowly from the base to the tip.

Taking note of what character the sensation displays without being attached to any particular sensation.

Just note if you're finding warmth or cold,

Tingling,

Expansion,

Or even no sensation.

Slowly reach the tip of the index finger,

The same with the middle finger.

From the base.

Across the joint.

Up to the tip.

And then back to the palm.

And again with the ring finger.

From the base.

What sensations do you see?

What sensations do you feel of your attention across the joint?

And up the finger to the very tip.

Then back to the palm.

Finish up with our neglected pinky finger.

From the base.

What sensation do you find?

How is it changing?

And slowly the same check up across the joint.

And out to the very tip.

Just relax for a moment and notice if there's a difference between the portions of the body that we've traversed so far and the portions that we haven't.

We're going to return to the shoulders.

And slowly bring our attention down the front of the chest.

From the neck.

Across the shoulders.

To the clavicle.

Down to the armpits.

The tops of the pectorals.

Across the pectorals.

Taking note of what sensations we find.

From the bottom of the pectorals,

Across the lower ribs,

The solar plexus.

Down the belly to the belly button.

Across those love handles,

Large or small.

The lower abs.

And then return to the shoulders,

The bottom of the neck.

We're going to go down the back in the same manner.

Slowly down the spine,

Shoulder blades.

Taking note of whatever sensations we find.

And potentially,

If the alteration in sensations has an effect elsewhere in the body.

Continuing down from the bottom of the shoulder blades.

Moving to the armpits and sides.

Slowly down the spine and the back.

The top of the kidneys.

Across the kidneys.

Down to the very base of the spine.

From there,

We bring our attention to the hips.

If you can,

Both the outside as well as the top of the inner thigh.

And any sensations you can find between those two.

Down across the buttocks.

And bring your attention all the way around the tops of the thighs.

From the lower abdominals,

Feel down to the perineum,

The point between the anus and the genitals.

Let your attention encompass the genitals.

Note what sensations you find.

And note if there's any hesitation to give attention to this area.

Now continue down the thighs in the same manner as we did down the arms.

A ring of attention around each leg.

Slowly moving from the hips down towards the knees.

Taking note of whatever sensations you find.

Front,

Back,

Sides,

Or in the space encompassed by these.

And down the leg to the knee.

The back of the knee.

I guess we could call it the knee pit.

And then a ring wraps around the calf and the shin.

Slowly moving down the leg to the ankle.

Remember not just to abandon yourself in the movement,

But to feel the sensations that you find in these areas.

Down to the ankles.

The heels.

Move your attention up the inside edge of the foot to the ball.

And again from the heel of the outside edge to the base of the pinky toe.

Moving across the sole of the foot from the heel to the base of the toes.

What sensations do you find?

Do they change as you watch them?

If you find yourself distracted,

What is it that's pushing your attention away from the sensations or pulling it away?

Is it a thought?

Is it a sensation somewhere else in the body?

Is it something from your senses?

A sound?

A change in the light?

Just take note and then bring your attention back to the foot at the base of the toes.

And just as we did with the hands,

Allow the attention to flow from the ball of the foot to the tip of the big toe.

And then from its base to the tip of your index toe.

The same with the middle toe.

Then the ring toe.

And the pinky toe.

Now just sit for a moment and feel the entirety of the body.

Do you notice any change from when you sat down?

And how would you characterize it?

This practice usually results in a more alive body and a joy that comes with that aliveness.

Just enjoy that for a moment.

Now if there was any area that seemed completely blind without sensation,

Or it was difficult to map the sensations to locations in the body,

You can take a few minutes to gently massage those areas.

Just feel the sensations that the gentle pressure of your fingers evokes.

Stay warm and good.