Body Scan As An Offering To The Body, Mind, And Heart

In this mindfulness meditation, practice we will be guiding our attention and awareness throughout the body. We will use the breath as an offering to any areas of the body that require more care and warmth.

Transcript

So let's get started and let's get in a comfortable position, Whether you would like to practice sitting down or lying down. If you're sitting down, Allowing your spine to be straight, But not rigid, Just straight and off so that you can be alert throughout the practice. If you're sitting cross-legged, I always like to suggest perhaps using a pillow under your sit bones so that it lifts your hips and it releases some of the pressure from your knees. If you're sitting on a chair, I would also recommend that your feet are touching the ground. If they're not touching the ground, You can always use a pillow under your feet so that you feel like you have support under your feet. And as we get comfortable and we settle in here, Allowing the hands to rest on your legs or by the side of the body, Facing up or down, Whatever you feel like it's needed for you today to feel comfortable. I always like to think of this part of the practice as an honoring of whatever the body is asking us for. So just listening to what is comfortable right here and honoring that by making any adjustments needed. And if you would like to practice with your eyes closed today, You can go ahead and float them closed. If you prefer to practice with your eyes open, Just holding a soft gaze throughout the practice. And to settle in and arrive here, Let's take three deep breaths through the nose. Taking a deep breath through the nose, Hold for a couple seconds and let it out the mouth. Take a deep breath through the nose, Hold, Let it out the mouth. One more time, Deep breath through the nose, Hold and let it out the mouth. Noticing as the body settles in here, As the weight of the body comes in contact too, With the chair, With the cushion, With the ground, Allowing ourselves to be present in this moment, Realizing that we're showing up for this moment of connection with ourselves, With our bodies, With our minds, With our hearts. In today's practice, We're going to be doing a body scan. And as we explore from top to bottom our bodies, I like to think of this practice as an offering, An offering to the body, A practice of care, Attention, And love. As we explore the body, Perhaps we may encounter parts that feel tight, Stiff, Tender. Perhaps we may encounter some pain. The invitation here is to remain open, To cultivate that nonjudgmental lens. And perhaps we may use the breath throughout the practice as an offering to these parts that need attention. So as we encounter them, As we take a breath, Perhaps we may see how the breath wraps around these parts of the body, Leaving behind the sense of warmth, Care, And attention. And perhaps our exhalation can be an invitation to soften, To release, To surrender. So bringing our attention to the crown of the head, Observing as we explore the body, Any sensation, Any feeling, Any feeling tone. Perhaps we may notice that some parts feel neutral. Some others may feel pleasant and others unpleasant. So bringing the attention towards the crown of the head, The forehead, The eyebrows, The eyes, The nose, The cheeks, The mouth, The teeth, The jaw, The ears, The back of the head, Observing any facial expression, Noticing if we're holding the jaw, Crowning the eyebrows, Simply noticing as we explore, As we pay attention and care, Lowering the attention towards the neck, The throat, The shoulders, The arms. We tend to hold tightness here, Contraction, The shoulders carry weight, The throat constrains or opens up and allows us to use our voice. Every single part of our body allows us to experience a gift and to give a gift. Sending our breath to every single part of the body, Specifically here as our attention rests on the shoulders, Throat, The neck, And the arms, Allowing the attention and the breath to serve as a warm hug, Allowing the shoulders to soften, The throat to soften, Bringing the attention down to the chest, The rib cage, The abdomen area, Allowing the attention to wrap around towards the upper back, Waist, And lower back. So many things happen here, Noticing perhaps as the breath moves this area, Sensing the expansion and contraction, Remembering that anything that arises, Can we be open, Can we be curious, Can we use the breath as an offering before we explore the lower body, Bringing our attention towards our elbows, Our forearms, And our hands and fingers. Noticing perhaps a sense of stability here as the hands rest on the legs or the chair, Maybe even noticing a subtle pulsation at the tip of the fingers, Tingling, The aliveness of the body present here. If at any point you feel like sending thoughts of gratitude, Of care, Of appreciation to any part of the body, Allowing that to flow, Allowing that to express, If at any point it becomes uncomfortable, Always remembering that the breath, It's a safe home base. If difficult emotions arise, You can always come back to the breath following the inhalation and exhalation. Otherwise, Resting the attention in every part that we're exploring, Bringing our attention now towards the hips, The sit bones, The pelvis, The tights, The hamstrings, Realizing that there is a sense of support as this part of the body comes in contact to the ground and the earth, Perhaps noticing if we're holding tightness here, Can we invite a little bit of softening, Even 1%, Floating the attention down towards the knees, Back of the knees, The calves, The chins, The ankles, Feet, The toes, Noticing as the feet or perhaps the lower part of the legs are rooted in this moment, Allowing you to be here, Supported, Balanced, Stable. And before we conclude our practice, I wanna invite you to, On your own, Do a quick scan from top to bottom and see if there's any part of the body that perhaps needs just a little bit more attention, More care, More warmth, More love. Is there any part of the body that you feel like sending thoughts of gratitude, Appreciation? These thoughts of appreciation can be as simple as saying, Thank you, Thank you, Body, For everything you do, And inviting a mindful breath to the body, Allowing mindful movement, Perhaps your neck, Moving it side to side, Moving the toes and the fingers, And slowly, On your own time, Floating open the eyes whenever you're ready.