Body Scan Guided Meditation

This practice asks that as best we can, we pay attention to all the different areas of the body one by one, not to what we think we should feel, but to whatever is already there. There is no need to elicit a sensation if there is none, instead we pay attention as if sensations were present, just as we can listen for a sound even if there is none. This moving to a part, staying awhile, and then letting go, tolerating or accepting is a practice. You might want to linger longer in pleasant areas but we move on. You may also find that you do not want to feel into an area of tension or pain. As best we can we stay with the sensations perhaps gently breathing into the area, knowing that if it is too overwhelming, we can anchor to our breath rolling in and rolling out, until perhaps, we feel able to return to the body scan. In this way we are retraining the nervous system to be open, curious, accepting and kind, rather than getting caught up in habitul ways of reacting to our pain.

Transcript

Body scan.

This recording is of a mindful body scan which will take about 45 minutes.

We've designed it for you to use regularly to help you just assume an active and powerful role in your own health and wellbeing.

It's best to practice while in a comfortable place where you feel safe and secure.

Looking at this practice time as an opportunity to be both by yourself and fully with yourself.

An opportunity to nourish,

To open,

To experience the potential of strength and healing within yourself.

Our culture asks us to live so much in our thoughts and our heads that we may sometimes forget that the whole body feels and knows that there is a wisdom beyond words if only we slow down and listen.

We may have built in habits that we ignore.

We may completely shut down the possibility of feeling our own aliveness,

Our own health and wellbeing.

And the body scan is an opportunity to connect a little more to your body.

This marvellous sensing instrument that can bring you closer to yourself and to the world and to others.

This practice is a time for gentle exploration of each present moment with a sense of curiosity and wonder.

Without judging or expecting or going,

Aha!

I knew it!

Just watching what comes and what goes.

This opportunity to explore bodily experience can be very helpful.

You can begin to notice what feels good and what you withdraw from when you tense up and when you can give yourself space.

This is a time for simply being your experience just as you are.

Again criticising,

Judging,

Wishing.

We're trying to change the experience in any way.

While many people prefer to do the body scan lying on the back on the floor,

The body scan can be done in any position lying or sitting.

What really matters is that you are choosing to show up for what's happening now.

So let's begin by finding a comfortable position.

Taking a moment to consider what would be appropriate for you today.

If you've chosen to lie on the floor,

Feeling the ground beneath your back.

You may like to put a cushion or a pillow under your knees just to ease the lower back.

If you have your head on a little pillow,

Make sure that your chin isn't scrunched into the neck or that the forehead isn't dropping back,

Creating a stretch on the front of the throat.

Both would prove uncomfortable.

But if at any time during the body scan if you feel you need to move,

Please do so.

Just wiggling around,

Feeling the ground beneath you.

Finding a comfortable place for your legs,

Your hands,

Your arms.

Some people like to close their eyes,

But there's no expectation for you to do so.

You may like to just soften your gaze.

Making a choice to allow yourself to be exactly as you are in this moment.

So now we are settled and comfortable.

Taking a moment to just listen to sounds outside of the room.

Using your hearing like a radar beam,

Moving from sound to sound.

There's no need to try and identify things.

Just notice the sounds are there.

Coming and going.

And then drawing your awareness in perhaps to sounds inside of the room.

The sound of my voice.

Creating sounds to come and go as they please.

When it feels right for you,

Moving your awareness and tension to the gentle movement of your breath.

It's such a constant feature in our lives,

But we tend to just not notice it.

Where do you feel the breath most vividly?

Maybe in the tummy.

The chest.

The nose.

Noticing the breath on the top lip.

The inhale and the exhale.

Perhaps one is cool and one is warm.

And noticing the breath not as we would as if we were thinking about the breath.

Feeling the rhythm of our breath as it rolls in.

And it rolls out.

You may like to place your hand on your tummy if it's moving up and down as you breathe.

Just feeling the movement.

The rhythm.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Simply riding the waves of your breath moment by moment.

And as you practice this body scan today,

If at any time sensations in the body become too uncomfortable,

Thoughts or emotions arise that are too difficult.

Feeling that it's always possible to return to the rhythm of your breath as a safe place,

An anchor or a retreat for you to rest in.

Just resting there until you're ready to venture again into the body scan.

Just tuning in and listening to the sound of my voice once again.

So we'll start the body scan perhaps by allowing your awareness to go down through your body.

Down through the left leg all the way down to the left toes.

It's such a very long away away from our heads that sometimes it's difficult to take our awareness there.

