Hello and welcome to this Mind With Heart guided audio practice entitled Body Scan.
And in particular with this body scan today,
What we'll be focusing on is our body's natural ability to restore itself.
So sort of giving the body a chance to boost its immune system,
To revitalize,
Recharge,
Refresh.
It's almost like the body knows how to do that,
How to be healthy and how to have a strong immune system,
If we simply give it the chance to do so.
So this body scan is with the intention to let the body boost its own immune system and refresh and restore its health.
So just getting comfortable now in lying down on the back in what's sometimes called Shavasana or corpse position.
With the back straight and the legs outstretched with the legs a little bit apart and the feet falling out to the sides.
The arms also straight,
Out straight and again a little bit away from the body,
Palms up.
Just so we get a sense of openness in the chest.
And then with each out breath just relaxing more and more deeply.
Letting the muscles and bones give themselves away to gravity,
Releasing any tension.
And as with all mindfulness exercises,
What we're doing here is cultivating three qualities of mind.
Relaxation,
Stability and clarity.
And this starts with relaxation.
So the body scan is really a wonderful exercise to recharge the body,
Recharge the mind,
Starting with relaxation.
And again the art,
Especially as we're lying down,
Is as we relax more and more deeply with each out breath,
Not losing the clarity that we have already.
And again as with all mindfulness exercises,
We select just one of the senses on which to place our attention.
And this has the effect of stabilizing,
Simplifying,
Settling the mind.
Just giving it one thing to do.
So with the body scan,
Let's focus on the sense of touch or otherwise called physical sensations or bodily sensations.
Just right now then connecting in with physical sensations in the space of the body.
So these could be heat,
Temperature,
Or a sense of contact and solidity,
For example where the body touches what's underneath it.
Or it could be a background sense of tingling or buzzing,
Maybe in the soles of the feet or the forehead.
So to start with,
As we're lying in corpse position,
Body still and breathing naturally,
Maybe with the mouth slightly open,
Breathing out through the mouth.
And the mind placing attention on physical sensations in the space of the body,
Wherever they arise,
Can help to keep your eyes half open.
So here we're not inventing or trying to have any new physical sensations.
We're simply witnessing or noticing sensations which are already arising in the space of the body.
And now beginning the body scan more formally,
Seeing if we can notice any physical sensations at the very crown of the head,
Shining the spotlight of our awareness,
The crown of the head,
Noticing if there's any,
Maybe some very subtle tingling.
And now moving this spotlight of awareness down through the body.
So first of all,
Just down to the forehead,
And around the eyes,
The eyes themselves,
And then down the face,
Temples,
Cheeks,
Nose,
Upper lip,
Down through the mouth,
To the chin,
And then back through the head,
Towards the neck,
Down the neck and throat,
To the shoulders.
Now maybe that you are getting in the mind's eye a sort of map of the body,
Like a mental image.
And this is actually an extra layer of thinking that we don't really need.
So let go of that and let's see if we can just reconnect back in with the direct experience of physical sensations.
That sense of solidity or pressure or contact,
Temperature,
Of any subtle movement of buzzing or tingling.
And then moving down the left arm from the shoulder,
To the elbow,
Wrist,
Hand and fingers,
And then jumping this spotlight of awareness over to the right hand,
And back up the arm from the hand and wrist,
To the elbow,
Shoulder,
And then from the upper torso gradually moving down the torso,
But also front to back,
So front of the torso through to the back,
Noticing any sensations or absence of sensations,
And then the heart area,
And then moving down to the belly,
Witnessing any physical sensations that are connected with our breathing,
And again moving through to the back,
And now going down the left leg,
So starting with the left hip and buttock,
Down the thigh to the knee,
And again like all mindfulness exercises if you get distracted,
Either by thinking or by some sensory input from sights or sounds,
Then just letting that distraction go and replacing attention on the left knee,
And then moving down the shin or calf to the heel,
And the sole of the left foot,
And toes even,
And then back up to the right hip and doing the same thing moving down the right leg,
So hip,
Right buttock,
Down the thigh to the knee,
And just as maybe before we were getting distracted by thinking,
Likewise if we're getting a little bit dull or sleepy as we relax,
Then just yes continuing to relax more and more,
But also not losing that clarity,
So just reawakening our interest in physical sensations,
Noticing,
You could even say with curiosity the different sensations in the knee,
Down the calf,
Shin to the heel,
Ankle and heel,
Sole of the right foot,
And even the toes,
And now,
Widening out our focus to include as at the beginning the whole of the body,
Noticing physical sensations wherever they arise throughout the space of the body,
The body knows how to heal itself,
How to restore itself,
The breathing,
The body knows how to breathe without us getting in the way,
So just remaining relaxed,
Clear,
Witnessing sensations in the body,
And now letting go to complete this exercise,
Letting go of all method or effort or directing our attention,
Just completely releasing,
The body completely released with no tension,
And also the mind,
Completely open,
Released,
Free in this present moment,
Relaxed,
Stable,
And clear,
Right here,
Right now,
And that's the end of this body scan,
So very gently in your own time,
Turning over onto your right side,
Gradually pushing yourself up to a seated position,
Noticing any sense of restoration or refreshment or recharge,
And as we move off into the rest of the day,
Seeing whether we can bring some of this relaxation,
Stability and clarity into our actions and into our relationships with others.
