Relaxing, Releasing Body Scan

In this meditation, we let the breath flow through all parts of the body from head to feet, softly releasing any stored tension into the space around us. It's a great practice for getting centered when you're stressed out, or for getting ready for sleep at the end of the day.

Transcript

So welcome.

Take whatever time you need to settle in.

Make sure your body's comfortable and you'll be able to sit for a little while.

And then starting at the top of your head,

Let your awareness just rest on the skin of your head.

And imagine that that skin could exhale.

That when you breathe out through your lungs,

Your head itself,

The top of your head can actually exhale also.

Maybe you can even imagine a little bit of steam curling up from the top of your head.

Your skin and the bone of your skull and your brain,

They soften and you exhale.

And a little bit of steam rises just out of the center of your head.

Then bring your awareness to between your eyebrows in the middle of your forehead.

And the same thing,

Feel everything soften and imagine a thin stream of steam pouring out from the center of your forehead.

And behind your ears,

The base of your skull,

Where your neck meets your skull.

And in front of your ears at the jaw joints.

Focus your attention right at the jaw joint where the two parts of your jaw come together right in front of your ear.

Move your jaw a little around left to right and then exhale and release.

And all the tension that's held in that space just pours out into the space around you.

Your eyes and the space under your eyes,

The skin under your eyes,

Behind your eyes.

Exhale and release all the tension from your eyes.

And then,

Focus on your teeth,

Your front top and bottom teeth.

And imagine the tension that's held in the bones of your teeth releasing.

And then,

Focus on your front jaw and bottom teeth.

And imagine the tension that's held in the bones of your teeth releasing.

I say imagine,

But I mean see,

Watch it happen,

Feel it happen.

Our imagination is an underutilized resource.

Your tongue,

The skin under your tongue,

The back of your tongue,

The root.

So it's not just about softening,

It's about experiencing the release of tension into the space around you.

And above your upper lip,

Just at the place where your two nostrils come together.

And you can focus on that spot and feel the breath pouring in and out.

Focus on the very specific sensation of the inhale passing over the place between your two nostrils and the exhale flowing out.

And anytime your mind gets distracted with a thought,

Bring it right back to the sensation,

The feeling of breath passing through the front of your nose.

And you can start to follow the breath down over the roof of your mouth,

Down the back of your throat,

Into your lungs.

So the sensation of breathing is from the tip of your nose all the way down into the bottom backs of your lungs.

The lungs like bellows opening to receive the breath and then squeezing to release,

Full of fluid,

Blood,

Pliable,

Soft,

Warm,

Rich.

And feel any tension that's held in the organs of your lungs,

The containers of your lungs,

Flow out when you exhale.

Every inhale is a drawing in a fresh nourishing breath.

Every exhale is a release of tension.

As your lungs expand and condense,

And as you release tension and holding from your lungs,

You can start to feel how the lungs press into your heart when they expand.

They cradle your heart.

They press into the muscles of your back,

And they're all the way down into the back of your lungs.

They're the muscles of your back,

Your upper back,

Mid back.

So as you inhale,

It can be like the lungs are collecting,

Pressing into your heart and your back and collecting any stored tension in those places.

And then when you exhale,

It all flows out.

Let your breath deepen if that's what wants to happen.

As the breath flows in and collects the tension in your upper torso,

And especially in your heart,

Any hardening,

Any holding,

Just let it flow out.

Just let them also flow out on the breath.

Let the breath fill your lungs like you're filling up a glass of water,

Pouring down into the bottom back lobes,

Rising up through the mid lobes,

And all the way to the top.

And at the top,

Let it gather up all the tension in your shoulders and your upper back,

And then exhale and release.

And then let it fill your lungs like you're filling up a glass of water,

Pouring down into the bottom back lobes,

And g blaling in that五 point nine in here,

Fresh air phase.

Let the breath also flow through your bottom back lungs and down into your lower back,

All the way down to your pelvis,

Gathering up any tension,

Especially in the hips,

In the back of the pelvis,

And then exhaling and releasing anything that's been stored there.

Down to the backs of your thighs.

And your mind doesn't really need to be involved until the breath knows how to go down there and excavate and find the tension,

Find the holding,

Soften everything,

And then gather up,

Gather up the tension and pour it out.

And then let the breath pour into your belly organs.

Every organ,

Your stomach,

Your small intestine,

Large intestine,

Liver,

You don't need to know where everything is,

Just that there's this collection of organs and they themselves hold,

They hold tension.

So as the breath flows in and moves throughout your belly organs,

Just feel it pouring and saturating and in between,

Around,

Embracing the organs,

Inviting them to soften,

Gathering up the tension and releasing.

Your in-breath pours all the way down the front of your pelvis,

The front of your thighs,

Gathering up tension and releasing with the exhale.

Into the bones of your upper leg,

Your femur bones,

Into the marrow of the bones,

Your knees,

Your lower legs,

Calves,

Shins,

Your feet.

And then imagine there's a vacuum in the center of the earth and it's drawing anything remaining in your body,

Anything that is ready to be released.

The surface layers of tension might reveal something deeper beneath and this vacuum in the center of the earth draws everything down into it.

Any holding,

Anything that's no longer needed in your body out through the soles of your feet.

So when you exhale,

You can feel yourself releasing both through the lungs,

Through the mouth and nose and also through the soles of your feet,

Letting go of any remaining holding.

Let go of any remaining holding.

From your brain,

Your heart,

Your muscles,

Your legs,

Let everything flow out.

And as you gradually start to transition to an outward consciousness,

Become more aware of the space around you and when you're ready,

Allow your eyes to open,

You can allow the process to continue and you can notice if there's a tendency to start to tense up again.

You can start to become aware of the patterns of holding and where they arise.

And as you gradually return to an outer awareness and start to move around,

Stay attentive to your body,

Stay attentive to your body,

And let go of any remaining holding that is not in your body.

And as you begin to move around,

Stay attentive to your body,

Stay attentive to the softness and the vitality of the body when it's not holding.

Thank you for joining me for this meditation.

May your day be blessed.

Reviews

Wow! A very different scan but so effective. Thank you 🙏

Very relaxing, I have never experienced releasing tension from the organs before so it was a great thing to learn. I also enjoyed releasing the tension through my feet and into a vacuum.

I loved the imagining of steam as a method of release. That was really unique. As well as the vacuum sucking away what remains.

Nice and calming meditation for the beginning of my day.. Thank you very much❤️🙏🏼