This is David Naj.
Welcome to this body scan.
Coming to rest,
Lying on your back,
On a padded surface on the floor or on your bed.
Making sure that you're lying in a position that is most comfortable for you.
Perhaps with support under the knees or head.
Arms rested at your sides but not touching the body.
Palms facing upward if that's comfortable for you.
And with your feet fully relaxed,
Falling away from each other.
If you find that lying on your back is difficult,
Then lying in whatever posture works best for you.
Or even changing your posture if you need throughout the practice.
But just keeping in mind your awareness of what's happening in each moment.
And keeping in mind that the body scan is an invitation to fall awake into awareness rather than to fall asleep no matter how relaxed or drowsy you become.
If you have trouble staying awake,
Feel free to practice with your eyes open.
Bringing your self intentionally into this presence with an open mind and heart.
And following along with the instructions and guidance as best you can.
But keeping in mind that what's most important is not necessarily what I'm saying,
But your awareness of what you're experiencing in every moment.
Even in moments difficult or unpleasant sensations,
Thoughts or emotions arise.
Actually especially in those moments,
Trying to just embrace the experience as it is without judgment or reaction.
Just being open to whatever comes your way.
So as best you can,
Just letting go of the tendency we all have to want things to be different from how they are right now.
And allow things to be exactly as you find them.
Allowing yourself to be exactly who you are in this time set aside entirely for you.
Treat it as an opportunity to be by yourself and with yourself.
Fully seeing if you can allow it to be a nourishing time,
A time you deserve to give yourself some positive energy and attention.
And using my instructions for guidance as best you can,
Just watch over your body and the activity of your mind as we go along.
Letting go of judgmental or critical thoughts in particular.
And just following the guidance as best you can and being aware of how you feel.
Remember that there's no right or wrong way to feel as you're going through the practice.
Just the way you're feeling is the way you're feeling right now.
Just accepting it,
Giving yourself permission to feel what you're already feeling.
Whatever it is.
Seeing if it's possible for you to stay in your own experience of what's unfolding moment by moment in your body and in your heart and mind.
Even as you follow along with my directions.
So let's begin now by bringing your attention to a sense of your body as a whole.
Lying here however it is in this moment.
Keeping in mind that from the perspective of mindfulness,
As long as you're breathing,
There's more right with you than wrong with you.
No matter the condition of your body and its history.
And no matter what you may be facing in this moment.
So right now as you lie here,
Feeling the sensations of contact in all those places that your body is being supported by the surface beneath you.
Feeling how the air surrounds your body and slightly touches the skin as it moves throughout the room.
And in the form of the breath as it moves through the body.
Slowly bringing your attention to the breath.
Feeling the natural rhythmic movement as it flows in and out effortlessly.
Riding on waves of the breath sensations.
Perhaps at the stomach which rises and falls with each in breath and with each out breath.
Perhaps at the nostrils.
Wherever the feeling of the breath is most vivid for you.
And as we lie here,
Seeing if it's possible to open to and rest in awareness of the body as a whole.
Breathing moment to moment and breath by breath.
Feeling the body melt deeper and deeper into the mat with every out breath.
As all the muscles in your body let go.
Noticing if there are times when the mind wanders or is carried away by thought.
And in those moments noticing what's on your mind and just gently bringing your attention back to the breath into the body lying here.
As the body scan unfolds just keep in mind that it's the nature of the mind to wander and to think.
So while it's bound to happen it's not a sign that you're doing anything incorrectly.
Just without judgment recognizing when our mind has wandered and gently bringing it back to the focus area.
Now when you feel ready to letting go of the body as a whole and shifting the focus of our attention to the toes of the left foot.
Bringing them to focus in the field of our awareness.
Taking a moment to really tune into them.
Perhaps distinguishing each toe from all the others.
Bring a gentle interested curiosity to the various sensations you may find here.
Perhaps a sense of contact between the toes where they're touching.
Or a sense of coolness or warmth.
Or slight tingling or numbness.
Whatever the particular sensations are is not important.
But just feeling your toes as they are.
And that might include no sensations at all if that's your experience.
And then being aware as well of whether you're experiencing the sensations or lack of sensations as pleasant or unpleasant.
And also being aware of any emotional reactions that may arise.
Whether it be aversion,
Impatience,
Boredom,
Or judgment of yourself or others.
Allowing all of this to just be observed in your awareness moment by moment as we lie here.
Without having to do anything at all.
Just being present with what's unfolding.
Continually coming back to the toes themselves.
And as we lie here attending to the toes of the left foot.
