Body Scan To Release & Relax

Your mind has so much power over how you feel. A body scan is like taking inventory of your physical sensations and emotions but without judgment or the need to change them. The goal of this meditation is to combine the breath and train the mind to build your ability to focus on breathing into sensations as you notice what's happening right now and be fully present in your life. You may like to make this a part of your sleep routine to calm down the mind and body ready for restful sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided body scan meditation.

You may choose to do this practice by sitting comfortably in a chair with a straight back,

Your feet uncrossed and your hands resting in your lap.

Or if you'd like to incorporate this body scan as part of your sleep routine,

Then please lie down in your bed with your feet uncrossed and hands resting comfortably.

At the end of this meditation,

You will be guided to either come back to full awareness or to continue in the stillness and drift off into a restful sleep.

Because this audio uses binaural elements,

For the best experience,

Please use headphones or earphones.

I invite you to find your comfortable position and you may like to close down your eyes or half close your eyes and soften your gaze on a spot that's easy and comfortable on your eyes.

When you're ready,

Bring your attention to your breath and the sensation of your breath coming into and leaving your body.

As you continue to breathe in and out,

Let go of everything you were doing before and settle into this moment.

Notice the way your breath is moving in and out of your body.

The breath is a helpful friend for it connects the inside with the outside,

Connecting the mind with the body,

That ever flowing stream of air,

Quietening the chatter and bringing awareness back to the present.

On the next inhalation,

You may like to take a deep breath,

A deep cleansing breath.

Breathing deeply lets our muscles know that it's okay to relax.

And as you relax with each breath,

Observe the miracle that is your breath.

Breathing in and out,

Letting the breath come and go.

And by second,

Moment by moment,

We inhale and exhale.

The breath is a gift that keeps giving life to our body and soul and is full of power.

The power to calm,

Focus,

Heal and invigorate.

Savour every breath in this moment and your power in it.

Allow your breath to breathe all by itself in its own natural rhythm without any conscious effort to change your breathing.

As you rest and relax,

And as you relax,

We can begin the body scan and I invite you to be curious and open to what you are noticing.

Just tune in,

Exploring any sensations in the body without judgement or attachment.

And if your mind wanders and you get lost in thoughts,

Bring your attention back to the breath and continue exploring any sensations in the area of the body that you are scanning.

All you need to do is observe each part of your body passively,

Just noticing without the need to make any changes or to cause anything to occur.

You can simply watch and take note of any changes that happen on their own without any effort on your part.

When you are ready,

Bring your attention all the way down to your toes.

Notice on your toes,

Just noticing how your toes feel right now.

Notice each toe.

You can gently wiggle your toes as you explore the sensations that you feel.

And now move your attention to your feet,

Observe both feet.

You can move from one foot across to the other.

How do your feet feel?

Notice the temperature of your feet.

Are they cool or warm?

Can you feel anything touching your feet?

Clothing,

The floor,

The bed,

The air.

Notice how your feet feel inside.

Heavy or light?

Perhaps they're loose or tight?

Make these passive observations.

You are simply an observer,

Not providing any input at all.

Continue the body scan now up to your ankles.

Simply notice your ankles and explore any sensations that you feel in your ankles.

Moving up now to your lower legs.

Focus on your lower legs,

The calves and chins.

Notice all of your attention simply on observing how your legs feel right now.

Noticing,

Observing,

Completely passive,

Not trying to change anything.

Simply scan your knees,

Notice and observe each knee.

Become aware of both knees and any sensations arising there from moment to moment.

And if there is any discomfort,

Allow your awareness to sit with the discomfort without needing to do anything about it.

Notice the thoughts that occur in your mind.

Notice them simply as thoughts.

You can choose to act or not act on these thoughts.

Notice the thoughts and notice the feelings and sensations in your body.

Notice how the sensations shift and change.

They might become more intense or they may diminish.

You can choose to use the power of your breath to breathe into the discomfort,

To release and let go.

Release and let go.

And on the next breath,

Take note of how your upper legs are feeling.

