This practice is a mindfulness practice where we go through the entire body one area at a time.
We start with the feet and make our way up to the head.
If you like,
You can lie down for this practice.
We'll be practicing for about 15 minutes.
So go ahead and find a comfortable seat or comfortable way of reclining,
Lying down.
It's up to you if you want to close your eyes or just lower your gaze.
Now just feeling into your body,
Lying or sitting here.
Realizing the areas of contact in this moment.
Where the feet touch the ground or the chair.
Where your legs,
Your back,
The arms,
The head make contact.
Maybe also noticing your breath entering and leaving your body.
Now begin checking in with each area of the body in a non-judgmental way.
You may notice that there are a number of areas in the body that you might not be able to feel at all and that is normal and okay.
Just check into those areas as if you could feel something.
So starting with the feet,
Feeling into both feet right now.
Feeling into the areas where your feet are making contact with the ground or the chair.
Maybe feeling your toes or not.
Maybe feeling tingling or temperature.
Now moving the attention to your ankles and lower legs.
What is here to feel,
If anything at all?
Maybe the pressure of your calves against the floor.
Perhaps the feel of fabric against the skin.
And if you notice that your attention is suddenly somewhere else,
Just gently and without judging,
Returning the attention to your legs.
It's not a problem at all.
The mind likes to wander.
If you find it helpful,
You can imagine that you're breathing into your legs as if your attention could ride on the breath or as if your attention would light up the area like it was a flashlight.
Now letting go of the lower legs and moving the attention to your knees and thighs.
What is here to feel?
Again,
Maybe pressure,
Temperature,
The position of your legs,
The feeling of clothing or fabric or nothing at all.
Numbness counts as a sensation in this practice.
Noticing that thinking about an area or picturing it in your mind's eye is different from actually feeling it.
Now letting go of the thighs and moving the attention to the lower trunk,
The pelvis and the belly up to the belly button.
Noticing any sensation in this area.
Maybe feeling the breath in the lower belly or not.
Letting go of that and now feeling into the upper trunk,
The stomach area,
The chest.
Feeling the sensations of the breath here with each inhalation and each exhalation.
Feeling the spine against the floor or the back of the chair.
Noticing any sensations that are here or noticing the absence of sensations.
From here now moving the attention to your hands.
Feeling your hands,
You might notice how well you can feel your hands without having to see them.
Feeling individual fingers,
Feeling the position of your hands.
When you're ready,
Moving the attention to the wrists and the forearms now.
What is here to feel?
Touch,
Pressure,
Coolness or warmth.
Now moving the attention to your elbows and upper arms.
Noticing any sensations here.
And if your mind wanders off,
Just bringing it back to wherever we are,
Just starting again.
No problem.
From here moving the attention to your shoulders.
The back of your neck.
The throat.
And then to your head.
Feeling into your jaw.
Feeling into your tongue or your cheeks.
What does your face feel like?
Your mouth.
Nose.
Cheeks.
Eyes.
Forehead.
Your entire face.
And now opening the awareness to include the entire body again.
Lying or sitting here.
Being alive.
Breathing.
If you like,
Imagining to be breathing from the crown of your head all the way down into your toes.
And then breathing out,
Up and out again out of the crown of the head.
Noticing all the sensations of the body and allowing them to be just as they are in this moment.
Thank you very much.
.
Now inviting back in some movement into the body,
Like wiggling your fingers and toes,
Fluttering the eyelashes,
Stretching the body in any way it wants,
If that feels good.
And when you're ready in your own time,
Opening your eyes,
Coming back into a seated position if you've been lying down,
And taking a moment to reflect on your experience in this no moment.
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