In any moment,
Awareness of physical sensations lets us stay in touch with what's going on in our bodies,
Our minds,
And around us.
When we notice physical signs of stress early,
We create a unique opportunity to handle stress before it takes over our mind.
We can build awareness of how we carry ourselves around other people.
Our body experiences emotion and allows us to manage our emotions with greater awareness and skill.
Whenever you notice yourself caught up in your mind,
You can,
With kindness,
Bring your attention back to whatever you notice in your body instead.
Begin your practice by focusing for a moment on your posture.
If you're seated in a chair,
Finding an upright posture that feels alert and awake,
Typically with your back slightly off the chair.
And if you're lying down,
Releasing,
Allowing your arms and legs to fall gently to the side,
Letting go of any sense of tension or tightness that you're able to release right now.
And even before we begin this body scan practice,
Seeing if you can bring your awareness to the feeling of your body touching the floor.
There may be a sense of pressure in your feet.
And if you're lying down,
There may be a sense of touching along the backs of your legs and arms and shoulders.
And now bringing your awareness into your feet,
Noticing any sense of touch or temperature,
Comfort or discomfort.
And with patience,
If your mind wanders,
Returning again to that physical sensation of your feet against the floor.
And then moving your awareness up next through your lower legs and knees.
And if there's a sense of tightness or tension that you can't release,
That's part of the practice as well,
Just noticing it,
Noting it,
And coming back to the practice.
And moving your awareness and attention now into your upper legs.
As with any mindfulness practice,
Your mind may remain quite busy.
That's all normal.
It's part of our lives and part of the practice itself.
The most important moment is the moment of awareness when you catch yourself and choose to return your awareness and intention to the practice again.
Moving your awareness next through the organs of your pelvis and into your belly.
You might notice in this part of your body the sensation of breathing.
You might notice sensations like being full or being hungry,
Comfort or discomfort.
And this is also a part of our body where we frequently notice reflections of emotion.
And then when you're ready,
Moving your awareness up into your chest and torso,
Noting again any sense of physical movement,
Any other physical sensations,
And noting any sense of emotion as well.
And if there is any sense of tightness or tension that you hold in this part of your body,
Taking the opportunity,
If it feels appropriate right now,
To relax it,
To release it a little,
And let go.
Next,
Moving your awareness to your lower back.
You might take a moment to check in with your posture.
You might notice,
Again,
That physical movement your body makes with each breath.
And moving your awareness now into your upper back,
A part of the body where many of us hold stress and tension and tightness.
So seeing if you can relax your upper back,
Perhaps drop your shoulders a little bit from your ears.
Our back is often a place that many of us carry discomfort of different kinds.
And with this body scan practice is an opportunity to explore how to live with this discomfort.
Sometimes if an uncomfortable sensation arises,
We can take that moment to observe it,
To let it be,
To see if it changes or passes us by if we leave it alone.
And at the same time,
If something arises that's uncomfortable that requires an adjustment,
That's fine too,
Practicing intention and care,
Pausing for a moment and making whatever adjustment you feel necessary.
And moving your awareness now into your hands.
No need to move them or do anything with them.
Relaxing them and letting go of any sense of over-effort.
And noticing any sense of touch,
Any sense of temperature,
Any sense of movement in your hands,
Any sense of movement such as the air in the room or outdoors.
And then moving your attention into your lower arms and then your upper arms.
Moving your awareness now into your shoulders and neck.
Moving your awareness now into your face.
Noticing perhaps your facial expression.
Relaxing areas that feel tight or tense if you're able.
And then bringing awareness to the entirety of your head.
And in the last few moments of our practice,
Expanding your awareness to the entirety of your body,
Noting whatever physical sensations feel most prominent right now,
Noting if sounds or emotions or thoughts call your attention away,
And then bringing your awareness back again to your physical experience in this moment.
Any moment we're paying attention to a physical sensation,
We're not lost in our thoughts.
We're aware of what's actually happening in our lives.
It's a moment of self-awareness and self-care that's available each time we come back to ourselves in this way.
So as you bring your practice to a close,
Perhaps setting an intention to bring this type of awareness and care to the remainder of your day.
