Mindful Minutes: Body Scan For Centering & Relaxation

This is an introduction to body a scan mediation that can be use to help us get centered at times of stress, It can also invite relaxation, ease tension in specific parts of our body or to help us get and stay grounded. Our bodies, like our breath, can be invaluable tools in reminding us of who and where we are in this moment. I hope this can serve your needs at this time.

Transcript

Welcome to the Guided Body Scan Meditation.

This meditation is intended to help you enter a very deep state of relaxation.

It's best if you can manage to stay awake throughout the entire exercise.

And it's important to remember to not try to relax.

This will just create tension.

What you'll be doing instead is becoming aware of each passing moment and just accepting what is happening within you,

Seeing it as it is.

Let go of the tendency of wanting things to be different from how they are right now and allow things to be exactly as you find them.

Just watch the activity of your mind,

Letting go of judgmental,

Critical thoughts when they arise and just doing what the exercise guides you to do as best you can,

Knowing that at this moment,

In this time,

This is your best,

Whatever it looks like.

No judgment,

No criticism,

Just allowing it to be.

Let's begin.

Want you to sit down in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor.

Make sure it's a private place where you won't be interrupted and that you dress comfortably,

That allow you to sit comfortably for a period of time.

I invite you to close your eyes and let your arms rest gently with your hands laying flat on your thighs,

Your feet firmly on the ground and slowly,

I want you to bring your attention to the fact that you are breathing,

Not trying to control your breath in any way,

But simply experiencing it as the air moves in and out of your body and noticing your abdomen and feeling the sensations there as your breath comes in your body and your abdomen gently expands.

Then noticing your belly deflate as the breath comes out of your body and following the rhythmic movement of each breath,

The rising of your belly on the in breath and on each out breath,

Just letting go,

Letting your body become heavy as it sinks a little bit deeper into relaxation.

Just bringing your full attention to each breath in each moment.

Let's breathe together.

Let's breathe in.

Let's breathe in.

Let's breathe out.

Now,

Bring your attention to your feet and becoming aware of whatever sensations are there.

If you are registering a blank as you tune in,

Then just experience nothing.

And as you breathe in,

Imagine your breath moving all the way down to your feet.

And then when you reach your feet,

Begin your out breath and let it move all the way up through your body and out your nose so that you're breathing in from your nose and breathing out from your feet.

And when you're ready,

Letting your feet dissolve in your mind's eye and becoming aware of the shins and the calf muscles and all the sensations in the lower legs,

Not just on the surface,

But right down into the bones and experiencing and accepting what you feel here and now and breathing into it and then breathing out from it and letting go of your lower legs as you relax further into the chair in which you're sitting and moving now into your thighs.

And if there's any tension,

Any tension at all,

Just noticing that breathing in and out from your thighs and letting your thighs dissolve and relax.

Shift your attention now to your pelvis from one hip to the other and noticing that your buttocks are in contact with the chair and the sensations of contact and weight becoming aware of this region and whatever sensations or lack of sensations that you are experiencing and directing your breath down into your pelvis,

Breathing the entirety of your pelvis as you breathe in and out,

Moving the breath back up through your body and then out through your nose,

Letting your pelvis soften and release all the tension as you sink even deeper into a state of relaxed awareness and stillness,

Totally present in this moment and the moment of every breath content to just be,

To be just as you are right here and right now.

Direct your attention now to your lower back and just experiencing your back as it is,

Letting your breath penetrate and move into every part of your lower back,

On the in-breath and on the out-breath,

Just letting any tension,

Any tightness,

Any holding on just flow out as much as it will and then letting go of your lower back and moving up into your upper back now.

Just feeling the sensations in your upper back,

You may even feel your ribcage in back as well as in front.

Expand on your in-breath and any tightness,

Fatigue,

Discomfort in this part of your body,

Just letting them dissolve and move out with the out-breath as you let go and sink even deeper into relaxation and stillness.