And there may be sensations or perhaps even sensations of no sensation.

Can you feel your toes?

Maybe a sensation of a sock or the air.

Perhaps wiggling them helps you take your awareness there,

But there's no requirement to do so.

Just noticing what's there.

The spaces between the toes.

Just noticing all there is to notice with the toes and the foot.

Can you feel the pressure of the heel against the ground?

The arch of the foot,

The top of the foot.

Notice the foot resting outwards or pointing straight up.

Without looking what can you sense?

And when the mind wanders because that's what minds do,

Just noticing where it went and gently but firmly bringing it back into the foot to the area of the body that we are becoming aware of.

Noticing the ankle,

The shin,

The calf muscle.

Is there a sense of pressure where the calf muscle meets the floor?

A touch of clothing.

On an exhalation,

Just allowing the weight of the lower half of the left leg to rest as you move your attention to your knee.

Noticing any tightness,

No sensation.

Bringing the awareness up to the thigh.

Can you notice the big muscles on the front of the thigh?

The back.

The sides.

Notice there any sensation of the muscles being tense or tight?

Or are they soft and relaxed?

Perhaps inhaling and as you exhale,

Allowing the weight of the left leg just to be released and settle into the ground.

Taking the awareness if you choose to,

Up into the muscles of the buttock,

Across to the right buttock and then down all the way down through the leg,

All the way down to the right toes.

What are the sensations in the toes of your right foot?

The spaces between the toes.

Top of the foot.

Arch of the foot.

The pressure of the heel into the ground.

How is this foot?

Is there a difference between the left foot and the right foot?

Just noticing.

Just sensing.

Sweeping your awareness to your ankle.

The shin.

The calf.

When you feel the weight of the leg resting on the calf muscle.

When you're ready,

Perhaps on an exhalation,

Moving your awareness and your attention up to your right knee.

What sensations are here?

Not thoughts about what you expect to find,

But actual physical sensation.

And that may be,

Ah,

No sensation.

And that's okay.

That's just how it is in this moment.

Exhaling and releasing the knee from your awareness.

Moving up to those big muscles in the thigh.

The front of the thigh.

The back of the thigh.

The sides.

Are these muscles tight?

Tense?

Soft?

Soft?

Whatever you find is okay.

That's just your experience now.

Exhaling and allowing the weight of the right leg just to release.

So picturing and feeling both legs lying on the ground.

As we move our awareness and our attention up to our pelvis.

Perhaps you can feel the big buttock muscles resting against the floor.

What's your experience of these?

Are they tight?

Or are they loose?

Can you get a sense of the pelvis resting and being supported by the earth?

Feeling your lower tummy.

Your lower back.

Can you feel the breath here?

Noticing any sensations that are here just asking for our attention.

Perhaps noticing tightness.

Tension.

Softness.

Is your tummy moving upwards on the inhalation and downwards on the exhalation?

How does this breath affect the sensations in the lower back?

And if it feels right exhaling and allowing your lower back to just rest where it is.

Moving your awareness and your attention to your tummy.

Without needing to know where all the internal organs are do you get a sense of softness or constriction?

What's your experience of your tummy today?

Perhaps noticing the breath rolling in and rolling out.

Feeling that the movement of the breath of just watching it is the anchor in your life.

There whenever you need it.

Just tuning in and watching it rolling in and rolling out.

And it feels right for you just allowing the breath to continue its rhythm.

Moving the awareness and your attention upwards into the lungs and the heart.

And it may feel right for you and nice and nurturing to just place one hand or two hands on your heart.

Just tuning in.

Perhaps feeling any areas of tightness or tension in the heart and the lungs area.

Can you feel your heartbeat?

Can you sense the breath as it rolls in and rolls out?

Which part of your torso moves as you breathe?

Bringing this awareness into the area directly behind your heart and your lungs into your upper back and mid back.

Can you feel the weight of your torso on the floor?

When and if you find your mind wandering just bringing it back to the sensations in the body.

The sound of my voice or the rhythm of your breathing.

Knowing that you're practicing your body scan.

Feeling awake to the messages that the body wants you to know,

To hear.

Just watching.

Just listening.

And perhaps exhaling and allowing the back just to nestle down into the ground.

Shifting your awareness up into your shoulders and those big muscles at the back of your neck.

What's your experience of these muscles in your shoulders?

Is there a sensation of the shoulders being up quite close to your ears?

Is there a sense of tightness or tension?

Softness or ease?

