Welcome to this body scan meditation practice.
I invite you to find a comfortable position lying down,
Although this practice certainly can be done sitting in a chair or even standing.
But my instructions will be assuming that you are lying down.
Find a suitable support for your head if you need,
Maybe putting a towel or pillow under your knees if that helps you to be comfortable and settled for this practice.
Letting your arms rest by your side if that's comfortable.
And taking a few easy deep breaths as a way to bring mind and body together for this practice.
Each exhale breath washing over you,
Offering relaxation and a sense of being settled for the practice.
This body scan meditation is a survey through the body.
It offers an opportunity to get to know the body a little better and maybe even to become friends with the body.
As we go through the body,
For you there may be body parts that are missing or have a history of injury or are currently healing or in the middle of a challenge.
When we get to those parts,
Use your discernment as to whether or not to take the opportunity to explore that part of the body or to bring your awareness to another body part at that time.
If at any time you need to adjust your position,
Just do so with awareness and intention.
We'll begin by bringing our spotlight of focus and awareness to the feet.
Bringing your awareness to your right foot and your left foot.
Just noticing any sensations that there might be in either your right foot or your left foot.
Checking the bottoms of the feet,
The tops of the feet,
The heel and the toes.
Just noticing what they feel like.
Perhaps they're warm or cold,
Dry or moist or tingly or maybe there's not much of any sensations coming from your feet and that's no problem at all.
Just noticing that there's not much to feel right now.
Bringing awareness to your feet,
Feeling the feet.
And bringing your awareness to your ankles,
Be considering deep within the joint,
The bones that come together that form the ankle.
Feeling into the muscles and connective tissues of the ankle joint and the skin that overlies the joint.
What do your ankles feel like today?
And feeling your lower legs.
Bringing your awareness to the bones and muscles of the lower legs and the skin that overlies.
Noticing any sensations or noticing that there's not much to feel.
Feel the contact of the leg on the floor or the clothing or blanket you may have touching your lower legs.
And bringing awareness to your knees.
Focusing the bones that come together to form your knee,
Feeling the back and sides and top of the knee and the kneecap on the right and on the left.
Noticing any sensations.
What is the felt sense of your knees?
Then shifting your spotlight of awareness to the thighs.
Noticing your right thigh and your left thigh.
Imagining the large femur bone in each thigh and the muscles that connect your leg to the pelvis.
Muscles on the back of the thigh,
The outside of the thigh,
The inner thigh and the top of the thigh.
Feeling into these large muscle groups,
Noticing any sensations.
Noticing the skin of the thighs.
Noticing the weight of your thigh on the floor or mat or the contact of clothing or a blanket.
And from the thighs,
Bringing your awareness into the hip joints on the right side and the left side and then to the pelvis.
Feeling that ring of bone if you're lying down,
The weight of your body will be felt at the back of the pelvis at the sacrum.
Feeling the buttocks and the gluteal muscles.
Bringing awareness to the region of the groin and pelvic floor and genitals.
As well,
Awareness to the organs that live within the pelvis of reproduction and elimination.
Feeling into the whole region of the pelvis and the pelvic bowl.
From the pelvis moving to bring your awareness to the region of your low back or lumbar spine.
It's certainly a part of the body for whom many of us have had injury or at some time some soreness or tension.
How is the back feeling today?
Imagining the bones of your back and the connective tissues that connect the bones together and the muscles of the low back.
Bringing this low back into your attention.
Your low back then moving around to the front of the body and bringing awareness to the region of your belly.
Feeling into the abdominal cavity,
Noticing sensations or feelings coming from the organs of digestion within your abdomen.
As well,
Bringing awareness to the muscles of the abdominal wall and the skin that overlies those muscles.
During this body scan practice,
If at any time you find your mind wandering away from these words of guidance through your body,
It's no problem just as with any other practice,
Simply come back to the body part we're exploring.
As well,
Sometimes sleepiness can be an issue during a body scan practice and it is certainly your option to fall asleep.
But if you choose to stay awake,
Some strategies can include opening your eyes,
Bringing a little more energy to the body,
Or even lifting your arm up off the floor.
But coming back to the body scan,
Leaving now the belly and abdominal region and returning to exploring the spine now of the mid and upper back.
Feeling the vertebrae of your mid and upper back,
Maybe noticing how they contact the floor or mat that you're lying on.
Bringing awareness to the muscles and ligaments and tendons of the mid and upper back.
And as well,
Feeling into the rib cage.
Feeling the rib cage move with breathing,
Imagining these bones and the muscles that connect the ribs together.
Just letting your awareness then land on the heart and lungs that live within the rib cage.
Feeling the breathing,
Maybe you can hear your heartbeat.
Bringing awareness to these automatic functions that are there for us all day,
Every day.
And then letting your awareness land on the outside of the chest,
Feeling your shoulder blades,
Sternum,
Breast tissue,
And the skin that overlies the chest.
Then letting your awareness land on your shoulders,
Feeling into your right shoulder and left shoulder,
Imagining the bones coming together to form the joint and the muscles that surround the joint,
The skin overlying.
Noticing how your shoulders feel right now.
Then feeling your upper arms,
Bone and muscles and skin of the upper arm.
Then feeling your elbow joints and forearms.
Bringing awareness to your wrists and hands,
Feeling the palm of the hand on the right and the left and the back of the hand on the right and the left.
And feeling your fingers,
Maybe you can bring awareness and feel each finger without moving from.
Bringing back up the arms,
Bringing awareness to your neck,
Feeling the bones and muscles,
Connective tissue,
Windpipe and esophagus and great vessels in the neck.
Then feeling your head,
Feeling the scalp,
Feeling your head rest on the pillow or mat.
Bringing awareness to the face,
Feeling your forehead,
Eyes and their eye sockets,
Feeling the nose and nasal passages,
Feeling your ears and cheeks,
Feeling your jaw,
Feeling the chin and lips and mouth.
Then widening our spotlight of awareness to now include the whole head and the neck,
And including the shoulders and the chest,
Arms,
Including the belly and pelvis and the two legs.
Feeling now the whole body,
Imagining as you breathe in that the air you breathe in travels into the chest and then makes its way down the arms to the fingertips,
Down your body and legs to your toes,
Up your neck to your head.
And as you breathe out,
The air you breathe out comes from the toes,
Travels to your body center from your fingers,
Travels to body center and from your head,
Travels to body center to be exhaled or breathed out.
Breathing in to the whole body and breathing out from the whole body.
And as you breathe out,
The air you breathe in travels to your body center from your toes to your chest and then makes its way down the arms to the fingertips,
Down your
