This is a brief body scan.
Settling into the posture that you have chosen either seated or lying on the floor and becoming aware of the body and the contact that it makes with the surface.
Exploring sensations of contact,
Pressure,
Allowing gravity to take the weight of your body and now inviting you to bring your awareness to the breath deep in the belly.
So shifting the awareness into the belly,
Feeling the gentle rise and fall as the belly expands on the in-breath and gently deflates letting go on the out-breath.
Perhaps placing a hand on the belly if this helps you to keep your focus here for a few moments.
So in this body scan practice we'll be sweeping the attention through different areas in the body and the intention is simply to be with sensations,
With kindly curiosity towards whatever is here.
Not needing to change our experience in any way.
But at any time if what I'm inviting you to do isn't right for you then making a choice about how to best respond and at any time you can bring the attention back to the breath,
To the anchor of the breath breathing itself.
Inviting you now to bring the attention all the way down into the feet,
The toes of both feet.
Exploring the sensations in the toes and the spaces between the toes.
Noticing sensations of tingling,
Warmth or coolness.
Exploring in a kindly way with sensations or acknowledging no sensation here.
And if you choose to now inviting you to breathe into the toes as if on the in-breath you could guide the attention all the way down,
Filling all of the toes of both feet,
Breathing out from them on the out-breath.
And then letting go and shifting the awareness to include the soles of the feet,
The balls of the feet and all the way around to the tops of the feet and all the many bones and tendons that are contained here.
So that you're inhabiting your feet with awareness.
Gently exploring sensations as you find them here.
Sensations on the inside and the outside of the feet.
Opening to the life that's already here.
Again on the in-breath,
Breathing in all the way down into the feet,
Filling them with a kindly breath and releasing on the out-breath.
And as you do this,
Shifting the awareness to the ankles and the lower legs.
Opening to sensations here,
Calf muscles,
The shins.
Exploring what's here with a kindly curiosity.
Again now on the in-breath,
Breathing into the lower legs and the ankles,
Breathing out from them on the out-breath.
Once again letting go and shifting the awareness to the knees.
What sensations do you notice here?
The kneecaps,
Space behind the knees.
Perhaps no sensation.
Simply registering your experience however it is in this moment.
And if your mind leaves the body,
Perhaps gets lost in thinking,
Judging.
Will you become aware of an emotion such as boredom,
Restlessness,
Agitation or even pleasant daydreams?
Remembering that this isn't a mistake.
That it's in our mind's nature to wander.
So being interested in where the mind goes to and then gently escorting it back to wherever the guidance is.
So for now in the knees.
Perhaps inviting you now to breathe into the knees and out from them on the out-breath.
Seeing if you can allow your experience to be however it is in this moment.
Being held in a kindly awareness.
And then perhaps on a deeper breath letting go and shifting the awareness to the thighs.
This large muscle.
The bones here.
The space around the thighs.
Perhaps where they make contact with the surface that you're sitting or lying on.
Registering what's here.
Breathing into the thighs on an in-breath.
Filling them with awareness.
And breathing out from them on the out-breath.
And then letting go and shifting this awareness now to the pelvic region.
To the bottom and the sitting bones.
And all the organs that are contained here.
Filling this region of the body with a kindly awareness.
Opening and allowing any and all sensations to be known in awareness.
Breathing in now to this region of the body.
Breathing out and letting go on the out-breath.
And shifting the awareness now to the belly.
Perhaps spending a few moments now noticing the breath.
Breathing deep down in the belly.
Once again becoming aware of the gentle ballooning and falling away as the body breathes itself.
Perhaps also becoming aware of any sensations of hunger or fullness.
Then inviting you to sweep the attention around to the back of the lower part of the trunk.
To the lower back.
Noticing areas of contact.
Any sensations here.
Meeting them with a kindly awareness.
Being interested in sensations.
With a beginner's mind.
A region of the body which for many people is a source of pain or discomfort.
And inviting you to breathe with these sensations.
So now breathing into the lower back on the in-breath and releasing on the out-breath.
Shifting the awareness now to the middle section of the trunk.
The rib cage.
All the way around to the back.
The organs that are contained here.
Important work being done.
Registring whatever sensations are here.
And if you're very still perhaps even noticing the beating of the heart.
Breathing in,
Filling this region of the body with awareness.
Releasing and letting go on the out-breath and shifting now to the top section of the trunk.
The breastbone.
The chest.
Including the shoulders.
All the way around the back.
Feeling free to let go of any tension that you become aware of.
And exploring sensations here.
Breathing in,
Filling this region of the body on the in-breath and releasing on the out-breath.
And as you do this moving the awareness now down through the upper arms,
The elbows,
The lower arms,
The wrists.
Filling the hands with awareness.
And opening to the sensations here as you find them.
Any sense of aliveness in the arms.
Perhaps softening as you do this.
Sensations of contact or pressure where your hands are resting and your lap are along the floor or the surface that you're lying on.
Inviting you to really inhabit the arms.
Sensations on the inside and the outside.
And then breathing in if you choose to on the in-breath.
Filling the arms with awareness.
An awareness that's kindly and releasing on the out-breath.
And as you do this shifting now to the throat,
The neck,
Supporting our heavy head.
Noticing any sensations here.
Part of the body receiving the air and the food.
Being curious about any and all sensations.
Perhaps expanding now around the top of the head,
Around the scalp,
All the way round through to the face.
All the parts of the head which receive information from the world and enable us to communicate with each other.
Including the obvious places like the eyes and the ears,
The mouth and the nose.
But also being curious about places we may often miss such as the eyelids,
The cheeks and inside the mouth.
Allowing the tongue to rest soft in the mouth.
Softening through the head as you bring a kindly awareness to sensation.
And as we reach the end of this short body scan inviting you now to expand the awareness to include the body as a whole once again seated or lying.
Perhaps tracing the envelope of the skin.
Aware of contact and the ground beneath you supporting.
Resting in an awareness of this body,
Whole,
Complete.
Aware of the body breathing.
Body breathing itself.
So as we reach the end of this practice just taking a moment to offer yourself some way of appreciating perhaps even congratulating for spending time in this way.