And now shifting your attention to your belly once again and experiencing the rising and falling of your belly as you breathe,

Feeling the movements of your diaphragm,

That umbrella like muscle that separates your belly from your chest and experiencing the chest as it expands on the in-breath and deflates on the out-breath.

And if you can,

Tune in to the rhythmic beating of your heart within your chest,

Feeling it if you can,

As well as the lungs expanding on either side of your heart,

Just experiencing your chest,

Your belly as you sit there,

The muscles on your chest wall,

The breasts,

The entirety of the front of your body,

And now just letting this reach and dissolve into relaxation.

Moving your attention now to your fingertips,

To both hands,

Together just becoming aware of any sensations now in the tips of your fingers and thumbs where you may feel some pulsations from blood flow,

A dampness or a warmth or whatever it is that you feel,

Just feeling your fingers and expand your awareness to include the palms of your hands and the backs of your hands and your wrists.

And here again,

Picking up the pulsations of your arteries and wrists as the blood flows to and from your hands and becoming aware as well of the forearms and the elbows,

Any and all sensations,

Regardless of what they are,

Allowing the field of your awareness to include now the upper arms right up to your shoulders,

Just experiencing your shoulders and if there are any tensions,

Breathing into your shoulders and arms and letting the tension dissolve as you breathe out.

Letting go of the tension and letting go of your arms all the way down from your fingertips right up through your shoulders and as you sink even deeper into a state of relaxed awareness,

Just being present in each moment,

Letting go of whatever thoughts come up,

Whatever impulses to move and just experience yourself in this moment.

And now focus your attention on your neck and throat and feel this part of your body experiencing what it feels like perhaps when you swallow and when you breathe and then letting it go,

Letting it relax and dissolve in your mind's eye,

Becoming aware of your face now,

Focusing on your jaw and chin and just experiencing them as they are.

Becoming aware of your lips and your mouth and becoming aware of your cheeks and your nose,

Feeling the breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils and to be aware of your eyes and the entire region around your eyes and eyelids and if there's any tension,

Letting it leave as the breath leaves and now the forehead,

Letting it soften to let go of any stored emotions and the temples and if you have any sense of emotion associated with the tension or feelings in the face,

Just being aware of that.

Breathing in and letting the face dissolve into relaxation and stillness and now become aware of your ears and back and top of your head.

Now letting your whole face and head relax for now just letting it be as it is,

Letting it be still and neutral,

Relaxed and at peace.

Now letting your breath move through your entire body in whatever way feels natural for you through the entire length of your body,

All your muscles in a deep state of relaxation and your mind simply aware of this energy,

Of this flow of breath,

Experiencing your entire body breathing,

Sinking deeper and deeper into a state of stillness and deep relaxation.

Allow yourself to feel whole in touch with your essential self,

Your authentic self in a realm of silence,

Of stillness,

Of peace and of acceptance and see that this stillness is in itself healing and allowing the world,

The world around you to be as it is beyond your personal fears and concerns,

Beyond the tendencies of your mind to want everything to be a certain way,

Seeing yourself as complete,

As whole,

Right as you are in this moment as totally awake right now and noticing everything but allowing it all to relax and as this exercise comes to a conclusion,

I want you to bring your awareness back to your body again,

Feeling your entire body,

You may want to wiggle your toes or your fingers and allow this calmness,

This centeredness to remain with you when you move.

Now I want you to congratulate yourself on having taken the time,

The time to nourish,

The time to heal,

The time to care for yourself in this way and remember that this state of relaxation,

This clarity that you're feeling is accessible to you by simply paying attention to your breath in any moment,

No matter what's happening in your day,

Let your breath be a source of constant strength and energy for you because our breath enables us to wake up,

Wake up to the pure potentiality of every moment,

The miracle that we are,

The living breathing miracle that we are just the very fact that you are able to breathe is a miracle,

Let alone this amazing world which you're breathing into and in spite of whatever else may be going on,

The miracle exists,

Now I'd like you to open your eyes and have an amazing day.