Hi,
I'm Katja Cahoon.
I'm a yoga teacher and psychotherapist.
The body scan is a wonderful meditation when you're dealing with stress or anxiety or tension,
Even physical pain.
It's a great way to practice being present and alert yet relaxed without falling asleep.
So find a comfortable position.
You can be seated,
You can lie down,
Whatever feels good.
There's no right or wrong.
If you have a tendency to fall asleep while meditating,
Maybe stay seated.
If you're dealing with a lot of physical discomfort,
Perhaps allow yourself to lie down.
And as you're going through this,
Your mind will wander.
That's okay,
All our minds do.
Just very gently,
As you notice,
Return to the sound of my voice and to the body part that we're currently focusing our attention on.
Like all meditation practices,
This takes practice.
So don't worry if initially you feel restless or you feel like you're not getting it.
Stay with it.
Just staying with it and returning again and again is meditation.
You are practicing a muscle.
Start with your feet.
And bring your attention to your feet.
And just notice your feet,
Not just thinking about your feet,
But noticing them.
Noticing any sensations.
Pleasant or unpleasant.
And don't get lost in a story about those sensations.
But perhaps just gently label them tingling,
Warmth.
Whatever it might be.
And notice how perhaps the sensations change as you pay attention to them.
You can also imagine breathing into your feet with your inhale.
And out of your feet with your exhale.
And then move your attention to your ankles.
And again,
Notice the sensations there.
And numbness can be a sensation too.
So if you don't notice anything Notice what that feels like.
And pay attention to that.
And again,
Inhale into your ankles.
And then release with your exhale.
Let go and move to your lower legs.
Notice any sensations there.
And again,
If you feel like you're getting distracted by a story or thoughts about those sensations,
Return to your breathing.
The sound of my voice.
And perhaps give the sensations a label.
Discomfort,
Warmth,
Aches,
Release,
Whatever it might be.
With your exhale,
Let go and move to your knees.
And notice your knees.
And any sensations in your knees.
And again,
Inhale into your knees.
And exhale from your knees.
Gently letting go with your exhale so that you can move to your upper legs.
And notice sensations there and perhaps again gently label them.
And take a few gentle breaths in and out of your upper legs.
And if your mind has wandered,
Just return to the sound of my voice and to the sensations in your upper legs.
And then move to your hips and pelvic region.
And notice any sensation there.
And at any point.
There is a strong unpleasant sensation.
Just focus on your breathing and the sound of my voice and perhaps move back to a part of your body.
That felt neutral.
Or even pleasant.
And then again,
Let go of that part of your body and move to your lower back.
This is an area where there can be discomfort.
Unpleasant sensations.
And see if you can notice without judging.
Notice without.
A story arising.
Just pay attention.
What do these sensations feel like?
Is there a space around them?
Do they change?
Or are they the same?
What happens when you breathe into them?
And then exhale from that area.
And then move to your middle back.
And again,
Notice sensations there.
Gently label if that helps.
And see if it's okay to be with anything that is not pleasant.
By breathing in and out of that area and by working on keeping body and mind as relaxed as possible.
Not forcing your breathing,
Not holding your breathing.
Following the sound of my voice.
Move to your upper back and your shoulders.
Shoulders again is a place where a lot of us hold tension.
Or stress.
Rather than trying to change anything,
See if you can just notice.
What?
That part of your body feels like.
What is the nature of these sensations that you're observing?
Is there throbbing?
Is there tension?
Is there letting go as you breathe in and out of this area?
Notice how especially the exhale.
Can bring a sense of gentle releasing.
But if that is not happening for you,
See if you can just notice that.
And be with what is.
And if that is difficult,
Return to a part of your body that feels neutral.
Or the sound of my voice.
Or the sensation of your inhale.
And your exhale.
Move to your belly and your chest.
And notice especially how they're rising with the inhale.
And then releasing with the exhale.
And pay attention.
To the difference between those two movements.
What does the inhale feel like?
And what does the exhale feel like?
And notice any other sensations.
Especially in your belly.
And then notice your neck.
And perhaps notice what it feels like.
When you swallow.
Can you feel the coolness of the inhale?
And the warmth of the exhale.
And if not,
That's okay too.
Just notice what is there.
And absence of sensation is something to notice too.
And then move your attention to your face and start with your jaw.
And notice any sensations in your jaw.
And you don't have to change anything.
However,
If you notice that perhaps you're clenching a little bit,
See if you can very gently release that,
Perhaps part your lips.
Perhaps have a tiny little Mona Lisa smile.
Signaling.
Sense of release to the rest of your body.
And then notice sensations around your eyes.
Eyelids.
Eyebrows.
Between your eyebrows.
That space between your eyebrows just like the jaw is an area where we often hold some tension.
It can feel good to very consciously inhale into and then exhale from that space.
And see if it's possible to release just a little without force.
And if not let that be okay and just notice what is.
Return to your breathing and the sound of my voice and then notice your hair and your scalp.
And any sensations in that area.
You might again want to label tingling,
No sensation.
Whatever it might be.
And breathe into your hair and your scalp and then release with the exhale.
Let go.
Of your face and your head.
And before we gently return,
The space you're in,
Take a moment to notice your entire body.
Notice where your attention is drawn to.
Can you feel all of your body?
Was there a stronger focus on certain areas of your body?
Notice if you're breathing.
Perhaps your heart rate or any other part of your body has changed.
Take another nice deep breath in and imagine that that inhale is filling you up.
With beautiful oxygen head to toe all the way into your fingertips and then Release all the arrows.
Gently open your eyes if you had them closed.
Just take a moment to orient yourself to the space you're in.
Perhaps look around you notice the sounds outside of my voice whether in your room or in the background or outside Notice your body.
Notice your presence.
And see if you can take some of that into practice.
The rest of your day.
Thank you.
