Welcome to your body scan meditation.
This is one of my very favorite tools for when I can't get to sleep.
You know that thing when you're lying in bed and your mind just gets stuck in that doom spiral?
This is perfect for that.
It's a very simple body scan.
I will direct your attention to each body part in turn and your only job is to focus your attention and relax that part of the body.
If you fall asleep part way through,
Great.
If you don't,
You will hopefully feel more relaxed and focused by the end of it,
So that's great too.
You can't do this wrong.
I hope you enjoy it.
Start off by getting as physically comfortable as you can possibly be.
You can do this lying down in bed,
On the couch,
On the floor,
Wherever you are going to be most comfortable.
And take deep inhales and exhales through the nose.
And know that if your mind wanders during this meditation,
That is completely normal.
Doesn't mean you're failing at meditation,
It just means that you have a human brain.
So with immense patience and kindness,
Simply bring your attention back to the part of the body we're focusing on.
Let's start with the toes.
Bringing all of your focus,
All of your attention to your toes.
Maybe wiggling them a little bit.
Noticing if the toes feel warm,
If they feel cold.
And then shifting the attention to the soles of the feet.
Noticing any tension you might be holding in the feet.
And then moving up to the ankles.
Fully relaxing the ankles.
And shifting the attention to the lower legs,
The shins,
The calves.
Letting them be as heavy as possible.
And then moving the attention up to the knees.
Just noticing how the knees feel.
And you relax them.
And then shifting the focus to the upper legs,
The thighs,
Quadriceps,
Hamstrings.
Are you holding any tension there?
And you relax all the way through the whole leg.
The entire right leg.
And the entire left leg.
And now moving up to the hips and the belly.
Can you bring your attention there and fully relax?
Can you fully relax the belly so that it can move with the breath?
So the belly can extend on the inhale.
And the belly button can draw back towards the spine on the exhale.
Moving the attention now to the lower back.
Letting that melt.
Letting that sense of relaxation move to the mid-back.
And all the way to the upper back.
Moving now through the chest.
Releasing any tension from the shoulders.
Lower blades.
Letting those upper arms be heavy.
Bringing the attention to the elbows.
The forearms.
And now the wrists.
And then bringing all of your attention to your right hand.
Starting with the palm of the hand.
Moving to the thumb.
And then the index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky.
And then switching sides.
So bringing all of your focus to your left hand.
The palm of the hand.
The thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky.
And then draw the attention back into the torso.
All the way up the spine to the neck.
Relaxing the neck.
It might feel heavy,
Relaxed,
Released.
Moving through the collarbones.
Moving through the throat.
Releasing the jaw.
Letting the teeth separate but the lips stay closed.
And releasing the tongue from the roof of the mouth.
Letting it fill the bottom jaw.
Moving the muscles around the eyes.
And smoothing out that space between the eyebrows.
Relaxing the forehead.
And relaxing the mind.
Feeling safe.
Feeling supported.
Feeling fully relaxed.
