Guided Body Scan Meditation

This is a 45-minute guided body scan meditation. The purpose of a body scan is to dial in your awareness of the body, moment to moment. Become the observer to what is happening in the body, acknowledging whatever is present in the body. Just allowing yourself to experience whatever sensations are present without feeling a need to judge them without striving to change them. Just letting them be.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Karen. Welcome to Insight Timer. This is a guided body scan meditation, Offering an opportunity to focus on the various sensations throughout your body. I'll direct your attention to different regions of the body, Just visiting, Moving around from place to place and acknowledging whatever is present in the body at that time. The purpose of a body scan is to dial in your awareness of the body, Moment to moment. Just allow yourself to experience whatever sensations are present without feeling a need to judge them, Without striving to change them. Just allowing whatever is present to simply be. Allow yourself to become an observer to whatever is happening in your body. Acknowledge what is there, What is present with curiosity and compassionate interest. You may notice an emotion bubbling up here or there. If you become aware of this, Perhaps just quickly label it as emotion. There's no reason to describe it beyond that. Notice rather the sensations that accompany that emotion rather than trying to explore the story behind the emotion. If there's discomfort or even pain, Acknowledge that and accept each sensation as it appears. When your mind wanders, Which inevitably it will, Acknowledge with gentle curiosity where your mind has gone and then invite the mind back. Offer the body a breath hug, Breathing in deeply and opening up space once again. And a lovely long exhale out. Just re-presence yourself to the moment. And so find a place that's maybe a bit removed from all the rush, The clatter of the house or the office. Maybe close the door so that you won't be disturbed by distractions. This is a time just for you. A time to be still, To carve out a little space for yourself where you can lay down on your back if that's comfortable. Make sure that you're going to be warm and take a moment to settle into your body. Breathe in deeply and exhale completely. Presence yourself now to your breath. Begin to notice each out breath, The sensation of ease and relaxation. And with each in breath, Notice the spaciousness created in the body. If you're comfortable, You can close your eyes or keep them slightly open with a softened focus. Just become more and more aware of your breath. Take a moment to acknowledge what is here right now. Open to whatever is present. Notice your thoughts. Notice emotions. Notice any body sensations. Explore each of these with compassion and gentle curiosity. Take a deep breath in and let your arms lie alongside your body with the palms facing upwards. Allow your knees and feet to roll outward. And as best you can, Try to stay awake. Bring your attention now to the movement of your breath. Notice the sensations of your breath as it moves through your body. Notice the cool air entering at the tip of your nose, Your nostrils. The cool air moving up through the nasal passageway. The bridge of the nose. The cool air behind the forehead, The sinuses, The eyes tumbling down the back of your throat. Being drawn deeper and deeper into your chest. Breathing all the way down to your belly. And then from your belly, Traveling all the way up and back out again. What are the sensations of the breath entering and leaving your body? Notice the belly swelling and rising with each in-breath and shrinking and falling with each out-breath. You have been breathing since the moment you were born and you're doing it beautifully. Just allow a light resting awareness of the breath, Not overthinking it. Feeling your body melting a little bit more deeply into the bed or the floor or the sofa. When you're ready, Bring your focus, Your attention all the way down to your left foot, All the way out to the toes of the left foot. Without scrunching them or wriggling them or spreading them out, Begin to notice each toe. Exploring whatever sensations are there. Whether it's the temperature, Warmth or a sense of coldness, Tingling, Itching, A sense of the pulse. Perhaps there are no particular sensations of notice. In that event, Notice a sensation of no sensation or a sense of stillness. And in that place of stillness or sensation, There's no need to change anything. Just let it be. And now bring your awareness to the big toe of the left foot. As best you can, What do you notice? Notice the second toe on the left foot. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe. Perhaps you can even sense the space between the toes. Now imagine breathing all the way down your body, Down the length of your left leg, All the way out to the toes of the left foot. Each toe. Breathing into the toes with each breath. Breathing out of the toes with each out breath. Now taking a deeper breath. On an out breath, Let your awareness of the toes dissolve and fade away. Allowing them to dissolve. Then bring your attention to the bottom of the left foot. Sensing the ball of the left foot. The instep. The heel where perhaps it's resting on the rug or the mattress. Investigate the sensations, Breathing into whatever sensations you feel are present. Pressure. Warmth. Tingling. Whatever it is, Just allowing it to be just as it is. And now breathing into that left ball of foot. The instep and the heel. Take a deep breath in. And on the out breath, Letting go of your awareness of the bottom of your left foot. And now drawing your attention to the top of the left foot and the ankle. Exploring whatever feelings you experience. The sense within the skin and the complex network of bones and tendons lying beneath the skin. Sensing the joint, The point where two or more bones meet. Marveling at the clever flexibility and range of movement of all those bones, Tendons, And cartilage. Focusing deeper into the sensations that you're experiencing on the top of the foot and the ankle. Breathing into the foot and the ankle. Imagine the breath flowing down with each breath in, Right into your foot and ankle. Feeling the sensation. And then when you're ready, Take a deep breath in, Down into the top of the foot and the ankle. And then let it go. Let it dissolve. And then begin to shift your awareness to the lower leg between the ankle and the knee. Feeling the strength of the bone in the front of the shin. A thin covering of your skin and muscle. Feel the mass of the calf muscle behind. Sensing how it's relaxed and flattened against the bed or the mat. Feeling deep into the muscle and into the bone. Aware of any and all sensations that you find. And now breathing into the lower leg. When you're ready, Taking a deep breath in and on the out breath, Letting go and turning the focus of your attention to the left knee. Sensing the knee cap. And the hollow at the back of the leg behind the knee. Sensing the bones and the cartilage. Noticing the point where the bones meet. The bones are the upper leg and the lower leg. Now focus the light of your attention on whatever sensations you find. And breathing into the knee. Softening and opening to whatever is present. And then when you're ready, Take a deep breath in. And as you exhale, Let your attention shift to the thigh of the left leg. A part of the body that is strong and solid. That supports you as you walk or move. Become aware of the bulk, The sheer mass of muscle now softened and relaxed. Aware of the sensations on the skin of the thigh. And the sensations deep down into the muscle. And the bone. Breathing into the thigh. And when you're ready, Taking a nice deep breath. Allow the left thigh to dissolve and fade away from your attention. Take a big breath in now. And breathe down the entire left leg out to the feet and the toes. As you exhale, Let it all simply fade away. Now turning your attention to the right foot. Explore each of the toes. The first toe. The second. The third. The fourth. And the fifth. Register whatever sensations you find with curiosity, With interest. Whatever sensations are there right now. Notice what changes, What stays the same. Bringing awareness now to the right foot. And the ankle. Considering all the tissue present. Bone, Muscle, Tendons and ligaments. Take a lovely deep breath in. And as you exhale, Let your awareness of the foot and the ankle let it just slip away from you. Now shifting your focus to the lower leg, Below the right knee. Noticing the thinness of the skin and tissue that covers the sharpness of the bone and the shin. The relaxed muscle of the calf. Sensing how there is ease in the body's muscles in this moment. Feeling deeply into the muscles, Into the bone. Becoming aware of any and all sensations that you find. Breathing into the lower leg. And when you're ready, Taking a deep breath in. And on the exhale, Letting go. And turning your focus, Your attention to the knee. Sensing the right knee, The joint, The kneecap, The back, The sides. Any sensations in the skin. And the deep sensations within the knee joint itself. Allowing the breath to take your awareness deeply in to the knee. And breathing with the knee. Then taking a deeper breath. And when you're ready, Letting go of your awareness of the knee. Allow it to dissolve. And draw your focus to the right thigh. A column of muscles and bone. Notice whatever sensations you find. Hold them with curiosity and interest. Exploring and investigating. Breathing into the right thigh. And when you're ready, Taking a deep breath. Exhaling and releasing the right thigh from your awareness. Allowing it to simply dissolve, To fade. Now expanding your awareness upward. Bringing your focus to the pelvis. Allowing the entire pelvis region to be held in spacious awareness. The strong muscles of the buttocks. Perhaps noticing in their relaxed state, They're flattened. As they press into the bed or the floor. The hip bones. The hip joint. Cradling the pelvis. Sensing the bones of the hip and pelvic girdles. The genital region. Open up to whatever sensations you find as you breathe into the whole pelvis. The hip girdle. The buttocks. And when you're ready, Taking a deeper breath. Exhaling and allowing the pelvis and the hip girdle to simply fade away from notice. Allowing your focus upward now to the lower back. Choosing to stay with whatever sensations are there. Allowing the breath to flow and open up every part of the lower back. Creating the muscles to soften. With each breath allowing the tension to release. And letting it go. Breathing into the lower back. Into any sensations and accepting them just as they are. Drawing a very deep breath. As you breathe out, Allow the lower back to dissolve. And direct your focus to the center of the back and to the top of the back. Sensing the vertebrae. A series of joints allowing your back, Your spinal column movement. Now relaxed and resting against the bed. Sensing the