So this practice is a body scan,
And it's a good practice just for getting back in touch with your body,
The physical sensations of your body,
Because then we can feel our body,
Then we learn how to feel how life impacts us on a physical level,
And we tend to make better choices when we can really feel and embody how life is impacting us in this way.
So finding a comfortable seat,
Or you can do this lying down also,
And gently closing the eyes,
And if you're not comfortable with having your eyes closed,
You can just gaze softly downward,
Gaze at a fixed point in the distance,
Or even gaze at a candle,
The flickering flame of a candle.
And then just before you start,
In your own time,
Taking three deep breaths.
So breathing in slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Breathing in fresh energy,
Oxygen,
Life force.
And as you breathe out,
Letting go of the day,
Letting go of your thoughts,
And just really arriving in your body,
Three deep.
And we're going to go through different body parts,
So I'll label a body part,
And when I label that body part,
Bring your awareness to that part.
And if you can't really feel it,
You can just picture it,
Imagine it,
Or even place a hand there if that's supportive,
And then you'll move on to the next body part,
And the next,
And the next.
So just allowing your awareness to move throughout your body.
So beginning by bringing your awareness to your toes,
Noticing any sensations around your toes,
The space between the toes,
Perhaps,
And your feet,
Just any sensations around your feet,
The soles of the feet,
The tops of the feet,
The space between the soles of the feet and the tops of the feet,
Maybe noticing the contact between the feet and the ground,
Or whatever surface they're on,
The feeling of socks or shoes,
Any sensations around your feet,
Coming to your ankles,
The space and sensations of your ankles,
The part of the body that connects the feet to the legs,
Coming to the lower half of the legs,
So the calves,
The shins,
Just all that space between the calves and the shins.
Maybe it's a feeling of clothing,
A temperature,
Hot or cold,
A tingling.
Maybe it's a numbness.
And if you really can't feel them,
Just visualize them,
Picture where they are,
Or even place a hand on them.
The lower half of your legs.
And now the knees,
The fronts of your knees,
The backs of your knees,
Any sensations around your knees,
All the space,
That inner space of your knees.
Your thighs,
The different parts of your thighs feel different.
A chair,
A bed,
A floor.
Maybe your hands are resting on your legs,
Your thighs.
Maybe there's some contact between your thighs,
Your thighs touch.
Just noticing any sensations around your thighs and the pelvis,
The pelvic area.
And if you do find your mind drifting,
That's totally okay.
Just whenever you notice a thought,
Letting it go and coming back,
Back to the body,
Back to the breath,
Back to the present moment.
As you come to the lower half of your torso,
So the belly and the lower back.
Maybe the space,
All that internal space between the belly and the lower back.
And there might even be a slight movement around the belly or lower body,
Breathing.
The ribcage,
The chest,
Upper back,
All that space,
That internal space where the lungs are inside the ribcage.
Just noticing any sensations around the chest,
The upper back,
The ribcage,
The sides of the ribcage even.
And again,
There might be a little movement here as the body breathes.
And the shoulders,
Tops of the shoulders,
Fronts of the shoulders,
Backs of the shoulders,
And the armpits.
Any sensations around the shoulders and armpits.
And then the upper arms,
Just the sensations around your upper arms,
Elbows,
Inner elbow and the outer elbow.
And the space between your inner elbow and your outer elbow.
Forearms,
Any sensations around your forearms.
And if you can't feel them,
You can picture them.
Or bringing your hands to rest on your forearms.
The wrists,
Your wrists,
Part of the body that connects your arms to your hands.
And then bringing your awareness to your hands,
Any sensations around your hands.
Tingling,
Hot,
The backs of the hands.
Maybe the palms of the hands and the backs of the hands feel different.
Maybe they feel the same.
Just noticing,
Observing,
Witnessing.
Just experiencing your hands,
Your fingers.
Any sensations around your fingers.
And maybe even becoming aware of the space between your fingers.
Chin,
Lips,
Teeth,
Gums,
Cheeks,
Ears,
Your inner ear and your outer ear.
Nose,
Eyes,
The eyelids and the eyeballs,
The eyebrows,
The forehead,
The crown of the head,
The top of the head.
And then just experiencing the whole of the head,
All of your head,
All the sensations around your head and face.
And then expanding that awareness to encompass your whole body.
And all the different sensations around your body.
Experiencing your body as if it's this landscape of sensations.
Of tingling,
Of hot or cold,
Between the body and the chair or the floor or the bed.
Experience of clothing on your skin.
Experience of air on your skin.
Maybe you feel your awareness drawn to a particular body part and just allowing your awareness to go there to focus in on one body part.
And then when it's ready,
Just drifting away again.
Maybe onto another one.
Or maybe just experiencing the body as a whole.
Just this big sea of different sensations,
Experiences.
Just this experience of being alive.
And then feeling free to remain here for however long you wish.
Otherwise,
Whenever you're ready,
Gently opening your eyes to the rest of your day.
