Welcome to this body scan meditation.
It is a guided meditation to explore different sensations in your body without judgment.
Starting from your feet to the top of the head,
You will scan different areas.
If you are experiencing any pain,
Stiffness,
Discomfort in any areas of your body,
You may circle that area gently with your attention.
If it is too difficult,
This is a reminder that you can always return your attention to your breath or another anchor such as any sounds,
Or the chair or the ground underneath you.
So let's begin by starting with some deep breaths.
As you begin to settle,
You may close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Let's take a deep breath in,
Hold at the top,
And exhale fully.
One more deep breath in,
Hold and out.
One more deep breath in through the nose or mouth,
Hold and out slowly all the way.
And now returning our breath to its natural rhythm and starting our attention from the feet.
Noticing whatever is here,
If there is any itchiness,
Tingling,
Maybe different temperature,
Just noticing what's there and trying not to judge it in any way.
And now we will breathe in through the nose and imagining sending the breath from the nose all the way down the body into the feet.
And with each out breath,
Imagining your feet getting heavier.
And breathing into and out of the feet,
If you may imagine doing that.
And on the next out breath,
Gently moving our attention up to the calves,
The knees,
And the thighs.
Noticing whatever is here,
If there is any tightness,
Any discomfort,
Just noticing any sensations that are lying here.
Perhaps you might not feel anything at all and that is also okay.
And for the next few moments,
Pretending that we are sending our breath from the nose through our lungs all the way down to our legs,
Our knees,
Calves,
And imagining breathing into the legs and then breathing out from the legs.
And now moving our attention up to the low back and pelvis.
Noticing any physical sensations that you are feeling here.
And with each out breath,
As you exhale,
Letting any tension melt away that might be here.
If you feel any pain or discomfort in these areas,
Just circling that area with your attention.
And just being with that sensation for a little bit if you can.
And a reminder that you can always return to your breath if you are experiencing increasing discomfort or pain.
And now moving our attention up to the mid-back,
To the upper back,
To the shoulder blades.
Just noticing whatever might be here.
And then gently moving our attention to the front,
To the belly,
And the chest.
And spending some time here to notice how the breath expands the chest and the stomach as you breathe in.
And noticing how the stomach relaxes and contracts as you breathe out.
In and out.
And gently moving our attention now up to the heart region.
And noticing if you can feel your heart beat.
And with the next breath,
Moving our attention up to the shoulders and the neck.
Noticing if there is any rigidity here.
Any holding,
Any tension.
And with each breath,
Perhaps just letting the tension roll off the shoulders.
Just letting the tension melt away a little.
And now moving our attention down both arms.
Down the shoulders to the elbows.
From the elbows to the wrists,
Into the hands and the fingers.
Noticing any temperature changes,
Any tingling,
Any numbness.
Trying not to change the sensations in any way.
Trying not to judge the sensations in any way.
With each breath,
Just letting the hands and the arms get heavy with each out breath.
And when you are ready,
Moving the attention to the top of the head now.
And down to the forehead,
The eyebrows.
Noticing if your jaws are clenched.
And noticing if there is any tension in the rest of your face muscles.
And just letting the tension melt in each of these areas as you breathe.
And for the next few breaths,
Bringing your attention to your nose and your nostrils.
Noticing the air coming in and going out.
In and out.
And now expanding your attention to the entire body.
And feeling the natural rhythm of the breath as it moves through the body.
Letting the body feel heavy but also relaxed.
And now taking one deep breath as this practice comes to an end.
And out.
Noticing now how your entire body feels as a whole.
Perhaps lighter,
Perhaps heavier,
Perhaps cooler,
Relaxed,
More tense.
Whatever the case,
Reminding yourself that you have just used the last 10 minutes to take care of your body and mind.
And setting the intention to use this practice whenever the body feels tense or when the mind feels overwhelmed.
Now you may gently return to this room.
