Welcome to the X-Ray practice or body scan.
The aim here is simply to become aware of what's happening in different parts of the body in succession.
We're not trying to change anything that's happening.
We're not particularly trying to relax.
We're simply becoming aware of what's happening,
Accepting the sensations and allowing the body to fall into its natural state,
Supported by regular natural rhythms of breathing.
So coming to sit,
Aware of the feet flat on the floor,
Your weight supported by the seat,
Resting your hands where they are neutral,
Comfortable on the knees or in the lap,
Sitting upright,
Purposeful but not to attention.
Breathing through the nose,
Simply lowering your gaze or closing your eyes altogether.
Just settling attention for a few moments on your breathing.
Where are the sensations that tell you about each breath coming in and going out?
In the nose and the head,
In the chest,
The abdomen,
The back,
Wherever it feels natural for you,
That this is your breath happening.
Not trying to change the breath.
Just observing what happens.
Whenever the mind is distracted by thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions,
Accepting these,
Not trying to fight them or push them away,
And very gently bringing your attention and focus back to the sensations of breathing.
Taking that attention that's been focused on the breath,
And shifting it as though shining a spotlight to the top of the head,
The very top of the scalp and asking yourself,
What can I feel there?
The answer may be nothing at all.
And that's fine,
There's no requirement to create or conjure up sensations.
But there may be something there,
Temperature,
Tingling,
Which comes or goes simply because you've placed your attention on that part of the body.
Just observing that coming or going.
And then moving the spotlight down to the forehead and the eyebrows and the eyelids,
And asking those questions,
What can I feel here?
Is there effort or relaxation?
I feel temperature,
Movement,
Sensations in the skin.
Are the eyelids lying at rest or am I holding them close?
Just noticing what changes.
Moving a focus again to the nose,
The nostrils,
Feeling the air coming in and out,
The teeth and the jaws.
Just feeling what the body is doing without intervention.
Are the teeth pressed together or slightly apart?
How are you aware of the tongue,
Back of the throat,
The hinge of the jaw,
Any tension?
Not trying to change anything.
Simply observing what's there.
Shifting focus again to the throat,
The neck,
And the shoulders.
Feeling any tension there.
Feeling how it changes.
Noticing perhaps how just on an out breath,
Any tension or discomfort naturally softens.
Shifting focus again to the upper arms,
To the long bones and long muscles in the upper arms.
Whether these are tight or relaxed.
Any little movements or vibrations.
Also the surface of the skin.
What can you feel there?
Moving down to the elbows,
Forearms.
Aware of what you can feel in the wrists and the hands.
Feeling one hand and then the other?
Or two hands together?
Do they feel different?
Feeling the fingers,
Perhaps each individual finger.
Almost the spaces between the fingers.
Are the fingers curled or straight?
Clenched or relaxed?
The chest and the back and the abdomen.
Just checking in with the breath again,
Each breath.
In its own way,
Just coming in and going out.
Feeling the lower back,
The hips.
Your weight in the chair.
The sensations that tell you you're being supported.
The knees.
Again,
Long bones and long muscles.
Maybe under tension,
Maybe relaxed.
The knee joints.
What can you feel there?
Are they at rest or shifting slightly as the body moves with the breath?
Moving the spotlight again to the shins and the calves.
Lots of nerves in the skin on the surface of the shins.
Perhaps feel the temperature or a tingling.
Or nothing at all,
Again.
There's no obligation to feel anything.
Just what's actually there.
The muscles in the calves.
Tight or relaxed.
Into the ankles and the feet.
One foot at a time.
Feeling both feet together.
Toes.
Clenched or straight.
Feeling the ground through the soles of the feet,
The heel,
The ball of the foot.
What can you feel there?
Then just expanding the awareness out to the whole body.
Aware of the places where there are still strong sensations and where there are not.
Sensing where your edges are.
Where do you begin and end now?
Just feeling the whole body fill with breath.
And then empty again.
Two or three times.
Just expanding the awareness out from the body to the room.
The temperature of the room.
The sounds.
The light.
And in your own time,
Just raising your gaze or opening your eyes.
And completing the practice.
