This is the body scan practice and you could do this lying down on a comfortable surface or you can do it sitting in a chair.
So being sure that you are going to be awake and alert and yet comfortable,
Relaxed.
So taking your chosen posture and being deliberate about settling in,
Feeling held by the ground beneath you,
Allowing your breath to help you settle and then bringing your awareness to your feet,
To the soles of your feet,
Your toes,
The top of your feet,
Your heels and ankles and noticing what is here and sensation,
Temperature,
The air on your skin or the feel of the surface.
Just whatever is most noticeable to you in this moment.
Allowing your awareness to move through your shins and calves and to your knees,
Becoming aware of what is here and if at some point you realize that your thoughts have taken you elsewhere,
Just in the next moment coming back.
So being present with your shins and your calves and your knees.
Now bringing attention to your thighs,
Upper and lower thighs.
You might feel your hands resting on your legs.
If you're sitting,
The weight of your legs in the chair or on the ground,
Sensations are here.
And if nothing is particularly noticeable,
Just keeping your attention on your thighs,
Just here.
Now becoming aware of your bum in the chair,
On the ground,
Your hips,
Pelvis,
Noticing what is here for you.
Coming to rest awareness on your spine,
As if you're moving up vertebra by vertebra from your lower back,
Base of your spine,
Through your hollow in your back,
Mid back,
Upper back.
Coming aware of the shape of your spine,
Your back and the points of resting on your surface.
Just the feel of what is here now.
It might be a tension or pain,
Discomfort.
You might even want to change your posture just to bring a bit of ease.
Making that part of the practice too,
To be kind and caring for your body.
Come to be present with your belly,
Noticing what is here.
Rising and falling of the belly with the breath.
Just the sensations that are obvious to you,
If they are.
Moving to your chest,
Noticing your ribs,
Your lungs filling with air,
Expanding,
Your beating heart in your chest,
Rising and falling of your chest with each breath.
The sensation of breathing right here.
Coming aware of your shoulders.
Might be some tension,
Holding here or not,
Just whatever is most noticeable to you.
Moving down your arms to become aware of your hands,
Fingers,
Your thumbs,
The backs of your hands and palms and wrists.
Noticing sensations,
Temperature,
Just the feeling in your hands.
Moving to your forearms and elbows.
What are you aware of here?
And your upper arms.
Noticing the weight of your arms as you're resting here.
Moving to your neck and throat.
You may notice the breathing at the back of your throat,
Is here in your neck and throat in this moment.
Coming to be aware of your head,
The back of your head,
Hair covering your skull,
Just the feeling at the back of your head.
And moving to your face,
Noticing your jaw,
Your chin,
Your mouth,
Your lips and teeth and tongue,
Your cheeks,
Ears and temples,
Your nose,
Nostrils,
Your eyes,
Your eyelashes and brows,
Your forehead.
What are the sensations here?
Feel of the air in your skin.
Being aware of the whole of your face and the whole of your head.
And allowing your awareness to flow through your body from the top of your head to the tips of your fingers,
Tips of your toes.
And imagining your whole body being breathed within each inhale and each exhale.
Your body sitting or lying,
Breathing,
As if the air is reaching each and every cell right through your body.
So as we come to the end of this practice,
I invite you to open your eyes if they were closed.
If you're sitting or lying,
Just to wriggle your fingers,
Wriggle your toes,
Stretch your neck and stretch out your legs and your arms above your head.
And if you're lying down,
You want to turn on your side,
Rest for a moment on your elbow before you come up to sitting again.
Taking a deep inhale through your nose,
Releasing through your mouth.