Seeing if you can feel or imagine the breath entering your lungs.
And then in one in breath passing all the way down the body to the left leg and into the toes of the left foot.
And on the exhale seeing if you can feel or imagine the breath coming all the way back up from the toes through the foot and the leg and the torso and out through the nose.
And now when you're ready taking in a slow deep or intentional breath right down to the toes.
Cradling it for a moment or two.
And then on the out breath as the breath lets go.
Letting go of the toes.
Watching them dissolve in our mind's eye as we gently shift the focus of our attention to the bottom of the left foot.
The soul in the instep.
And to the heel in contact with the surface of the floor.
Aware of any sensations or lack of sensations.
Just as we were with the toes.
And breathing in and out from this region of the body.
Moment by moment as we lie here.
And bringing the mind back now if it's been carried away by thought to this region of our left heel.
And now when you're ready breathing right down into the bottom of the left foot.
And on the out breath letting go of it.
As the breath releases shifting our attention to the top of the foot and ankle.
To sensations on the surface.
And right down into the bones and joints of the foot.
And opening to whatever sensations we're experiencing in the region.
Moment by moment.
And breath by breath.
And when you're ready on an out breath letting go of the entire foot now.
As we drop into a deeper stillness and awareness.
And shift our attention to the region of the left lower leg.
The shin in front.
The calf in the back.
On the surface.
And deep within.
Opening to any sensations that are here.
Bringing our awareness to this region of the body.
Allowing it to just be as it is.
However it is.
As we rest here in full awareness.
Accepting whatever we're feeling.
Breathing with our feelings.
Moment by moment by moment.
And when you're ready here too on an out breath.
Letting go as you come to focus your attention now on your left knee.
Opening to any sensations.
Breathing with the knee as it is.
Feeling the kneecap.
The sides of the knee.
And the back of the knee.
And on an out breath when you're ready.
Letting go of the knee as we move into the region of the left upper leg.
The thigh all the way up to the groin on the inside.
And the left hip on the outside.
Feeling this entire region and whatever sensations arise.
Just feeling them moment by moment.
And when you're ready taking a deep breath down into the thigh.
And then on the out breath letting go here too.
As our awareness shifts now to the toes of the right foot.
Noticing how readily our attention can pull to the other leg and foot.
And as we do without even wiggling the toes just opening to whatever is already present.
Breathing into any discomfort or sensations.
And on an out breath once again.
Letting go as we move into the region of the bottom of the right foot.
And this time let's also include the top of the right foot and the ankle.
Breathing with the whole of the right foot moment by moment.
However it is.
Tuning into whatever is here to be felt.
Keeping our awareness as best we can in this region of the body.
As we lie here breathing.
And again when you're ready on the out breath.
Letting go of the whole of the right foot as we shift our awareness to the right lower leg.
And let's include the knee as well.
Allowing our awareness to fill this region of the body.
Tuning to whatever sensations arise as we lie here.
And once again on an out breath letting go here too.
As the breath lets go.
Watching the right lower leg and knee dissolve in the mind's eye as we move into the region above the knee.
The right upper leg and thigh.
Tuning into whatever is here with your awareness in the entire area from above the right knee up to the right hip on the outside and the groin on the inside.
Any sensations at all being as precise as you can in keeping your attention on them.
Whether they're heaviness lightness or warmth.
And when you're ready breathing into the right thigh and on the out breath letting go here too.
As we move now into the region of the pelvis.
Aware of the hips,
The groin,
The buttocks.
All in contact with the surface beneath you.
Keeping the entire region in awareness.
And staying in touch with whatever sensations or lack of sensations we're experiencing.
And when you're ready on your next exhale letting go of the entire pelvic region.
Just watching it soften and release as you sink even deeper into stillness and awareness.
Really present in each moment.
Content to just be right here as you are right now.
And let's direct our attention to the lower back being a region that can be prone to tension.
And just breathing with whatever sensations arise as we tune into the lower back.
Letting the breath fill the entire region.
Allowing whatever sensations we're experiencing just to be as they are.
Holding them in your awareness.
Letting any tension or tightness,
Any intense sensations to just be included and invite it to flow out with the out breath to the extent that it will.
And as you breathe out just letting go of the lower back now.
Moving into the region of the belly and the sides of the lower torso.
Right up to the bottom of the rib cage all around.
Feeling the belly rising with each in breath and falling back towards the spine with each out breath.
In touch with any sensations in this region.
Releasing any thoughts or emotions that might be arising and passing as we rest here in awareness.
Moment by moment and breath by breath.
