In this brief body scan meditation,
We'll be moving the attention around the body and feeling sensations as they come and go.
The invitation is to be with things as they are,
So that includes noticing thoughts and emotions and letting them arise and pass on their own as best you can,
Without getting pulled into the stories.
So let's begin by settling into a position that is comfortable,
One that allows you to be alert and receptive and is respectful of the needs of your body as it is right now.
So you might choose to be seated or lie down or stand.
So just taking a moment to get yourself situated and starting to take in your space with your sense of sight and your sense of hearing,
Aware of the time,
Aware of the day,
And starting to notice how you're feeling in this moment,
Becoming aware of any mood that's present,
Thoughts that may be coming and going,
And physical sensations in the body.
Acknowledging how it is right now and allowing things to be just as they are,
Holding whatever's here with kindness and curiosity.
And just tuning into the body now,
Starting to notice your posture and making little adjustments that help you be a bit more grounded,
A bit more stable,
And starting to bring the attention inward by lowering your gaze and softening your focus or closing your eyes,
Whichever one you prefer.
And tuning into the whole body,
Sensing the orientation of the body in the space that you're in,
And starting to feel places of contact between the body and whatever's beneath you.
So you might feel pressure at the soles of the feet,
Maybe sensations within the feet and along the backs of the legs,
Along the buttocks and the low back,
Noticing any areas of contraction in the body.
And wherever there's clenching that can be released,
Seeing if you can let that happen.
And where there's tension that can't be released,
Just giving it some space to ebb and flow on its own.
So we can begin with the brow and the forehead.
Just let them be smooth,
Softening the muscles of the face,
Releasing the jaw,
Letting the shoulders drop down and back,
Hands loose,
Releasing the muscles in the legs and the feet,
Noticing if there's clenching somewhere else in your body,
And seeing if it's possible to soften.
And we'll begin moving the attention around the body and tuning in a little more deeply to sensations.
And as we do,
You may discover areas of physical pain or mental agitation.
And in that moment,
You have a choice as to whether you'd like to move in with your attention and explore what's here a little more closely,
Or move away and rest the attention in a place that feels more neutral.
If you choose to move the attention away,
You can simply return to the body scan when you're ready.
So guiding the attention down the body,
All the way down to the feet,
Noticing where the feet are making contact with whatever's beneath them,
Feeling sensations along the soles of the feet that might be pressure,
Might be buzzing or pulsing,
Temperature or textures.
It's not important to name the sensations,
Just to feel them.
Moving your awareness to the tops of the feet and sensing what's here.
And coming up to the ankles.
And as you tune into sensations,
Noticing thoughts and emotions,
And again letting them arise and pass on their own to the best of your ability.
Continuing to move awareness up the legs,
Sensing whatever you feel on the surface and within.
Aware of the calves and the shins,
And coming up to the knees and resting the attention here.
Noticing what you feel.
And continuing up the legs,
Aware of whatever you sense in the thighs,
Gradually making your way up to the hips.
Sensing the hips connecting the legs to the torso.
Becoming aware of the pelvic floor and the pelvic bowl.
Keeping the attention up the torso.
Aware of the mid-torso,
The area of the waist and the ribs.
Sensing the front and the back and the sides and whatever you feel inside.
And moving awareness up to the upper torso.
Sensing the shoulder blades and the underarms,
The chest and the collarbones,
The shoulders.
Sensing the breath and the heartbeat and other sensations.
And guiding attention down the arms.
Aware of the upper arms.
Letting attention come to rest at the elbows.
And tuning into the forearms.
Guiding the attention down to the wrists.
And coming to rest in the hands.
Aware of the palms,
Aware of the backs of the hands.
Sensing the fingers and the thumbs.
Noticing where the mind is.
If the attention has wandered,
It's okay.
You can acknowledge where the mind has gone and guide it back to the hands.
Sensing sensations right here.
Guiding your attention back up to the shoulders and starting to sense the neck.
Aware of the back of the neck,
The sides of the neck,
And the front of the neck.
Aware of the throat.
And sensing the neck connecting to the head,
Bringing the attention up the back of the head.
Gradually moving up to the crown of the head.
Becoming aware of the sides of the head.
Seeing the ears.
Sensing the jaws.
And scanning the face.
Becoming aware of the chin.
Noticing up to the mouth,
Noticing what you feel here.
And continuing up the face.
Noticing what you feel as you continue up to the forehead.
Coming back to the crown of the head.
And resting here.
And we'll widen the attention to take in the wholeness of the body exactly as it is.
So beginning at the crown of the head,
Widening the attention to take in the wholeness of the head.
Sensing the head connecting to the neck.
And feeling the neck connecting to the torso and the shoulders.
Sensing the wholeness of the torso from the neck and shoulders all the way down to the pelvic floor,
Front to back and side to side.
And sensing the arms from the shoulders down to the fingers.
Continuing to widen the attention,
Sensing the hips as they connect to the legs.
And sensing the legs from the thighs to the knees,
Calves and shins all the way down to the ankles.
Ankles connecting to the feet.
And sensing the wholeness of the body from the tips of the toes and the soles of the feet all the way up to the crown of the head.
And resting right here in the wholeness of the body.
And as you rest in this way,
Noticing how you're feeling right now.
Tuning into the body.
Tuning into the heart.
And tuning into the mind.
And again holding whatever's here in a field of kind awareness.
And then listening for three sounds of the bell,
Allowing them to be an invitation to come back to this moment.
And then taking your time to lift your gaze and open your eyes when you no longer hear the sound of the bell.
Stretching as you like and gradually transitioning to whatever is next with this same level of awareness.
Four sounds of the bell.
Six sounds of the bell.