Notice your legs,

Taking note of any passive observations you become aware of.

Just noticing different sensations and if there are any stories,

Just observe the story.

There's no need to get involved,

Just notice it from afar.

And when you're ready,

Let your attention move to notice your hips,

Your lower abdomen,

Focusing on the centre of your body at the level of your belly button,

Scanning the movement in the middle of your body,

Just noticing how the core of your body feels as the breath moves in and out of your belly and your chest.

Mentally watch and observe,

Taking in the details of how your body is feeling and any sensations as you do a passive scan without making any changes or trying to make anything happen.

Notice now your middle back,

Observe how your back feels,

Scan your sides and upper back,

Noticing,

Observing and if you find that your mind has wandered,

Bring your attention gently back to scanning your body.

All you're doing is observing your body and when you're ready,

Turn your attention now all the way down to your fingertips,

Notice each finger,

You might want to wiggle your fingers,

Take note of your hands,

Notice the palms of your hands and the back of your hands,

You might like to soften and relax your hands,

Scan your wrists,

Your lower arms,

Your elbows,

Is there any pressure,

Vibration,

Tingling,

Heat,

Coolness,

Heaviness or lightness.

Turn your attention to your upper arms,

The front of the arms,

The back of the arms,

Just noticing,

Taking in your observations of how your arms are feeling and when you're ready,

Notice your shoulders,

Scanning the front,

Sides,

Back and the top of your shoulders,

Breathe into your shoulders and notice the movement of the breath through the shoulders,

Practicing passively,

Allowing,

Watching,

Completely free of effort or any direction from you.

Perhaps you can feel your body becoming more relaxed as you continue all the way up to your neck,

Notice and observe your neck,

The front of your neck,

The sides,

The back of your neck,

Feel where your neck makes contact with whatever it's resting on and moving your attention up to your chin,

Your jaw,

Tongue,

Lips,

Cheeks,

Observe your nose,

Eyes,

Eyelids,

Your brows,

The forehead,

The top of your head,

Your ears,

Keeping the passive observation just as it is and you can mentally scan your whole body now,

That's right,

Do a complete scan at your own pace from the top of your head all the way down to the tips of your head,

And if you notice anything of interest,

You may choose to allow your attention to linger there for a moment as you observe how your muscles and tissues are feeling and if there is any tension or discomfort,

Use the power of your breath and deeply inhale and as you exhale,

Breathe out the discomfort and release and let go,

Accepting your experience just as it is,

I'll give you a moment to simply be with the awareness of your body,

Breathing and do a complete body scan in your own time,

Observing and noticing,

Witnessing your body and how each area is feeling.

In this moment,

You are fully aware now of how your body is feeling,

Experiencing how it is to be your body,

Just breathing into the whole body,

Resting in this open awareness of all body sensations and how you may discover feelings and sensations you don't like and maybe you want to escape from their unpleasantness,

But this moment is an opportunity to lean gently into the discomfort and get to know and learn from it,

Allow your inner wisdom to speak to you.

Sometimes in the act of noticing it,

You may find yourself releasing the tension and relaxing without any effort or with each out breath,

You can release and let go of the discomfort you are carrying,

Let it evaporate into the air,

Use the power of your breath,

Release,

And let go.

This time and space is to practice kindness,

Patience,

Compassion and gratitude for your body and what it can do and perhaps now that you have completed a body scan,

Notice if there has been any changes and if your inner wisdom emerged by taking this time and space to devote kindness to yourself.

Your body is an incredible system,

One which offers you the ability to live and enjoy your life.

Take a moment to be grateful for your body and how it supports you,

How your body uses all its senses to hear,

See,

Taste,

Smell,

Touch and feel.

That's right,

Thank your body for being your vessel in the world,

Your vehicle for experiencing each day fully.

And when you're ready,

You can choose to come back to the space around you,

Open your eyes and stretch your body,

Moving the energy around.

Or you may like to stay in the stillness and continue to rest and relax and drift off into a peaceful sleep,

Feeling safe,

Secure,

Relaxed and ready for a restful night of deep sleep.