How does the breath affect the muscles in the shoulders and the back of the neck?

Is there a sense that these muscles are trying to hold your head up?

Or can you feel the weight of your head against your pillow or the ground?

Sensing perhaps now the arms,

The hands,

The fingers.

Are your hands open and soft?

Or are they fists?

If there's anything you feel you want to let go of,

Perhaps as you inhale making fists with your hands and as you exhale opening the hands and letting go.

Can you get a sense of body sensation?

Can you get a sense of the weight of the arms resting against the floor?

Perhaps a sensation of tingling in the fingers?

Or warmth in the palms of the hands?

What are the sensations in your wrists?

Elbows?

Or your armpits?

And if you find yourself becoming sleepy,

Just perhaps taking a deeper breath.

Having the intention to fall awake in your body scan.

Tuning in to the messages from your body.

Listening with our inner ears.

Tuning in to sensation.

To no sensation.

To tingling.

Pressure.

Whatever's there for you,

That's okay.

That's just your experience in this moment.

And when you're ready,

Just exhaling and allowing the hands to find a place of comfort.

The arms to release and let go.

Turning your awareness and your attention to your head.

Does it feel heavy or light on your cushions?

Is there a sense of tightness or tingling in the scalp?

Can you feel your ears?

Bringing your face into your awareness.

What's your experience of your face in this moment?

Perhaps you notice furrows of tension in your forehead.

Eyebrows drawn together.

Or a sense of relaxation.

Allowing yourself to feel whatever there is to feel.

Are your eyes open or gently closed?

Can you feel your cheekbones?

Your cheeks?

Your jaw?

Where is your tongue?

Is it stuck to the roof of your mouth or resting gently?

Noticing your lips?

Is there a smile?

A grimace?

What's noticing?

What's your experience of your breath?

Can you feel it in your nose?

Is the breath smooth or ragged?

Is your inhalation and your exhalation the same duration or different?

No need to change.

Just watching the breath as it is.

Just rolling in and rolling out.

And exhaling and when you're ready,

Expanding your attention to the whole of your face.

Not a thought about the face,

But the actual feeling from the inside.

What's there for you?

Perhaps noticing thoughts or emotions.

Just watching.

What's noticing?

And exhaling and perhaps allowing yourself to experience the whole of the back of your body lying there.

Perhaps noticing the points of your body that touch the floor.

Are there parts of your body where there is space?

Emotions of pressure perhaps,

Where the body touches the floor.

Aware of the effects of gravity.

Can you feel the breath in the back of the body?

What differences do you notice between the back of your body and the front of your body?

The rise and fall of the tummy or the chest,

A softness,

A touch of clothing.

Sensing,

Sensation,

Thoughts or emotions as they arise.

Arriving,

Just staying for a while and then receding.

Just like your breath rolling in and rolling out.

With kindness and compassion,

Just exploring our experience in this moment.

And then experiencing the body as a whole.

Where is your awareness naturally drawn to?

What parts of your body do you want to ignore or push away?

Without judging,

Just noticing.

Becoming aware of the whole of your body from the tips of the toes all the way to the top of the head.

Can you get a sense of yourself lying here,

Gently breathing?

Noticing how the breath has been your constant companion.

The very centre and heart of the whole of your experience.

Just watching that breath now rolling in and rolling out.

Feeling the touch of clothing.

The softness of a blanket.

The support of your pillow.

Taking a moment to see how it feels to be you.

Do you feel any differently from the start of our body scan?

Perhaps taking a moment to congratulate yourself for spending the time to nourish yourself in this way.

Of tuning in to sensations.

Noticing thoughts and emotions.

Mindfulness is a way to step out of autopilot right into the centre of our lives.

Where we can make choices about how to spend our moments to nurture ourselves.

Starting to move and stretch in any way that feels good for you in this moment.

Moving the hands and the feet.

Squishing your face up really small and then widening it.

Perhaps smiling as you move.

Taking your time,

There's no hurry.

Tuning your awareness into the sounds in the room.

Perhaps the sounds outside of the room.

If it feels right for you,

Just gently rolling over onto your right hand side and resting here just for a moment.

Then if you're ready,

There's no need however to move,

But if you wish to move,

Using your hands to just push yourself up into a seated position.

Your body scan is now complete.

Please table your seating for seat items.

Reviews

Just what I needed to keep my thoughts from spiraling down. 👍🏻

Beautiful very relaxing bodyscan. Thank you!

Enlightening mindfulness at its core!

A really great Body Scan that k you very much.