length of the back. The muscles which support it. Running its entire length, Holding it upright. Noticing where the rib cage attaches to the spinal column. Bringing awareness to the scapula, The shoulder blades, Pressed flat against the back. Feeling the movement of the ribs against the bed. As you breathe in, As you breathe out, Allow the breath to open up. Open up your awareness to all the sensations of the length of your back. And when you're ready, Take a lovely deep breath in. And as you exhale, Allow your awareness of the back to dissolve. Allow your focus now to shift to the front of the torso. Becoming aware of the low belly. Below the navel. Imagining the organs which sit there. Resting in the pelvic girdle and the hip girdle. And then breathing in deeply. And as you exhale, Let your awareness soften and allow the lower belly to fade away. And draw your focus up from the navel to the base of the rib cage. See the sides of the body, Of the middle torso. What sensations are present right now? Notice any girdlings, Sounds, Rumblings or movements. Breathing into the mid torso and noticing the movement of the belly itself. Breathing in, The belly rises. Breathing out, The belly falls. And when you're ready, Take a deep breath in. And as you exhale, Let the mid torso, Front and sides dissolve. Draw your focus now to the rib cage, Front, The chest, The sides. Imagine the organs within. The mechanism of the breath. The heart beating and shifting oxygenated blood throughout the body. Notice whatever sensations are there. Breathing in to the thoracic torso. Taking a very deep breath in. Exhaling and letting the thoracic torso dissolve. Becoming aware now of your hands. Hold with light awareness both the right and the left hand. Breathing into the palm and back of the hand and directing your breath all the way down to each of the fingertips, The thumbs, The index finger, The middle finger, The ring fingers, And the little fingers, Perhaps even sensing the nails. Becoming aware of the space that exists between the fingers. And then taking a lovely deep breath in, Allow the fingers and thumbs to fade away. Breathing into the palms and backs of the hands. Exhaling and letting them dissolve. Becoming aware of the wrists and awareness of the joints and bones connections. The movements available and any sensations that might be present. Breathing into the wrists deeply and exhaling, Let them go. Now shifting your focus to the forearms. Letting your breath travel down the length of the forearms from the elbow down to the wrist. Imagine the bones, The muscles, The ligaments and tendons. Breathing into the lower arm. And when you're ready, Drawing a deep breath in and exhaling out any awareness of the lower arms. Becoming aware now of the elbows, The boniness, Protrusions and sharp edges. The tissue thin. The inner eye of the elbow soft skinned. Take a deep breath in and exhale. Release awareness of the elbows. Drawing your focus now to the upper arms. The muscles long and relaxed. Heavy as they rest on the floor or the bed. Breathing in to the upper arms. Deep breath in. And as you exhale, Let the upper arms simply slip away. Draw your focus now to the roundness of the shoulders. The fronts, Sides and backs. The top of the shoulder girdle itself. Breathing in deeply into the shoulder girdle. And exhaling, Letting the shoulders simply dissolve. Draw your focus now to the throat and the neck. Feeling the cool air traveling down the throat. As you exhale, Feel the softening, The relaxation. Noticing any sensations that are present. Drawing a deep breath in. And exhaling, Allowing the throat and neck to simply disappear. Allow your focus now to shift to the base of the skull. The lower jaw. The area of the ears on either side. The lower back of the skull. Holding spacious awareness, The bone. The ligaments and tendons. Any sensations present. Allow them just to be as they are. Take a lovely deep breath in. And if you're ready, Exhale and just let them go. Bringing your awareness now to the middle skull. Feeling aware of the left ear. The back of the skull. The right ear. Noticing any sensations that might be present. So many muscles. The tissue thin. Stretched around the skull. Breathing into the sides of the skull and the back of the skull. And as you exhale, Let the mid skull dissolve and disappear. Becoming aware of the upper jaw. The bone. The ridge at the top of the mouth. The hard and soft palate. Feel the warmth of the tongue. Allow the tongue to relax, Fall away from the upper palate. Breathe into the muscles of the mouth, Into the bone of the upper jaw. And as you exhale, Let go any awareness. Feeling aware of the crown of the head. Noticing any sensations that might be present. Accepting all sensations just as they are. Breathing in deeply to the crown of the head, Expansively. And exhaling, Letting it go. Bringing your focus now to the forehead and brow line. Noticing sensations. Acknowledging and accepting the presence of all sensations. And if you're ready, Take a lovely deep breath in. And as you exhale, Let go, Let go the forehead and brows. Becoming aware of the cheekbones and the nose. The eyes. Breathing into the face itself. Breathing in deeply now. And as you exhale, Allow all parts of the face, The muscle, The tendons, The bone. Let them all fall away. Let them be blown away by the gentle whisper of your breath. Take a few moments just to remain in spacious awareness. Notice the quality of your breath. The stillness of your mind. The ease of simply being. You are enough.