Body scan.
This meditation is best done lying down,
But it can also be done from a seated position.
If you're lying,
Just make sure that your legs are uncrossed,
Your arms are gently resting by your sides,
Or you can place your hands on your belly if that's what you prefer.
If you're seated,
Just make sure that your feet are firmly on the ground,
Your spine is nice and tall but not stiff,
Shoulders nice and relaxed,
And your arms are gently resting by your sides or placed in your lap.
So we'll begin by scanning from our head all the way down to our toes.
You may find it easier to imagine a beam of light,
Focusing on each part of our body as we scan through.
So if you'd like to gently close your eyes or lower your gaze,
Whatever's most comfortable,
We'll begin by taking a few deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth in your own time.
And when you're ready,
Just bring your breath back to its normal rhythm.
I'd like you to focus your attention to the top of your head,
Noticing any sensations that you might be feeling.
The back of your head,
And round to the front of your forehead.
Are you frowning or is it relaxed?
And noticing your eyes,
Nice and soft,
Down into the cheekbones,
Your ears,
Your jaws,
Are they relaxed or clenched?
Your tongue,
Is it gently resting in the base of your mouth?
How does that feel?
Your chin,
And down through your neck,
The back of your neck.
We tend to hold a bit of tension here,
So if you'd like you can take a nice deep breath and as you breathe out,
Gently deepen that relaxation and feel the tension just melt away.
Take your attention to your shoulders,
The shoulder blades,
Down into the arms,
The upper arms,
Into the elbows,
The forearms,
The wrists.
And the hands,
The backs of the hands,
The palms of the hands.
Maybe you can feel that your hands are warm or cool or maybe a little bit clammy.
And then just notice how that feels.
Have you got any tingling in your fingers?
Take your attention to the tips of your fingers.
And then we're going to go back up through the hands,
The wrists,
Lower our eyes,
Lower arms,
Upper arms,
Into the shoulders again,
And into the chest.
What can you feel here?
Can you feel your heartbeat?
Around to the top of your back,
Down into the ribs.
Can you feel your ribs expanding as you breathe in and contracting as you breathe out?
And down into the belly.
Again,
Sensations of feeling your belly rise and fall if your hands are placed on your belly.
Can you notice the contact that your hands are making against your stomach?
And take that focus of attention down into your pelvis,
Round to your sitting bones,
Noticing the contact of whatever is supporting you right now.
You may want to sink a little deeper into the seat or the sofa or the bed.
Maybe you found that your mind has wondered,
What are you thinking about?
Just notice and then gently encourage it back to the area that you're focusing on,
The sensations that you're feeling.
And take that attention or that beam of light to the tops of your legs,
The thighs,
The backs of the legs,
Into your knees.
Some of you may be experiencing a little bit of discomfort here,
Just noticing how that feels.
We'll go down to the lower part of the leg,
The front of the legs,
The back of the legs,
Into the ankles,
Round into the heels,
The soles of the feet.
Maybe you can notice if your feet are touching the floor or in some shoes,
What does that feel like?
The tops of the feet,
And then the toes,
The big toe,
All the way through down to the little toe.
Again,
As your mind wondered,
Just gently encourage it back to my voice,
Or whatever we're focusing on right now.
I'd like you to now broaden your awareness to your whole body,
Your whole body breathing,
Taking in that nourishing breath.
How does that feel?
Maybe take a moment here to encourage a little bit more relaxation,
Take a couple of deep breaths,
And as you breathe out,
Just sink a little deeper.
And slowly,
I'd like you to notice the sounds around you,
Become aware of the room that you're in,
And the sounds just a little bit further away.
Start to wriggle your toes,
Fingers,
Move and stretch your body in whichever way it wants to.
And before you open your eyes,
If they're closed,
Just take a moment to notice how your whole body's feeling.
Give yourself a little bit of gratitude for taking this time to calm the mind and body.
Thank you.
