Guided Body Awareness Scan
A 20-minute guided body awareness meditation designed to guide you back to this present moment. Focusing on bodily sensations and accepting them as they are. This meditation is perfect when feeling anxious or overwhelmed.
Transcript
Before you begin,
Ensure you are in a comfortable seated position,
Preferably with a straight spine.
You can either be seated on the floor,
On a cushion,
On a chair,
Or if you've just woken up,
Even on your bed.
Just ensuring you can maintain this position for the duration of the meditation.
You might like to make a few little movements.
You might like to roll the shoulders forwards and back a few times.
You might like to roll the head in a clockwise direction,
And then back the other way.
You can even have a little stretch of the arms in the back.
Do whatever you need to do to ensure you are comfortable and just that little bit more relaxed.
Once you are comfortable,
I invite you to take a look at the space around you,
Noticing exactly where you are in the space,
Shapes,
Colours and textures.
Just making a mental note of where you are.
Then when you are ready,
You may close down the eyes or if you prefer,
Keep a soft gaze.
Begin to bring your awareness to the surface beneath you,
Allowing the earth to hold you up and support you.
Noticing the weight of any clothing,
The feel of the fabrics on your skin,
Becoming aware of the temperature of the air,
Whether it is cool or warm.
Noticing any sounds nearby,
Maybe the sound of your own breath,
Maybe you hear people talking,
Just noticing any sounds nearby.
Then extend that awareness to further outside the space.
Maybe you can hear the wind,
Birds chirping,
Traffic driving by,
Just bringing your awareness to these sounds.
Do you notice any particular scents or fragrances,
Subtle or strong,
You may not be able to notice anything at all,
And that's okay.
Begin to notice the breath as it enters the body and as it leaves the body.
There's no need to change the breath,
Allow it to flow in and out naturally.
Become aware of where you feel it the most,
Maybe in the belly,
The chest,
The nostrils.
Just allow your attention to rest there as you inhale and exhale.
Noticing the length of the breath,
The length of the inhalation,
The length of the exhalation.
Noticing the pauses between the breath.
If at any time during this meditation you find your mind start to wander,
Which is perfectly normal as that's what minds are meant to do,
They're meant to think,
Just return your attention and awareness to the breath,
Allowing it to bring you back to the present moment,
Using it as an anchor.
Begin to bring your awareness now to the top of the head.
The very top of the head,
Noticing any sensations or feelings here.
Maybe a slight tingling of the scalp.
You might notice some warmth,
Or there may not be anything else to notice at all.
Becoming aware of the forehead,
The eyebrows,
The eyes,
Just allowing whatever is there to remain as it is.
There's no need to change anything at all.
Just becoming aware of the bodily sensations.
Moving down to the ears,
Noticing the cheek bones,
The bridge of the nose,
Mouth and jaw.
There may be tightness or tension in the jaw,
And that's okay.
Just accept whatever's happening and allow it to be.
Moving down to the neck and the throat,
Becoming aware of what's happening here,
The shoulders and the upper back.
Once again,
You may notice some tension or tightness,
And that's fine.
Just paying attention to what's happening with the body,
Accepting it and letting it go.
Moving down the upper arms,
To the elbows,
The elbow creases,
Becoming aware of the forearms and the wrists.
Noticing the palms of the hands,
The back of the hands,
And all your fingers.
You may notice some tingling sensations happening here.
Just really feeling to those sensations.
Allowing yourself to become aware.
Becoming aware of the chest and the ribs and the side body.
The heart and the heart center.
Just noticing what's happening.
Moving down to the belly.
Noticing what feelings are coming up for you at the moment.
Once again,
Just allowing those feelings to arise and to be there.
There's no need to change anything.
Simply allow what's happening to unfold.
Become aware of the entire spine,
The middle of the back and your lower back.
Even if you notice some pain,
See if you can just allow it to sit there and be comfortable with those feelings and those sensations.
Shifting that awareness into the pelvis and hips.
Moving down to the thighs.
Becoming aware of any sensations here.
The top of the thighs,
The hamstrings,
And the quads.
Allowing them to be as they are.
Emotion the kneecaps.
Becoming aware of behind the knees.
Shifting down to the calves and the shins.
Bringing awareness to the ankles.
The tops of the feet,
The heels of the feet,
And the soles of the feet.
Bringing awareness to any sensations that you feel here.
Tingling,
Vibrating,
Feeling,
Warmth or coolness.
Becoming aware.
Noticing what's happening with the toes.
Bringing awareness to the entire body.
Scanning all the way from the crown of the head all the way down to the toes.
Just noticing what's happening with the whole body.
How is it feeling?
What are the sensations?
Just allowing them to be as they are.
Accepting your body as it is right now.
You might like to give some appreciation or gratitude to the body as it is in this moment.
As you move into the stillness,
Remember if you find your mind beginning to wander you can always bring the attention to the breath or any of the bodily sensations happening.
Allowing them to guide you back to this present moment.
Allowing the feelings or emotions pop up.
Allowing them to be there without getting caught up in them.
Bringing your attention back to the present moment.
Allowing them to be there without getting caught up in them.
Allowing them to be there without getting caught up in them.
Allowing them to be there without getting caught up in them.
Allowing them to be there without getting caught up in them.
As you slowly transition out of the meditation,
Begin to become aware of the breath once again.
Feeling the inhalation and the exhalation.
Begin once again to take note of any sounds happening.
Becoming aware of the temperature of the room.
Noticing the surface beneath you.
The weight of your clothing.
And bringing to mind the space you are in.
Recalling exactly where you are placed.
The colours,
Shapes and the textures.
Slowly grounding yourself back into this present moment.
In your own time and when you feel you are ready,
You may open your eyes and then move on with your day.
Thank you for joining me in this practice.
Have an amazing day.
