Guided Practice: Body Sweep

This is a gentle guided body scan led by Leigh Brasington. This practice invites you to move your attention through any bodily sensations you are feeling and experiencing, rooting your mind into a state of grounded presence.

Transcript

So that's what I'm going to do now is a guided sweeping practice.

What we're going to do is go through,

Go over the surface of the body and cover every square inch,

Simply noticing whatever sensations you notice in each place.

We'll start with the top of the head.

That's the spot that used to be a soft spot when you were a baby.

It's a few finger widths back from your hairline,

Assuming you still have a hairline.

Alright,

And then there's the crown of the head,

Which is a circle back at the back where your hair goes in a circle,

If it still goes that way.

Alright,

And I think everything else will be pretty obvious.

So in order to begin,

Please put your attention on your breath for a few moments.

Okay.

Now drop the attention on your breath and put your full attention on the top of your head.

Place it with a soft spot when you were a baby and notice any sensation that you can notice there.

Itching,

Tingling,

Pressure,

Warmth,

Coolness.

Just simply notice whatever sensation is noticeable.

Now slowly move your attention back along the center line of your head towards the crown and notice any sensation you encounter as you move your attention along the center line of the skull.

When you reach the crown of the head,

Examine it for sensations.

And now begin moving your attention over the right half of the skull from the back to the front,

From the center line down to the hairline.

Just noticing whatever you can find on the right half of the skull to notice.

Itching,

Warmth,

Pressure,

Coolness,

Whatever's there,

Simply notice it,

Let it go and continue examining the right half of your skull.

When you finish with the right half of your skull,

Examine the left half from back to front,

From center line down to the hairline.

Noticing whatever sensations are noticeable.

Put your attention on your forehead and examine it for sensations.

And now,

Move your attention to your right temple.

And notice whatever you can notice in that area.

Now examine the right eye,

The eyeball,

The socket,

The lid,

All around,

Just noticing whatever is noticeable.

Slide your attention across the bridge of your nose over to the left eye and examine it for sensations.

The eyeball,

The socket,

All around.

Move your attention to the left temple and examine it for sensations.

Slide your attention across the bridge of your nose and examine it for sensations.

Put your attention back on the bridge of your nose and then move your attention down all the way to the nostrils,

Noticing what you can.

And now,

See how far up into the nostrils you can pick up sensations.

Examine the area between your nose and your upper lip.

See what sensations you can notice there.

Perhaps you can feel the exhale,

The air moving there.

Move your attention to the right cheek and then from there,

Spread your attention over the right half of the face,

From the cheek down to the jawline and around to the ear,

Just noticing whatever you can.

Slide your attention across the bridge of your nose and examine it for sensations.

When you reach the right ear,

Examine it.

When you finish with the right ear,

Put your attention on your left cheek and then examine the left half of the face,

From the cheek down to the jawline and around to the ear.

Slide your attention across the bridge of your nose and examine it for sensations.

When you reach the right ear,

Examine it.

When you reach the ear,

Examine it back,

Front,

All the folds and as far down the ear canal as you can sense.

Put your attention on your lips.

Notice them touching.

You might notice other things,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Moisture in some places,

Dryness in others.

Now go inside your mouth and examine it for sensations.

The gums inside and out,

The cheeks on the inside,

The roof of your mouth,

The floor of the mouth,

All around in there.

Just notice whatever you can.

Be sure and get both sides of the tongue.

Be sure and get both sides of the tongue.

When you're finished examining your mouth,

Bring your attention out and to your chin.

And then start moving your attention from your chin along the jawline on both sides,

All the way back to your neck,

Noticing what you can.

Move your attention down the front of your neck,

From the jaw all the way down to the top of the breastbone,

Just noticing what's there.

Examine the back of your neck for sensations,

From the hairline down to the shoulders.

You might be able to notice the transition from where your neck is exposed to where your clothes are touching.

You might notice other things as well.

Move your attention along your right shoulder,

From the neck out to the shoulder joint,

Noticing anything you can.

When you reach the shoulder joint,

Examine it for sensations.

And then begin moving your attention down the upper part of the right arm,

From the shoulder to the elbow,

Just noticing what you can.

When you reach the elbow,

Examine it for sensations.

And then move on down the lower part of the right arm,

From the elbow to the wrist,

Noticing anything you can.

And then begin moving your attention down the upper part of the right arm,

From the elbow to the wrist,

Just noticing anything you can.

When you reach the wrist,

Examine it for sensations.

And move your attention over the back of the right hand,

From the wrist out to where the fingers join.

And then move your attention over the back of the right hand,

From the wrist out to where the fingers join.

And then move your attention over the back of the right hand,

From the wrist out to where the fingers join.

Now starting with the little finger and working your way around to your thumb,

Examine each finger in turn from base to tip,

Noticing whatever is noticeable.

There might be touch sensations,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Whatever is there,

Simply notice it,

Let it go,

Move on.

When you finish with the fingers,

Put your full attention in the tips of those fingers.

And then sweep your attention out into the room and bring it to rest on the left shoulder.

Now examine the left shoulder for sensations,

From the neck out to the shoulder joint.