And now when you're ready to take a slow deep or intentional breath in and feeling it fill the entirety of your abdomen and sides.
Cradling it there for just a moment.
And letting it out.
As the breath dissolves into the air.
Feeling this region of the body to dissolve in the mind's eye.
As we bring our awareness now to the region of the upper torso.
The rib cage in the chest.
Housing the heart and the lungs.
Chest wall.
The upper back.
Shoulder blades.
Collar bones.
Shoulders.
Just breathing in and out with any sensations in this region of the body.
Perhaps seeing if you can bring your awareness to the heart beating in the chest.
And feel the rib cage expanding and contracting as the lungs fill with air on each in breath.
Release it with each out breath.
Releasing any sensations of contraction or tension that may have accumulated in this region.
And any thoughts or emotions that might also be arising and passing as we linger here.
And when you're ready taking in a long slow and more intentional breath.
Cradling it here for a moment in the lungs.
Feeling the rib cage expanding all around and back as well as in front and on the sides.
And now letting the breath release.
And as the breath lets go noticing what happens as the mind lets go of this region of the body as well.
As we now bring our attention to focus in on our hands.
Which we'll do both at the same time.
Feeling the sensations in the fingers and in the thumbs.
The palms and the backs of our hands.
And now including the wrists and the forearms and the elbows.
The upper arms and the armpits and the shoulders.
Feeling our entire hands and arms from the tips of the fingers up to the shoulders.
Moment by moment by moment as we lie here.
And when you're ready once again on an out breath.
Just letting go of the hands now and the arms and shoulders as the breath lets go and as we drop deeper and deeper into awareness itself.
Just being present in each timeless moment as best you can.
Letting go of whatever thoughts that come up or impulses to move.
Just experiencing yourself lying here resting in awareness.
As we move now into the region of the neck and throat.
Opening to whatever is here to be felt.
This region along with the lower back and the shoulders is yet another one in which tension and stress tend to build up.
So perhaps being aware of any tension or fatigue as well as other sensations.
Including any sensations in the throat.
And just resting with this entire region in awareness as it is.
Moment by moment and breath by breath.
And when you're ready here too on an out breath.
Letting go now of the neck and the throat.
Letting them dissolve as we move into the region of the head and face.
Another region that stores tension over the course of the day.
Experiencing it as it is in this moment.
Perhaps feeling the place where the back of the head is in contact with the surface beneath you.
And feeling your entire face.
Allowing it to be at rest as it is.
Feeling the touch of air around you.
Sensing perhaps the breath moving in and out.
Past the gateways of the nostrils.
The sensations in the chin and the jaw.
The lips.
The mouth.
The teeth.
The tongue.
Your nose.
And cheeks.
And ears.
Including an awareness of whatever sounds may be coming into the ears.
Now to the region of the eyes.
The eyelids.
The eyebrows.
The space between the eyebrows.
The forehead.
The temples.
The entirety of the scalp and cranium.
Allowing awareness to hold and embrace.
The hold of your face and head.
Just as they are in this moment.
Breathing with them.
Cradling them in awareness as we lie here moment by moment.
Recognizing as well as we've been doing any thoughts or emotions that might be moving through the mind like clouds in the sky.
And when you're ready taking a slow,
Deep,
More intentional breath in.
Right into the hole of your face and head.
And on the out-breath letting go of this region of the body as well.
Watching it to dissolve into stillness.
Into a natural peacefulness as the breath lets go.
And as the mind itself lets go too.
And now we come to a rest in awareness itself.
An awareness that we can invite to once again hold the whole body.
From the toes and the bottoms of the feet.
Right up through the legs and torso.
Through the hands and arms.
Through the shoulders and neck and face.
And all the way up to the top of the head.
Embracing the entire body as we find it.
However it is in this moment.
And just resting now in awareness and stillness.
This deep inner silence and wakefulness.
As we lie here complete just as we are.
Whole just as we are.
In touch with our essential completeness and wellbeing.
Knowing our limitations are not confining.
Open to things just as they are.
And seeing the disorientation to experience this stillness.
And this awareness is itself profoundly healing.
And so as this practice comes to its conclusion.
And we open once again to the inner self.
And to the world around us.
You might want to take a moment to congratulate yourself.
Having made the time to nurture yourself in this way.
And keeping in mind that this awareness is portable.
And that it's always as close as your breath in this moment.
Perhaps over time you may find that the mindfulness you're cultivating here spills over naturally from this guided practice into other aspects of your day and life.
And so resting here now as long as you like in silence and stillness.
Until the bells ring.
Allowing your awareness to hold onto the sound.
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