Breath & Body Scan For Presence & Relaxation

A body scan is a great way to find some rest in stressful times. This meditation brings the breath and body together to create presence and relaxation. Use before bed or any time you want to connect more with your body and breath.

Transcript

Hello,

And thank you for joining me for this meditation.

Today we're going to be focused on a body scan.

So really taking the time to feel different areas of the body,

As well as the body as a whole.

I recommend laying down for this practice,

But you can also sit in another fashion if you prefer.

If you're laying down,

Make sure that you are comfortable enough to be there for a few minutes as we take our time.

And as you're getting set up,

Just take a few deep breaths.

Slow,

Steady inhales.

And slow,

Steady exhales.

Letting yourself settle into this time.

Letting your body settle into this time.

And after this last deep breath,

Just come to the natural breath.

Letting your breath be whatever it is today.

Doesn't have to be anything specific.

Just whatever it is.

Taking the time to feel the breath in its full cycle,

Coming all the way into the body,

And exhaling all the way out.

Not pushing it,

Just noticing the cycle of it.

As we move through this body scan,

I ask that you do keep a connection with the breath.

Seeing if you notice differences in it as we move through different areas of the body.

Now let's take a moment just to feel our whole body wherever it is.

Or if you're laying on the floor,

Sitting in a chair,

Just taking a moment to feel it in its whole.

Feeling the breath move in it.

If you find that any part of you is uncomfortable,

Please make whatever adjustments you need to now.

And then we'll start at the toes.

I'll invite you to take the time to feel each and every toe,

Wherever they are.

Your feet are on the floor because you're sitting in a chair,

Maybe feeling your feet against the floor,

Feeling those toes resting against the ground.

And then from the toes,

Moving to the bottom of the foot,

Just slowly feeling what there is to feel,

All the way to the heel.

And then moving around to the top of the foot,

The ankle,

Feeling all the way around each ankle.

We tend to put a lot of stress on our joints,

You know,

In these different places like the ankles and the knees,

Just taking a moment to breathe and recognize what it truly feels like,

Even just resting.

Feeling the connection that the ankle gives between the foot and the calf.

And then moving gently up the calf,

Feeling both all the way around.

If you're laying down and your calf is resting against the floor or something else,

Just feeling the weight of the calf as it rests.

And then slowly moving up to the knees,

Feeling the places of connection,

Connecting to the calf where the knee becomes the thigh,

All the way around the knee,

Back of the knee,

The sides,

And then slowly to the thighs.

Again,

Taking the time to feel all the way around,

Feeling the weight of them resting.

And then slowly moving up to the hips,

Feeling that connection between the thighs,

The legs,

And the rest of the body,

The torso.

Feeling first one hip,

Then the other hip,

Around the backside,

And then coming to the abdomen.

Can you feel the breath here?

Does it move?

Moving up the belly just very slowly.

This feels like a very vulnerable area for people,

And for a lot of good reason.

But maybe take a few extra minutes right here,

Just feeling the belly,

Feeling the breath.

Again,

Letting it be what it is.

And staying curious about what it is.

Staying curious about how the breath changes things.

And slowly moving up to the chest.

Again staying here for just a few minutes,

A few moments,

Feeling the breath,

Maybe the subtle expansion of the ribs as you breathe.

And we'll just stay here following the breath cycle,

Feeling the way that the chest and body,

Belly changes.

From the chest,

We'll move down the sides of the body.

And moving up to the back,

Around to the back,

And up,

Feeling the weight of it as it rests against the floor,

The couch,

The bed,

Wherever you may be laying,

If you are laying down.

And moving up the back to the shoulders.

Again,

Can you feel the breath in the shoulders?

Not changing the breath,

Not changing the shoulders,

Just being curious about what's there.

Sometimes our shoulders are places where we keep a lot of tension.

If you're feeling tension there now,

Maybe seeing if you can let that tension go just a little bit with each breath.

Just a little lightness.

Letting them come away from your ears.

From the shoulders,

We'll move down the arms.

First,

Feeling all the way around the upper arms,

Down to the elbows.

Again,

Taking the time to feel that connection that the joints create down the forearms,

To the wrists,

To the palm.

And just like with the toes,

Taking the time to feel every single finger.

Are they resting on something?

What does that feel like?

What does that feel like?

We'll move from the fingers to the back of the hand,

Back to the wrist,

To the forearm,

To the elbows,

To the upper arms,

Back to the shoulders,

And then to the neck.

First the front of the neck,

Then moving along the sides to the back.

Again,

Another place we can keep some tension sometimes.

So again,

Just take a moment.

Can you lessen that tension just a little bit?

From the back of the neck,

Up the back of the head,

Slowly moving to the top of the head,

And coming down,

Feeling the ears.

Can you feel all the way around each ear?

From the ears to the jaw,

To the chin,

Traveling slowly up to the lips,

Feeling first the bottom lip,

And then the top.

Feeling the space between the lips and the nose,

And at the nose,

Pausing here to feel the breath move in and out,

Feeling that cool new breath and the warmth of the exhalation.

And then slowly moving up the nose,

The bridge of the nose,

Up to the forehead,

Keeping the forehead relaxed,

Feeling the eyebrows all the way around the eyes,

To the cheeks,

And slowly moving your attention back up to the crown of the head.

And again,

Feeling the body as a whole,

Not just parts,

But the whole body,

Breathing together.

And then just coming to pay attention only to the breath,

Just feeling that natural breath.

And as our time comes to a close,

We'll take just a couple more of those deep breaths,

Slow and steady,

Just to mark the transition into the rest of your day.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I hope that you were able to take a little peace with you out into the world.

Take care.

Reviews

Some kind of background noise that was very soothing. It sounded silent, but when it ended my ambient noise was kind of harsh Calming voice.

So wonderful. Very calming yet methodical. 🙌💙🙏🪬

A great practice to learn how my body feels and how to relax. Thank you! :)

Thank you for guiding this meditation. It helped me ease the physical pain I was feeling.

Love your voice and tone. So relaxing.

Pleasing pace and thoroughly grounded exploration of the body. Thanks.

That was so nice! I liked the absence of music as it felt I had a therapist next to me 💖🙏🏼 thank you xx