When you reach the shoulder joint,

Examine it for sensations.

And then begin moving your attention down the left arm from the shoulder to the elbow,

Noticing whatever you can.

And then sweep your attention out into the right arm.

When you reach the elbow,

Examine it for sensations.

And then move your attention down the lower part of the left arm from the elbow to the wrist,

Noticing whatever is noticeable.

And then sweep your attention out into the right arm from the elbow to the wrist,

Noticing whatever is noticeable.

When you reach the wrist,

Examine it for sensations.

Now move your attention over the back of the left hand from the wrist out to where the fingers join.

And then sweep your attention out into the right arm from the elbow to the wrist out to where the fingers join.

Examine the palm of the left hand for sensations.

Now starting with the little finger and working your way around to your thumb,

Examine each finger in turn from base to tip,

Noticing anything you can notice.

Examine the palm of the right hand for sensations.

When you finish with the fingers,

Put your full attention in the tips of those fingers.

And sweep your attention out into the room and bring it to rest on the right shoulder.

Now move your attention down over the right front part of the chest from the shoulder down to the bottom of the rib cage,

From the breastbone around to the side.

Examine that whole area for sensations.

Itching,

Tingling,

Touch sensations,

Or perhaps some emotion might come up.

Just whatever's there,

Notice it,

Let it go,

Move on.

Examine the palm of the right hand for sensations.

When you finish with the right half of the chest,

Put your attention on your left shoulder and then examine the left half of the chest from the shoulder to the bottom of the rib cage,

From the breastbone around to the side.

Examine the palm of the right hand for sensations.

When you finish with the left half of your chest,

Put your attention again on the right shoulder and then move your attention down your back from the right shoulder to the bottom of the rib cage from the spine around to the side.

Examine the palm of the right hand for sensations.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your left shoulder and then examine the right half of your chest from the right side to the bottom of the rib cage from the side.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your left shoulder and then begin examining the left half of your back from the shoulder to the bottom of the rib cage from the spine around to the side.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your right shoulder and then examine the right half of your back from the side.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your right shoulder and then examine the left half of your back from the side.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your right shoulder and then examine the right half of your back from the side.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your left shoulder and then examine the right half of your back from the side.

When you finish with the right half of your back,

Put your attention on your right shoulder and then examine the right half of your back from the side.

Breathing as you breathe,

You might notice other things as well.

Notice the area around your sits bones.

Feel the pressure of sitting.

Now examine the whole of the right buttock from the sits bones all the way up to the lower part of the back.

Then examine the left buttock from the sits bones again all the way up to the lower part of the back.

Put your full attention in your right hip and then begin examining the right thigh from the hip to the knee,

Noticing anything you can notice.

Itching,

Tingling,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Touch sensations,

Whatever is there,

Simply notice it,

Let it go,

Move on.

Now examine the right hip and then examine the left hip.

When you reach the knee,

Examine it for sensations.

Then move your attention on down from the knee to the ankle,

Noticing whatever you can.

When you reach the ankle,

Examine it for sensations.

Then move your attention over the top of the right foot from the ankle out to where the toes join.

Examine the sides of the right foot and the area around the Achilles tendon and the heel of the right foot.

Now move your attention along the sole of the right foot out to where the toes join.

Examine the right toe and the left toe.

Starting with the little toe and working your way around to the big toe,

Examine each toe in turn from base to tip,

Noticing whatever you can.

When you finish with the toes,

Put your full attention in the tips of those toes.

Sweep your attention out into the room and bring it to rest in your left hip.

After examining the left hip for sensations,

Then begin moving your attention down your left thigh from the hip down to the knee,

Noticing whatever you can.

When you finish with the toes,

Put your full attention in the toes.

When you reach the knee,

Examine it for sensations.

Move your attention from the knee down to the ankle,

Noticing what you can along the way.

When you reach the ankle,

Examine it for sensations.

Move your attention to the right knee,

And examine it for sensations.

Move your attention from the ankle over the top of the left foot out to where the toes join.

Examine the sides of the left foot and the area around the Achilles tendon and the heel.

Move your attention along the sole of the left foot from the heel out to where the toes join.

Starting with the little toe and working your way around to the big toe,

Examine each toe in turn from base to tip,

Noticing whatever you can notice.

Put your full attention in the tips of the toes of the left foot,

And then sweep your attention out into the room and bring it to rest on your breath.

When you reach the ankle,

Examine it for sensations.

Move your attention from the ankle to the heel,

And examine it for sensations.

When you reach the ankle,

Examine it for sensations.

Reviews

It's a very good body scan. A great rest for the body and mind. Thank you! 🙏🏼

Leigh is a wonderful teacher. This body scan is a great foundation for getting into access concentration and the jhanas

Very thorough way to become familiar with the sensations and energies of the body. Thank you!

So good.

Amazing n detailed

Excellent pace for thorough body scan.

Wonderful. The time flew by. Very thorough body sweeping with nice quiet pauses to focus. Thank you very much. Very nice. 🔆☮️

Perfect! Have been looking a long time for such a simple, comprehensive and clear body scan guided meditation 🙏🏻 thank you ✨