Welcome.
I'm Lisa and I'll be your guide for this meditation practice.
This practice will explore our relationship with ourselves and anxiety through a body scan.
There are many ways to practice a body scan as well and this is only one way to practice relating to anxiousness through a body scan.
You're invited to find a posture that feels best for you in this moment.
Some folks find it helpful to lie down but if you want to embody a more wakeful energy you might try standing or being upright.
Choose what feels best for you.
This practice can be done to support you when you're experiencing anxiousness before falling asleep.
It can be also supportive in the morning as a way to bring awareness to your body before you jump into your day.
This is a practice that I find particularly helpful for myself in the morning.
You may also find this practice to be supportive throughout your day if you've had a busy morning and want to cultivate some more grounding energy for the rest of your day.
Throughout this practice you'll be invited to bring awareness to sensations throughout the body.
You may notice temperature,
Tingling,
Softness,
Tension or there may be no sensation present either.
This practice is like putting a welcome mat out for your sensations or perhaps lack of sensation.
Everyone and everything is invited.
Nothing is good or bad.
Body scans are just one way to practice bringing awareness to our bodies in this moment.
Although the goal of a body scan isn't to try to change our experience,
As we invite awareness to our body,
If you're noticing something that feels like you may want to shift like tension or anything else,
You might sway or find a way to release that tension.
You might bring your hands to that area of the shoulder for example if that's where tension is being held or take a few breaths to tell the mind and body that it's okay to rest here.
This practice is kind of like a choose your own adventure and you'll be supported along the way.
So let's begin.
You're welcome to keep your eyes gently open or closed.
Let's take a deep breath in through our nose and out through our mouth.
First bring awareness to your thoughts.
Notice what's on your mind right now.
Are the thoughts anchored in the past?
Are they being pulled to the future?
Or are the thoughts about what's happening right here and now?
Simply bringing a gentle awareness to our experience here.
Next,
Noticing the neck.
What sensations,
If any,
Are present?
Does the neck want to stay as it is or does it gently want to move side to side?
Drawing the awareness next down into the shoulders.
You're welcome to find a deeper breath and on the exhale notice where you may soften any tension being held and releasing the tension through a gentle exhale.
Inviting awareness next to the arms and hands.
Is there a particular temperature the arms or hands feel cold or warm?
Do you feel the texture of your shirt or the surface beneath you?
Is there any place in the arms or hands that you may rest a bit more on the surface?
If you're lying down,
Feeling the surface.
If you're standing,
Allowing the arms or hands to suspend a bit heavier,
Resting them by your sides.
Traveling your awareness down into the chest.
You may feel the breath rising and falling.
You may feel your heart beating and if not,
Know that since you're still practicing with me,
Your heart is beating and body is breathing just as it needs to.
Are there any messages your chest is telling you?
Our heart space holds 40,
000 neurons signaling messages to our brain and if there's no message,
That's okay.
Just know that this is a space that you can trust to listen to and tap into.
If you aren't experiencing a particular sensation here in the heart space or chest,
That's okay.
You may simply note no sensation here right now.
Try taking a deep breath in through the nose and sigh out through the mouth.
Scanning for sensations now down in your stomach.
You may feel the breath rising and falling.
Are there any emotions that your gut is telling you right now?
Our guts hold a hundred million neurons and sensations like emotions that we feel in our body are temporary.
So we can bring awareness to them but we don't necessarily have to attach to them.
We can listen to what our gut or stomach is saying about our current state of being and our surroundings.
Let's bring awareness next to our low back and hips.
Noticing if any sensations are present.
Sometimes the hips and low back can hold sensations from our day-to-day experiences and tension can build up.
If you do notice tension and you want to move or shift at any point,
Please do so.
You can still be moving with awareness and that's part of the practice.
Traveling your awareness down the body to the legs and feet.
Notice if there is anywhere that you could allow the muscles in the legs or feet to rest a little more.
Perhaps if you're lying down you may try allowing the feet to flop open to the left and right.
If you're standing you may place a soft or small bend in your knees.
Lastly we'll let go of the focus on a particular area of our bodies.
Let's take a moment to notice our whole body and how all of these parts are connected.
As we begin to bring this practice to a close,
You may ask yourself,
What does my body need in this moment?
What is something healthy that I can do to tend to my body next?
You may start to bring some gentle movements back into the body like wiggling the toes and fingers,
Rolling the wrists and ankles,
Taking the head side to side gently,
Or any other movement that would be supportive.
If your eyes are closed,
Taking a few moments to gently blink them open.
Let's take a deep breath in through our nose,
Sigh out through the mouth,
Noticing what you're feeling in this moment.
Welcome home.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
