Welcome to the short body scan.
It can be really nice to do this practice lying down,
But you may prefer to be sitting in a chair,
So whatever feels right for you today.
I'm taking a couple of moments to ensure that you're as comfortable as possible,
Pulling in any blankets or cushions or anything else you need.
And the purpose of this practice is to help you connect more with the body.
So we'll scan the body from the toes to the head,
And the invitation is to follow this guidance lightly without too much effort.
And at any point during this practice,
If something doesn't feel right for you,
You can choose to pull back from the practice,
Or you could direct your attention outward.
For example,
You could rest your attention on sounds for a couple of moments,
And then when you feel ready,
You can come back into the practice.
So gently easing into the body,
Making sure the spine is aligned,
The feet can be restful,
The arms can be long and heavy,
The shoulders can be soft,
The face can be soft.
You may like to keep the eyes open with a soft gaze,
Or you could gently close your eyes,
And allow the eyes and the forehead to be soft and restful.
So taking some breaths in whatever way you choose,
Whatever feels natural for your body,
Not having to try too hard.
And you might be able to sense the feeling of the in-breath,
The rise of the chest and the belly,
And then inviting a feeling of relaxation and letting go with the out-breath.
And as we do this practice,
You may notice that your attention will wander off from time to time.
You may get lost in thought,
And when this happens,
You simply just need to notice that your mind has wandered off,
And very gently and very slowly bring it back to the practice.
The essence of this practice is about developing a kind connection with yourself and your experience,
Whatever that may be.
So allowing the attention to wander down the body,
Down the length of the body,
All the way down to the toes of the left foot and the toes of the right foot.
Seeing if there are any sensations present there right now.
Maybe the feeling of clothing against the skin.
Just checking in to see whatever sensations might be there or not there right now.
And then bringing the awareness into the rest of the feet.
So the soles,
Including the arches,
The tops of the feet and the ankles.
And from the ankles into the lower legs,
Right up to the knees,
Knee caps,
And the crease of the back of the left knee and the back of the right knee.
And then into the thighs,
The left thigh and the right thigh.
And up into the hips and the pelvic region.
Into the belly.
Noticing any sensations.
And if you can,
Making room for whatever it is you might be experiencing right now.
Moving into the chest region.
The rising and falling of the ribcage with each breath.
The lungs and the beating heart.
Just checking in to see if there are any sensations present in this part of the body right now.
It's an area where we can hold a lot of emotions or worries or concerns.
So being gentle with whatever we notice.
Not having to fix or change anything.
And then moving the attention into the shoulders.
And then down into the arms.
Past the elbows.
Down towards the wrists.
Right down into the hands.
All the way down to the fingertips.
The left hand and the right hand.
And as the hands are restful,
Maybe enjoying the sense of not having to do anything right now.
Simply lying here and connecting with the body.
And with these hands.
And from here we can start to move the attention towards the neck and the throat.
Another area of the body where we can hold some tension.
So again being easy with that.
Moving into the back of the head.
The top of the head.
Down into the forehead.
Eyebrows.
Down into the eyes.
The nose.
The cheeks of the face.
The lips.
The inside of the mouth.
The jaw.
And then out to the ears.
And then opening up the awareness to take in the whole of the face area.
And the whole of the head.
Neck and the shoulders.
Arms and the hands.
The back.
Including the spine.
The chest and the belly.
The pelvic region.
The thighs,
The knees,
The lower legs,
The ankles,
The feet.
And right back down to the toes.
And then allowing all these body parts to blend into one.
One body lying or sitting here.
Connected to the surface beneath you.
The flow of the breath in and out of the body.
Simply lying here for these final few moments.
Nowhere to go.
Nothing to do.
Simply being here with the body and the mind as one.
And as we draw this practice to a close,
You may like to stay as you are.
Or you could start to bring some movement into the body.
So whatever you'd like to do right now.
Thank you.
