Body Scan

We start from the feet and work our way up. This Body Scan meditation is intended to strenghten the mind-body connection, resestablish a healthy relationship with our bodies and have gratitude for what they do for us. This meditation is also a helpful practice for those who are sleep deprived and can be done before bedtime.

Transcript

To a comfortable lying down position.

You may choose to lie down on the floor,

A couch,

Or your bed.

Whatever will offer you the most comfort.

Allow the arms to either rest at your sides or gently fold them over your abdomen.

Let the shoulders drop down away from the ears.

Let your feet drop naturally to the sides.

Beginning with some deep breaths,

Allowing the belly to expand fully on the inhale and contract on the exhale.

Feeling the rise and fall of the abdomen,

Deepening your breath,

Relaxing your body,

Becoming aware of how your body is making contact with the floor,

The couch,

Or the bed.

Letting the body sink deeper into the surfaces it touches.

Perhaps you may be noticing a feeling of heaviness or lightness.

If there are parts of the body that feel tense or tight,

Seeing if you can breathe into these parts so that they can relax.

And when you feel ready,

Becoming aware of your feet,

The bottom of your feet,

The top of your feet,

The toes,

From your big toe moving down toward your pinky toe,

Noticing the sensation of the back of your heels against the surface,

Being aware of any and all sensations in your feet.

And now shifting your focus away from your feet,

Past the ankles,

Up the legs,

The shins,

The calves,

And resting in the knees,

Sensing the back of the knees,

Around the sides,

And moving to the top of the knees.

And for many people,

The knees are an area of the body that may be painful or injured.

So be with the knees exactly as they are in this moment.

Also acknowledging how important the knee joint is,

How it allows us to move,

To walk,

To run,

To dance,

And jump,

Honoring the knees for what they do for us.

And now shifting your focus away from the knees and moving further up the legs,

Through the thighs,

Noticing the points of contact,

Where your thighs are touching the floor or the bed,

And finally resting in the buttocks,

The hip joints,

And the pelvic basin,

Aware of the structures in this area of the body,

The reproductive organs,

The bladder,

The pelvic colon,

Noticing if there are any sensations here.

And now moving away from this area and bringing your attention to the abdomen,

Feeling the sensations of the abdomen as it rises and falls with each breath.

Perhaps you can detect small sounds or subtle sensations of digestion,

Becoming aware of the stomach and intestines,

And many other complex organs that are inside the abdomen,

The liver,

The spleen,

The kidneys,

The pancreas,

The gallbladder,

All these amazingly complex organs working hard to keep us alive and healthy.

And now moving away from the abdomen,

Bringing your attention up the torso toward the chest area,

Resting here for a few moments,

Observing the rise and fall of the chest,

Noticing the lungs slowly filling with air as you breathe in and deflating as you breathe out.

The lungs are so important for every breath we take and provide the focus of many of our meditations.

And then bringing your focus to the heart,

An amazingly complex organ,

Continually moving,

Constantly pumping blood to every part of our body.

Notice what it feels like to observe the heart with full attention.

Perhaps you can feel your heartbeat.

Maybe there is a feeling of aliveness at the heart center,

Honoring the heart for everything it does for us.

And now moving away from the chest area and bringing your attention to the back,

Starting with the lower back,

Sensing the tailbone connecting with the ground,

And then moving slowly up the spine,

Vertebrae by vertebrae,

Feeling the lower back,

The middle back,

And the upper back,

Noticing how your back is being supported.

And for many of us,

The back may be the cause of discomfort or pain.

And so being with the back exactly as it is in this moment,

Accepting whatever sensations are there for you.

And now shifting your focus away from the back and entering into the shoulders,

Feeling the back of your shoulders pressed against the floor or the bed or the couch.

And then moving to the front of the shoulders and resting here for a few moments.

And then moving slowly down the arms,

Past the biceps and triceps,

Past the elbows,

Through the forearms,

And resting in the hands and fingers.

Aware of where your arms and hands are positioned.

Are they laying on either side of your body or folded across your stomach?

Noticing any sensations that may be apparent,

Perhaps tingling or warmth,

Perhaps heaviness or lightness,

Perhaps nothing at all.

Being open and curious about any and all sensations.

And then moving your awareness back up the arms,

Past the shoulders,

And resting in the neck.

Holding your attention here.

Again,

This is an area of the body which may be the source of discomfort.

Honoring whatever sensations are present in this moment.

Also acknowledging the important tubes inside of the neck,

One which delivers oxygen to the lungs and the other food and nutrients to the stomach.

Both important avenues for life to be sustained within us.

And moving up to the jaw and throat.

And noticing any sensations here.

And now shifting your focus away from the neck and into the head.

Feeling the back of your head as it's supported by the floor or a pillow.

Noticing the point of contact and observing what that feels like for you.

And then moving to the top of your head.

Are there any sensations here that you can detect?

And then resting your attention in the face and facial features.

The forehead,

The nose,

The mouth,

The tongue,

The cheeks,

The chin,

The eyes,

And ears.

All of the features of the face allowing you to express yourself and communicate with other beings.

And taking a moment now to bring awareness to a very important organ.

Your brain.

The seat of your mind and the control center of the entire body.

And although there may be no physical sensations that we can detect in this area,

We can spend a few moments honoring the brain for everything it does.

Its complexity,

Its resilience,

Its power.

And now bringing awareness into the largest organ of the body.

The skin.

Feeling the sensations of the skin.

Noticing how the temperature of the air meets the skin.

Aware of how your clothing comes into contact with the skin.

Being present with any and all sensations.

As an ayurvedic practitioner tonight at your beach,

Sat down with your friends,

Read a Now,

Bringing your full awareness into the entire body as a whole.

Take a moment to notice how all your body parts are connected.

Let any sensations come to you.

Just notice what kind of sensation it is.

Tingling.

Warmth.

Coolness.

Heaviness.

Floating.

Accept whatever sensation there is as just that.

A sensation that will arise and slowly and gradually change.

It is just another part of you.

Continue to focus on your breathing.

Resting here in total awareness of the beauty,

The complexity,

And the uniqueness of your body.

Reviews

Good stuff, I’ll be saving this one as well. Love a good body scan and usually they do not talk about organs. We have to remember the inside as well🙏🏻💕

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Excellent followed my limited memory of anatomy and heed really rest me.

Wonderful! Thank you for this meditation.

Great peaceful body scan, thank you.

That was like a warm bath I didn’t want to end.

C’était fantastique !!! Merci

Excellent body scan. I’ve listened to many and this is my favorite. Like how she includes the brain and the whole body all together.

Excellent.One of the best body scans I’ve done.Thank you 😊

Very nice! Thankyou!!!

Excellent body scan thank you

I love body scans that start with the feet.

Calm and comforting voice with plenty of space between directions.

I found it relaxing and I love that it has no music

Sweet and calming voice and I liked the gratefulness expressed for our body 🌸🙏🧘🏼‍♀️

Within is simple and simple is best