Wave Body Scan Flow

This is a body scan but using the idea of a wave to flow through us, to help us reset ourselves and our body and feel grounded, calm and collected. We will move mindfully and physically as if we are a wave within the sea.

Transcript

Welcome to Meditation Rocks!

I'm Lucy.

It's going to be a tiny bit of movement in today's practice.

You might want to check that you're wearing something that you can just slightly move in but go and get yourself somewhere comfortable and I'll be right back.

And this practice is something that you might like to do at the end of the day or even at the beginning of the day just to check in with your body and relax.

You can do it sitting or lying down.

And what we're going to do is be inspired a little bit like a body scan but with movement this time.

So we're going to work from the feet and the toes and we're just going to wiggle the toes and just move the feet a little bit just gently even rolling the ankles.

Take some time just to breathe in and move the feet and then take that little movement wave up and to the legs and you might just bend your knees a little bit or stretch your legs like this.

You can't see my legs but that's what I'm doing with my legs.

Even making little figures of eight just generally just bringing that movement wave into your body and we'll put the feet back down.

Then into the tummy and the hip area and you might just tilt the pelvis.

If you know yoga it'd be like almost like a little seated cat cow just drawing back in and opening up slowly.

Then the back we're just going to take a little bit of a movement into the spine as you might to take a tiny little bit of twist here.

Shoulders we're going to roll,

Arms we're just going to do whatever we want to do but really thinking about your fingers.

So taking an almost wave like motion into the wrists and the hands and the fingers.

Then the neck and then you don't have to do this but the face almost gurning,

Love that word,

With the forehead rising raising with the eyebrows movement into the jaw anything you like.

Basically taking this wave of movement this flow all the way from bottom to top of the body.

All right so let's get ourselves very comfortable as I say you might be lying down on a yoga mat or in your bed or you might be just purely and simply sitting in a chair.

You could actually do this standing up if you wanted to,

If you want to mix it up a little bit.

So let's find a nice balanced position to start off with so if you're whatever you're doing just make sure your left and right hand sides are roughly the same with your feet on the floor if you're sitting or standing obviously not floating.

Take a few little moments to check in with how you're feeling today and we'll take some nice long and deep breaths and immediately just begin to check in and feel if there's any tension in the body.

Give yourself a little stretch before we begin with that full movement practice and of course any do stuff that feels good don't push yourself just listen to your body and do whatever you want to do.

Okay so just checking in with the feet that you're grounded if you're sitting check in that your sit bones are balanced everybody lengthen through the spine and bring your hands to a comfortable place perhaps on your lap or knees and then start to bring your attention inwards so closing your eyes or softening your gaze just take some nice long and deep breaths and let's take three deep breaths together so breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth and a couple more and then when you're ready close your mouth and start to breathe in and out through the nose and remember this is the usually breath but it also has the name the ocean breath and perhaps you want to really tune in to the sound and sensation of this breath today to build in this element of wave or flow so your mouth is closed and you're breathing in and out through the nostrils for a balanced breath your inhale and exhale will be the same length for more relaxation response we will have a longer exhale than inhale so you choose which direction you are moving in balanced relaxed so just beginning to soften the body checking in how it's feeling today without any judgment how we're going to start down at the feet and the toes so you might lift up the feet from the ground and just wiggle the toes and roll the ankles almost imagining you're pointing the toes and lifting flexing the feet so you're bringing that movement into the feet and the toes almost like a wave or flow is beginning down at the feet and the toes notice the sensations the experience and then just allowing the feet and toes to be still but still feeling any vibrational movement in the mind and your next exhale just trying to relax your feet and your toes together so we move to the legs and you can choose what you do you might just open and close the legs you might straighten and bend the leg you might figure of eight with a leg taking one leg at a time just feeling those tiny micro movements those sensations how you are feeling you're doing one leg make sure you do the other one too and over your next few moments we'll breathe in nice and deeply into the legs allow the legs to be still and as you breathe out allow the legs to relax so taking that wave of movement that flow up to the middle part of the body the tummy the hips your sit bones so you can use your pelvis here just slightly to sit back and draw the tummy muscles in and then just sending the tailbone down elongate the spine so almost like a mini cat cow or anything else you want to do just maybe stretching the hips a little bit here just finding that movement in the middle part of your body where your body hinges when you bend your core your strength and then just stopping the movement and breathing into this part of the body and as you breathe out just notice the exhale releasing any tension letting go notice the stillness so taking your attention to your chest it's a little easier here because when we breathe the chest moves but maybe you'll exaggerate and draw the shoulders back for example creating space across the collarbone exhale just softening release you can draw the shoulder blades down as you breathe in exhale just softening so you're on your next breath in just keeping still and as you breathe out just allow your body to relax so now you're back so you could roll your shoulders so you create a bit of movement in the back you could take a bit of a twist looking over one shoulder and the other you might elongate and wrap the spine again like a cat cow would be in yoga maybe just pushing the back into the bed or against the chair just to feel a bit of motion here and then you can stop and inhale feel that breath in your back ribs exhale allow everything to soften and relax going to the shoulders next you could lift the shoulders you inhale towards the ears you can exhale soften them down or you could roll the shoulders you might hear my clicks and clunks I hope you don't have as many as me so moving for a few moments and then inhale we lift or soften and then find stillness and then exhale allow the shoulders to relax completely we're going for arms hands fingers wrists now so just take a bit of movement and you might make circles you just might make some shapes you might imagine you put a little ball in between your hands that you are moving there is no right and wrong answer so just find a bit of a wave or flow with the arms hands and fingers create that sensation vibration of movement and then bring the hands down onto the lap breathe into the stillness but feel the presence of the movement and as you exhale allow your arms hands and fingers to relax go to the neck take some movement here maybe bringing the chin to the chest and lifting the head up in an exaggerated nod maybe making some half circles taking the head from side to side again there's no right answer I wouldn't recommend going all the way around with the neck and the head and then we keep still we breathe into the neck exhale we soften and relax so next is the funny one which is the face and no one can see you and we're just gonna lift the nose up squinting stretching the forehead raising the eyebrows opening and closing the mouth do anything you want to create a bit of movement into the muscles in your face a little bit like earning I'm sure you're just there alone doing this so no one will be looking you don't have to do it if you don't want to and then find some stillness and the face breathe in to the face breathe out allow the face to relax so now just check in with the body as a whole and we've been moving so can it feel like there's still movement going on in the body where is your mind being drawn to where can you breathe into where can you breathe out and relax a little more so you've allowed this flow wave of movement to travel all the way from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head so let's breathe in from feet to head one more time breathing in deeply and exhale through the mouth release let's take three of those breaths together breathing in through the nose exhale through the mouth and then just allowing the breath to return to a comfortable rhythm and flow and slowly bring your hands up and give them a little rub and then hovering the hands over your eyes just taking last few moments here just to let your practice absorb into your body and mind and then when you're ready you can bring your hands down opening your eyes and I'm here and I hope you enjoyed that little twist on our traditional body scan I hope you have a lovely rest of your day or evening and I will see you again very soon bye for now