Guided Journey Through The Body

This is a guided body scan, sometimes called a journey through the body. It provides guidance on specific places in the body to turn the attention to as well as what to look for. If you get overwhelmed at any point, please feel free to turn your attention to any of the senses that feel calming to you such as sound or smell or sense of movement, or open your eyes to remind you of your surroundings.

Transcript

Let's begin. If you choose to close your eyes, You can do so. Settle into your body and connect to your breath. You can choose to see which part of your body senses the breathing the easiest. Or you can just pay attention to the pattern or rhythm, Certain rhythm to your breath. And now you can feel into your body lane here. Or if you choose to do it sitting or standing, Just have a sense of your whole body, What's your position. And see if you notice any sound, Whether it's the sound of my voice or the sounds that are present, Maybe inside the room where you're at, Or maybe you can hear some sounds outside. Try not to strive or reach for it, Let the sound come to you. And then turn your attention back into your body and feel into the areas of contact. Where is your body touching the ground or the surface you're on? Maybe it's in your feet or your back. Maybe the arms are touching something or the head. See if you can notice breath entering and leaving your body. And as you're getting ready, Let me remind you that intention of this body skin is to be present with our body without wanting anything, Not even relaxation. If that happens, Just observe that, But that's not the goal. The goal is observing whatever is present in your body in a non-judgmental way. You don't need to stir up sensations or moving the body, Just see what's there. So let's start with the feet. Turn your attention into feeling both of your feet right now. And without looking, What does it feel to be inside your feet? How do you know you have feet? You may or may not have any sensation and that is okay. Numbness or absence of sensation is also an object of awareness. You can gently see if you can feel the area where the feet are touching the ground or the chair. Maybe you can feel some pressure or some tingling or some numbness. See if you can feel your toes. Resist the urge to move them, Just see what's there. And then now let's move the attention to your ankles. Is there anything to feel there? Your lower legs. If you're laying down, You may see if you can feel some pressure on the calves laying against the mat or the chair. Or maybe you can feel the fabric touching the skin. And if you notice at this point that your attention is suddenly somewhere else, Just gently and without judging, Return to your legs. Remember to stay kind and gentle to yourself. The mind likes to wander, That's what it does. And as you're paying attention to your lower legs, Imagine as if your attention is like a flashlight and you're kind of slowly moving it from place to place. And then now imagine moving your attention, Like with the image of the light, To your knees. And have that sense of curiosity and exploration. And again, Not thinking, Just feeling. And again, Maybe pressure, Maybe you can feel some temperature, Or maybe position, Or nothing at all. Remember, Numbness is a sensation. And move your attention to your thighs. You may feel some gentle pressure, Either them touching the surface of the floor or the chair, Whatever your position is. Maybe you can feel some tension or heaviness, Or maybe some tingling. And then move your attention to a lower trunk. This is the area of the pelvis, Maybe around the belly button. Just noticing any sensation in this area. Do you see if you can maybe sense some movement? Maybe from your breathing or not. And then if there's any area of discomfort or pain maybe even, Or tightness, Or maybe it's soft and relaxed. Just noticing. Now you can let go and begin feeling into the upper trunk. You can move up where the stomach area is, The chest. See if you can feel the sensation of the breath here. Can you stay with it? What do you notice? And if you're laying down, See if you can feel the spine against the floor. Or maybe if you're sitting, If your back is touching the chair, Or if you're standing, Can you sense your back in any way? And again resist the urge to move and stir up the sensation, Just notice what's there. And again, If your attention wandered, Or your mind wandered, Just gently bring it into the present moment. And bring the attention back to the chest and all your breathing, Or the sound, Whichever is easiest for you. Now let's move your attention into your hands. See if you can feel into both of your hands. Can you feel them inside, Outside? Without looking can you tell their position? Are they touching anything? Are they relaxed or tense? And without moving can you feel the individual fingers? And if you're ready you can move your attention to the wrists. Forearms. What is here to feel? Now moving the attention to your elbows and upper arms. Noticing any sensation here, Pressure, Warmth, Tingling. And if your mind wanders off, Just gently bring it back to wherever you're at. Remember you can always begin again. And begin moving your attention to your shoulders. Feel into your shoulders. What are the some of the feelings there, The sensations? Do they feel heavy or light? Do they feel tight? Or maybe they feel relaxed and soft? And see if you can feel your neck. Without touching it can you feel maybe the sensation of the air touching the skin? And now move your attention to your head. You can start by feeling into your jar. Your cheekbones. Your forehead. See if you can feel your mouth. Or your eyes. Now try to feel into your whole face. What does your face feel like? And now let's open the awareness to include your entire body. Whatever the position you're in. What does it feel like to be in your body? Right here, Right now. Being alive, Breathing. Noticing all the sensations in the body and allowing them to be just as they are in this moment. And at the conclusion of this meditation I'm going to ring a soft bell to help you transition out of the meditation. So just allow this sound to come to you and just enjoy it. .