Baby Loss Body Scan Meditation For Rest

This baby loss body scan for rest track was recorded with the baby loss community in mind. Understanding the depths of grief and how loss can leave us feeling exhausted and out of control. This track has been written and recorded to help promote rest at a time that it's needed.

Transcript

My name is Lucy, I'm a Mindfulness for Loss teacher and a bereaved mother and I will be guiding you through this relaxing progressive muscle relaxation today. So finding somewhere then to rest and relax. It's really important that you set the intention now to relax and even if relaxation doesn't feel possible for you now, Know that relaxation will happen on some level. Even if you don't listen to my words fully, Just taking the time to rest your body, To relax whether you are lying or seated. You're giving your body the opportunity to stop, Know that relaxation is possible. So allowing the eyes to softly close and connecting with your breath. And by connecting with your breath I mean just noticing the in-breath and the out-breath. Not trying to change the breath in any way. Just noticing the gentle flow in and the release of your breath as you breathe out. Noticing where you feel your breath the most today. It may be at the nose or the chest. There may be bigger movements around your body as you breathe. Noticing the ribs in the back of the body. Maybe even movements in your shoulders. And you may find during this relaxation track that your mind begins to drift and dream, To think and plan. But that's okay. This naturally will happen. So anytime you notice that your mind has wondered, Just gently and kindly bring your awareness back. Back to the sound of my voice, Following my words. You may have to do this time and time again but that's okay. So we're going to be taking our awareness to different areas in the body. And when we rest our awareness we are going to be inviting a curiosity. Just to notice what sensations are there. How our different areas in the body feel. And then we're going to be squeezing, Tightening the muscles and using the breath at the same time. This is a progressive muscle relaxation and it's really very effective in helping us to relax but also helping us to acknowledge the difference between tension and relaxation. So before we do that I want to invite you to work with the breath just a little bit. So up to this point we haven't been changing the breath in any way. But I wonder now if you can start to take some long, Slow, Deeper breaths. Breathing in through your nose and breathing out through your nose. Really extending the breath, Making it as long as possible. Breathing in and breathing out. And then allowing the breath to return to its normal pace. Noticing how you feel. How does the body feel when you breathe in this way? And we're not looking for anything in particular. What may have happened is the relaxation response in your body may have begun to trigger. So this means that you may have started to feel a little more relaxed or maybe you haven't and that's okay. For many people engaging the breath in this way, Making the breath deeper and slower, This helps to trigger the relaxation response because it sends a very clear message to our mind that it's time to relax and that there is in fact nothing to be scared of or worried about and that we are safe. So focusing now on our body, We're going to be taking our awareness first of all to our feet. And I want you just to place your attention on your feet, Noticing your toes, Really just tuning into the sensations of this area. What can you feel here? What sensations are present? Really even gently, Ever so gently wiggling your toes as slowly as you can, Noticing all those small micro sensations that are happening. And now squeezing your toes as tightly as you can and taking a deep breath in and releasing the toes as you release the breath, Allowing the feet to completely relax, Falling deeper into stillness. This area completely releasing and relaxing. How do the feet feel now? And then ever so gently placing your awareness even further up the body now, Focusing your awareness on the lower legs. What do you feel here? What sensations are present? Noticing the temperature? Noticing any difference from left to right? The skin? The muscles? Noticing everything about you experiencing this direct moment awareness. So we're just focusing on this moment together, Noticing the sensations. What's real in the body now? What's happening? And you may not even feel anything at all and that's absolutely fine. You may not feel anything at all, But you may feel something in the body now. And so squeezing this area as tightly as you can, Taking a deep breath in and as you release the breath, Relax the muscles. Noticing how you feel, How this area feels. And so gently and kindly moving away from this area now and focusing on the thighs. Noticing all the sensations here. Remembering my words when I explained that the mind will drift and dream and that's okay. So if that is happening to you now, Just gently bring your awareness back. Back to the sound of my voice and my instruction. Noticing the sensations in your thighs. And now squeezing the muscles in the thighs as tightly as you can, Taking a slow deep breath in, Releasing and relaxing the muscles as you release the breath. And breathing normally. How do the thighs feel? And we're not trying to produce sensations as such. We're just noticing what's happening. And we're doing that without judgment and with a kind curiosity. Noticing what's happening, What are direct experiences. And then gently taking your awareness now even further up through your body, Focusing on the shoulders. How do the shoulders feel today? So often we carry around tension and tightness in this area and this can cause pain. So really just noticing how the shoulders feel. And very slowly now bringing your shoulders up towards your ears. And taking a slow deep breath in. Releasing the breath all the way out and as you do this, Allowing the shoulders to relax and release. Taking your shoulders away from your ears, All the way down. Completely relaxing. Taking your awareness down both of your arms to your hands. Now your hands are an extremely sensitive area, So just noticing now any sensations here. In the very ends of your fingertips. Noticing the temperature of your hands. All the different sensations, Sometimes sensations that we can't put words to. Just like an energy, A vibration in the hands, Tingling, Buzzing. What's your experience today? And now making your fist with both hands and squeezing as tightly as you can as you take a slow deep breath in. And as you release the breath, Relax the hands completely relaxing both hands together, Allowing the hands to become soft, Comfortable and still. Notice how the hands feel. Moving your awareness now back up through your arms to your shoulders and finally moving your awareness into your face. What's happening here? What sensations are in the forehead? The eyes? The cheeks? The mouth? The tongue? The whole of your face. What sensations are present? Gently bringing your attention back if your mind has begun to wander. Noticing the sensations in the face. The temperature. How the air feels on your skin. And squeezing the muscles of the face now as tightly as you can. And taking a slow deep breath in. Relaxing the breath and relaxing all the muscles in the face completely releasing and relaxing. And so your whole face feels comfortably relaxed. How does the face feel now? And so scanning the rest of your body now looking for any areas of tightness or tension. And just seeing if you can relax into those areas even just imagining those areas lengthening and releasing and relaxing. Even just imagining can help this process to take place and unfold naturally. Seeing that breath allowing the body to be held and supported by the surface beneath you or behind you as you rest and relax. Nowhere to be. Nowhere to go. So choosing now to rest here and fall into a deep relaxing sleep or maybe you wish to continue with the rest of your day. Know that relaxation is possible for you wherever you are. Over time of day wherever you are in the world. Because you have the inner tools and inner resources to access a relaxed state. And through the difficulty of loss when the body is engaged in a heightened state for much of the time relaxation is welcomed. In helping to reduce some of that secondary suffering that you may be experiencing. So engaging in a practice such as this one is a real act of self love and care and will help in helping you to navigate your way through the days ahead.