Guided Body Scan

This is a guided body scan appropriate for everyone. It will gently lead you into relaxation by dissolving the tension in your body gradually from your toes to the top of your head until you let go completely.

Transcript

This is a guided body scan for relaxation.

I'd like you to find a comfortable position.

It can be sitting up or it can be lying down.

If you tend to fall asleep when meditating,

I suggest you find a comfortable upright position.

Take the time to get comfortable and when you're ready,

Gently close your eyes and begin to settle in.

Now start to become aware of your breath.

It might be your stomach rising and falling as the breath moves in and out of your body.

It might be your chest rising and falling as the breath moves in and out of your body.

Or it might be the sensation of breath moving in and out of your nose or in and out of your mouth.

Focus where you feel your breath and follow it as it moves into the body and out of the body.

As you focus on your breath,

Begin to relax the body.

Sink into the ground or the chair where you're sitting and just start to let go.

Let go of your thoughts,

Let go of any tension in your body and let go of all of your emotions as you focus on your breath going in and out.

Now let's take three slow breaths together,

In through the nose and out through the mouth.

We're now ready to begin the guided body scan.

So first let's focus on the toes of your left foot.

Just focus your attention there.

Notice how the toes feel.

There might be a tingling sensation.

You might feel a sock or a shoe on your foot.

You might have no sensation at all.

Just be aware of how your toes feel.

Now we're going to let the toes go and we're going to focus on the top of the left foot.

Notice how the top of the foot feels.

Focus your attention on the top of the foot and then when you're ready,

Let the top of the foot go.

Now we're going to move our attention to the bottom of the left foot.

Focus your attention there and notice how it feels.

When you're ready,

Let that go and move your attention to the left ankle.

Focus your attention there.

Notice how the ankle feels.

When you're ready,

Let the ankle go and move your attention to the bottom of the left leg.

Focus your attention on both the front and the back of the left bottom leg.

Notice how the bottom of the leg feels.

You might feel some tightness,

Tension,

Maybe even some uncomfortableness or pain.

Don't judge the feeling.

Just notice it.

And then if there's any negative thoughts about the bottom of the left leg or any tightness or tension,

Just let that go as you breathe out.

Next we'll move our attention to the left knee.

Focus your attention there and notice how the knee feels.

When you're ready,

Let the knee go and move to the top of the left leg.

Notice both the front and the back of the top of the leg.

When you're ready,

Let any tension or stress just release.

Next we'll move our focus to the toes of the right foot.

Notice how the toes feel here.

It might be different than the left foot.

And when you're ready,

Let the toes go and move to the top of the right foot.

Focus your attention here.

Notice how it feels.

And when you're ready,

Let the top of the right foot go.

Move to the bottom of the right foot.

Notice how the bottom of the foot feels.

When you're ready,

Let the bottom of the foot go and move to the right ankle.

Focus your awareness here.

Notice how that ankle feels.

When you're ready,

Let the ankle go and move to the bottom of the right leg.

Notice both the front and the back of the bottom of the leg.

Notice how it feels.

Notice any tension or stress.

Any tingling.

Any uncomfortableness.

Don't judge it,

Just notice it.

When you're ready,

Let it go.

And we'll move to the right knee.

Focus your attention on the knee and notice how the knee feels.

When you're ready,

Let the knee go and move to the top of the right leg.

Notice both the front and the back of the top of the right leg.

Is there any uncomfortableness?

Any tension?

Any pain here?

Again,

Don't judge.

Just notice it.

And when you're ready,

Let all those emotions,

Thoughts and sensations just go as you breathe out.

Next we'll move to the hips.

In some people,

They can store a lot of emotions in the hips.

So as you focus your attention on the hips,

Don't be surprised if a lot of emotions come up.

Just notice what they are and what they feel like.

Notice if there's any tension in the hips,

Any pain,

Any uncomfortableness,

Any tingling or maybe no sensations at all.

Notice how your hips feel.

And when you're ready,

Let go of all those emotions,

All those thoughts,

All that stress,

All that tension and relax your hips.

Next we'll move to the belly.

This is another place where many people store tension that they're not aware of as they go through their daily activities.

So notice how your belly feels.

Maybe try to lighten it.

Let any tension go.

And then we'll move to the lower back.

Bring your attention to the lower back.

This can be a source of pain and uncomfortableness for many people.

Just notice how it feels and try to let go of any tension or stress in the lower back.

Focus your awareness here and let everything go with the out breath.

Next we'll move to the chest.

Focus your attention on the chest.

You might even feel the beating of your heart.

You might feel your breath here moving in and out of your body.

Whatever you're feeling,

Just notice it.

