For this body meditation,
Find yourself in a comfortable,
Upright,
Seated position.
You may keep your eyes closed,
Or if you prefer,
You can hold a soft gaze a few feet in front of you.
Notice the sensations on your seat against the couch or the chair.
Feel your feet in contact with the floor.
Notice your connection to the earth.
Now bring your gentle attention to your breathing.
Notice it as it comes in and out of your nostril area.
As I breathe in,
I notice that I breathe in.
As I breathe out,
I notice that I breathe out.
Allow your belly to relax as you breathe in.
And without trying to change it,
Notice the state of your breathing.
Is it long or short?
Deep or shallow?
Just notice.
Now as we begin to scan the body,
Bring your focus to the top of your head.
Take in a moment to breathe and allow the visualization of your breath to follow your point of contact with your body.
What are you noticing?
Allow your breath to be your guide,
Breathing in and out of each area.
Bring your attention to your face,
Your eyes,
Your nose,
Your ears,
Your mouth and jaw area.
Allowing your breath to be easy.
What do you notice?
Now bring awareness to your neck.
Bringing your awareness down your shoulders.
Your arms.
Notice from the inside out.
What is the felt sense of your arms from the inside out?
You may notice body sensations,
Tension,
Muscles.
You may notice temperature changes or energies and vibrations.
Perhaps you notice an impulse to move or change your posture in some way.
Just notice.
Now move your attention over the front of your shoulders into your chest area.
See if you can notice what it feels like to sense your heart and lungs from the inside out.
Notice your upper back,
Your spine coming down from your head.
Allow your breathing to be natural and gentle.
Notice your hands,
Your fingers.
Now move your attention to your lower torso area.
See if you can sense your stomach and all the organs of your lower torso.
Bring your attention to your lower thighs,
Your upper thighs,
How they connect into your torso.
See if you can sense the bone from the inside out.
Move your attention down to your calves,
Your shins,
Over your ankles,
The tops of your feet,
The bottoms of your feet.
Allow yourself to breathe in and out of all these areas.
Now allow your awareness to expand out to your entire body.
Using your breath as your guide,
Allow your next in breath to fill every cell of your body,
Illuminating your awareness of what resides in your body.
As you breathe in,
Breathe into every cell of your body.
As you breathe out,
Release the breath from every cell of your body.
Now allow your in breath to become an illuminating light that lights up your body and shows you what's present.
With the out breath,
Let that light release and dim into darkness.
With the next in breath,
Allow it to be an illuminating light.
With the out breath,
Let it dim into darkness.
What are you noticing in your body?
With the next few breath cycles,
Allow your breath to illuminate so that you can notice and be fully aware of your body.
Notice the body sensations,
The muscles,
Any energies,
The temperatures.
Allow yourself to see the detail of what you are actually sensing in your body right now.
If there is any particular area that is calling your attention,
Allow yourself to bring your awareness to it.
Turn towards it.
It might be attention or an energy.
Go towards the center of whatever you are noticing and allow your breath to be with it.
And just notice what happens when you do this.
Does it stay the same or change or perhaps it moves to another area of your body?
Just notice.
Just be aware.
And now bring your attention back to your full body,
Allowing it in breath to fill every cell of your body,
Broadening your awareness.
And on this breath,
Allow your out breath to be longer.
Empty every ounce of oxygen from your lungs so that the next in breath becomes naturally deeper.
Continue breathing in this way for a few breath cycles,
Using a concentration on a longer out breath.
What do you notice in your body as you take breathing in this way?
And now as we come to the end of this body meditation,
Allow yourself to take a few breaths to settle.
Come back into your full awareness of your seat on your chair,
Wiggling your hands and feet.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
Thank you for joining me for this meditation.
