We will now do a body scan meditation.
First,
Find a posture that is comfortable for you.
One that is both grounded and stable.
Now close the eyes,
Or gaze softly at the ground with the eyes slightly open.
Next,
Take a few deep breaths.
Watching the air enter and leave your body.
Watching the air go in,
And out.
Now,
Release any obvious tension in the body,
Allowing your body to be at ease.
Now,
Starting at the top of your head,
See if you notice any sensations there.
Does it feel hot?
Cold?
Do you feel pressure?
Tightness?
Tingling or prickliness?
Maybe you feel the touch of your hair on your head.
Maybe throbbing.
Whatever sensation is there,
Just notice it.
And if you don't feel anything at all,
Just notice that.
Now,
Moving down to the forehead.
Maybe you can feel a slight breeze.
If you release tension,
Maybe you can feel the after effects of that.
Now down to the nose.
Feeling the air enter and leave your nostril.
Now down to our lips.
Perhaps feeling the lips touching one another.
We can often feel the air of our breathing on the top of the lip as well.
Now down to your chin.
And to the back of your head.
Remembering that if we can't feel anything,
That's okay.
Just bring the intention to notice the back of the head.
And down to the neck,
The back of the neck.
And if you feel pain,
Just notice it like any other sensation.
No need to fix it.
Just notice it.
Now to the front of our neck.
Feeling our throat.
Down to the shoulders.
Perhaps feeling the weight of our clothes resting on our shoulders.
Or the touch of our clothes up against our skin.
Moving down to our upper arms.
Down to our forearms.
Then noticing our hands.
Notice what touch they can feel.
Perhaps our hands feeling the touch of each other.
And again,
Does it feel hot or cold?
Do you feel throbbing?
Pressure?
Tightness?
Or tingling?
Just notice it and accept it.
Now moving back up to our chest.
Perhaps feeling our chest expand and contract as we breathe.
Maybe noticing our heartbeat,
If we can feel it.
Down to our stomach.
Letting it soften if it's tense.
Now moving to our back.
Perhaps also feeling our back expand and contract with our breath.
Down to our butt and our pelvic area.
Perhaps now feeling the pressure of the seat.
As you notice the sensations,
Perhaps notice how they change.
Maybe they come and go.
Maybe they move around.
Now moving down to our legs.
Again,
Releasing any tension we might be having.
Down to our knees.
And any sensation we feel at all.
Just being accepting and noticing it.
Now down to our shins and calves.
Down to our feet.
Depending on how we're sitting,
Maybe feeling the pressure of the ground on our feet.
Now feel the whole body sitting.
See if you can bring all the sensations into your consciousness.
And just notice yourself sitting.
Not focusing on any sensation in particular.
And if the thoughts are pulling you away,
Just noticing that and bringing yourself back to sitting.
Now just sit in this expansive awareness for the remainder of the practice.
Just sitting.