And when you're ready,

Let that go and we'll move to the upper part of the back.

Again,

The back can be a source of uncomfortableness for many people.

It can be a place where we store tension and stress.

Just notice how your upper back feels.

And when you're ready,

Just let all the emotions,

All the tension,

All the feelings of the upper back go.

Let them flow out with an exhale.

And we'll move to the fingers of the left hand.

Notice the fingers.

Maybe notice the temperature of the fingers.

If there's any tingling sensations,

Just focus your attention on all five fingers.

And when you're ready,

Let that go and move the attention to the palm of the hand and the back of the hand.

Focus your attention here.

Notice how the hand feels.

And when you're ready,

Let that go and move your focus to your left wrist.

Focus on your wrist and notice how it feels.

When you're ready,

Let that go and move to the bottom of the left arm.

Notice both the front and the back of the arm.

Focus on how it feels.

Any sensations.

And when you're ready,

Let that go and move up to the left elbow.

Notice how the elbow feels.

And when you're ready,

Let that go and move up to the top of the left arm.

Notice both the sensations in the back of the arm and in the front of the arm.

If there's any tension in the arm,

Try to release that tension.

And when you're ready,

Let that go.

And we're going to move over to the fingers of the right hand.

Focus on your fingers.

And again,

If you feel any temperature there,

Any tingling,

Just notice those sensations.

And when you're ready,

Let the fingers go.

And you're going to move into the right palm and the back of the right hand.

Focus your attention there.

Notice how the hand feels.

When you're ready,

Let the right hand go and move to the right wrist.

Focus your attention here.

Notice how it feels.

And when you're ready,

Let the wrist go and move to the bottom of the right arm.

Notice both the front and the back arm and what sensations are there.

If there's any tightness,

Let that go.

And we'll move to the right elbow.

Notice the elbow.

Notice how it feels.

When you're ready,

Let the right elbow go and move to the top of the right arm.

Notice the sensations in both the back and the front of the right arm.

If there's any tightness or tension here,

Let that go.

And next,

We're going to move to the shoulders.

The shoulders can be another area that can hold a lot of stress and tension.

Sometimes it can be uncomfortable or painful.

So really notice the sensations in the shoulders and really try to relax those shoulders.

Let the tension go on the out breath.

Let the stress go on the out breath.

Just let go of anything you're holding in the shoulders.

And any thoughts or emotions that come up when you're focusing on the shoulders,

Let those go too.

Just relax those shoulders.

Now we're going to move up to the neck and the throat.

Focus on the neck and the throat and just try to relax them.

Focus your attention here.

And when you're ready,

Let the neck and throat go.

And we'll move up to the face.

Focus on your jaw.

Your jaw might be tight.

Try to release any tightness or tension from your jaw.

And notice how your cheeks feel.

You might feel some tingling or some temperature there and on your nose.

And your forehead.

Smooth out your forehead and let any tension in the forehead go.

Focus on the whole face.

Notice how it feels.

And then let it go.

Then we'll move to the back of the head and the ears.

Notice how the back of the head and the ears feel.

Focus your attention here.

And notice how the back of the head and the ears feel.

When you're ready,

Let that go and move your attention to the top of your head.

Notice how the top of your head feels.

And then let that go.

I'd like you now to focus on your breath.

Notice your breath going in and out of your body.

And I'm going to ask you to breathe in through the top of your head.

Let the breath go all the way down your body.

Through your arms to your belly and then push the air out on an out breath down the body and out the bottom of the feet.

And you're going to breathe in through the bottom of the feet.

Hold the breath up to the tummy and then you're going to push the breath out through the tummy,

Up through the arms,

Up through the chest and out through the top of the head.

And we're going to do that three more times.

In through the top of the head and out through the bottom of the feet.

Up through the bottom of the feet and out through the top of the head.

In through the top of the head and out through the bottom of the feet.

Up through the bottom of the feet and out through the top of the head.

Down through the top of the head and out through the bottom of the feet.

In through the bottom of the feet and out through the top of the head.

Now let your breath go as you sink in and notice how relaxed you are.

Do one more scan of your body.

Notice how it feels.

Now I'd like you to start becoming aware of the room that you're in.

Use your senses.

Notice what you might smell.

What you might hear.

You might see some shapes or darkness or lightness or even colors even though your eyes are closed.

Notice how your body feels where it touches the floor or a chair or your clothes.

You might even taste something in your mouth.

Then begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.

And start to make some gentle movements with your body to wake yourself up.

And slowly open your eyes.

I hope you feel more relaxed and rejuvenated after doing this guided body scan.

And I hope you carry this feeling with you throughout the rest of your day and night.

Thank you.