Welcome to your body scan meditation.
Over the next several minutes,
You will focus on the physical sensations throughout your body.
These sensations might be the feeling of clothes on your skin,
Tension within your muscles,
The temperature of the air,
Or anything else you can feel.
Sometimes you might not notice any sensation at all.
Your job is simply to observe these sensations.
You do not need to change how your body feels or do anything else.
To begin,
Sit back or lie down in a comfortable position.
Close your eyes if you're comfortable doing so,
Or let your gaze soften.
As you relax into this position,
Take a few deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth if that feels okay for you today.
Notice the feelings all throughout your feet,
Including your sole,
Heel,
Toes,
And top of the foot.
Notice the sensation of the ground,
Your shoes,
And anything else you can detect.
Travel up your body,
Noticing the sensations in your ankles,
Shins,
And calves.
Notice sensations both deep in the muscles and on the surface of your skin.
Continue noticing the feelings in your legs as you move your attention up to your knees and thighs.
Notice now how your clothing feels against your skin.
Continue moving up your body,
Taking note of the feelings in your hips and backside.
Simply notice the feelings without any need to change them.
Pay attention now to the feelings in your lower back and abdomen.
Notice how your body feels against the surface on which you are resting.
And now for a few moments,
Pay attention to your breathing.
Notice how your abdomen rises when you breathe in deeply and falls when you exhale.
See if you can soften your abdomen so that each breath lands in a soft belly.
Just continuing to breathe and to notice that breath.
Breathing and noticing.
And now I'll invite you to bring your awareness to the sensations in your upper back and chest.
You might feel a tingling,
A prickling,
A vibrating.
It could be heaviness.
Just noticing and experiencing these sensations.
Moving now to noticing the feelings and sensations in your hands,
Your fingers,
Your wrists.
Really trying to feel your body from the inside out.
Noticing any sensations that are present for you right now.
Moving up your body now to your forearms,
Upper arms,
And shoulders.
Noticing any sensations,
Experiencing any feelings that may be there.
Now bringing your awareness to your neck and your throat.
Letting any tension that may be there fully melt away.
And noticing any sensations that may be left over and just allowing yourself to experience them.
Noticing now the feelings in your face and your head.
Starting at your mouth and your jaw.
Letting it fully unhinge and relax.
Removing the tongue from the roof of your mouth.
Letting your jaw be slack.
Moving up now to your eyes,
Your eyebrows.
Letting those muscles fully release.
Letting the tension melt.
And bringing your focus to your forehead and allowing it to fully rest.
Attending to every muscle in your face one by one and letting them fully release.
Now I'll invite you to slowly scan your entire body at your own time.
Noticing all the sensations from your toes to the top of your head.
Maybe identifying a couple of areas that could use a bit more release.
And allowing your breath to guide you in that release.
Breathing and noticing your body.
And as this meditation starts to wind down,
I'll invite you to join me in a few rounds of intentional breathing.
When I start counting,
You will inhale for 4,
Hold for 7,
And exhale for 8.
Let's begin.
Inhale,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Hold for 7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale for 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Again,
Inhale for 1,
2,
3,
4.
Hold for 7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale for 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And fully release.
Release this exercise.
Release your focus.
Allow your body to go back to its natural resting state.
And take a moment to thank yourself for making the time to do this exercise.
For making the time to return to presence.
For doing the important work of allowing yourself to be here now.
At your own pace,
Bring your attention back to the room around you.
Start to notice what you can hear,
What you can smell,
What you can feel.
And as we come to a close,
Allow your eyes to flutter open.
And enjoy your day.
