Body Scan Meditation

A soothing and calming meditation, good for practicing being in the present moment, acceptance of our experience, self-compassion, and reducing stress and anxiety. An easy-to-follow-along, yet always enlightening meditation. Get comfy on a chair, couch, bed, or the floor; support the body with pillows and blankets if necessary; and enjoy this pause in the day for relaxation and self-care. Great for beginners to advanced students!

Transcript

And so beginning to ground ourselves by feeling the weight of the body resting on the floor, Couch or chair. Aware of the clothes on the body, Aware of the arms, The legs, The torso, The head, The top of the head, The bottoms of the feet. Noticing where the body is making contact with the floor, Couch or chair. Aware of the front of the body, The back of the body, The sides of the body. And just for this time, Just letting the floor, Couch or chair, Just hold you up. Just for now, Just for this time, Making no effort, Allowing the surface that you're lying on to hold you up, Allowing your body to sort of melt into the floor, Couch or chair. Allowing the arms to be heavy and soft, The legs heavy and soft, The torso heavy and soft, The head heavy and soft. Allowing the neck and shoulders to soften, The neck to lengthen and soften. Relax and let go of the jaw. Soften the eyes and the muscles behind the eyes. Let the eyes be soft, The forehead soft, The space between the eyebrows soft. One more time relaxing and letting go of the shoulders and neck. We tend to tense them right back up, Letting them be heavy and soft. Let's take a few nice deep belly breaths. When we do belly breaths, We want to breathe fully into the belly button, The rib cage. When we breathe in, We want to breathe in for a slow count of about five in our mind, Counting slowly to five in our mind, Fully expanding the lower belly, The mid belly, The rib cage, Breathing into the sides, The back. See if you can breathe into the back of the body. And when we breathe out, We breathe out with a sense or a sound of ha, Letting the jaw drop, Just letting the jaw and the mouth be in the shape of ha and breathing out slowly for a count of about five to eight in the mind, Gently pulling the belly button in towards the spine to push all of the breath out. And once all of the breath is out, We take another slow, Full deep breath in through the nose if we can, Fully expanding the belly, The rib cage, The chest, The sides, The back, Breathing into the front of the body, The back of the body, The sides of the body, And fully breathing out from the mouth, Letting the mouth make the sound or shape of ha, Pulling the belly button in towards the spine to slowly, Gently push all the breath out. Remembering to breathe in for a slow count of about five. Remembering to breathe out for a slow count of about five to eight, Just counting in the mind slowly, Breathing in fully and deeply in through the nose, Out through the mouth with a sound or shape of ha. The in-breath is a sense of openness, Expansiveness, Receptivity, Being open and expanding beyond our current beliefs or behavior patterns, Current experience, Opening and expanding, Fully breathing in. The out-breath is a sense of releasing, Softening, Letting go, Letting go of old beliefs, Letting go of any stress we're holding in the body, Letting go in this moment, Just letting go, Softening, Releasing. We don't need to force or strain with the breath, We just allow. Just for this time, We make no effort. We allow, We allow thoughts to come and go, Feelings to come and go, Experiences, Physical sensations. We allow all of it just for this time, With acceptance, Compassion, Patience and forgiveness. If thoughts arise, We simply name them thoughts, Or we say thinking, Or we try to name what types of thoughts we're having, Ruminating, Obsessing, Anticipating, Catastrophizing, Hoping, Just observing and naming our thoughts and experience, Without attachment, Without judgment, Simply observing. We can even watch our thoughts and feelings float by like leaves in a stream or clouds in a sky, Or bubbles just floating up and out of the head. And so now letting the breath be, It can just return to our normal breath, Our normal rhythm. But remembering to use the breath as an anchor. Our breath is our anchor, We use it to sharpen our focus, Make ourselves more alert if we're sleepy. If we're feeling any discomfort, We bring awareness to the breath, To the gentle rise and fall of the belly, Just our normal breath, Or the sensation of breath at the lips or the nostrils. Or we can just say in our mind, In on the in breath and out on the out breath. In our minds, We just say in, Out, In, Out. And so for now, Letting the breath be, Letting the body be, And beginning to bring awareness to the left foot, To the toes of the left foot, Spaces between the toes. Gathering awareness at the top of the left foot, The sides and bottom of the left foot. Seeing if awareness notices any sensations in the toes or the bottom of the left foot, Any tingling numbness, Coolness or warmth. Awareness floating into the left ankle and through the left lower leg, Through calf muscle and shin bone. And awareness is just a soft gathering of our attention, Or we can visualize a little spotlight or golden ball of light, Whatever works for you. Make this your practice, Experiment with what works for you. Awareness floating into the left knee, The top of the knee, Sides and back, The inside ball and socket of the bones and joints. Awareness floating into the left upper leg, The top of the thigh, Sides and back, Muscles and bone. Awareness floating into the left hip and hip joint. Awareness floating into the left hip joint.

Reviews

Some of the meditation seems cut- off, but it is great! Did it on my lunch break!

Very nice and creative body scan. Thank you!

Lovely! I feel grounded and present inside my body

I love the repetition and lilting cadence of this guidance.

Great 👍 thank you