Body Scan Meditation

Sitting up or lying down body scan meditation. Good for grounding, presence, relaxation, focus, and sleep. Basic instructions: bring gentle awareness to different areas of the body. When the mind wanders into the past, future, judgments, etc. Simply, bring it back to the body.

Transcript

Welcome to this body scan meditation. Let's first begin by finding a comfortable place to lie down, Whether on a carpet in your home or on a yoga mat. Any of these are accessible to you. Although if lying down is not in your best interest at the moment, Of course you can do this sitting cross-legged on a cushion or sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. If you're lying on the floor, Your hands can just be to your sides, Palms can be face down or face up, The feet falling away from each other. Feeling the body here lying on the earth, Noticing the contact points of the head on the ground, Your upper back, Middle of the back. Seeing the space between the floor and your lower back. Contact points of the buttocks on the ground, Legs, Heels. So the invitation for this meditation is to pay attention to different areas of the body in a kind of a scan or a body sweep, Which I'll guide you through in a somewhat detailed fashion. The idea is that we place a simple, Gentle awareness, Even a kind of curiosity, Building this awareness, Cultivating this awareness of our body. This can have profound implications on our mental and physical well-being just by taking a break from living above our shoulders, So to speak, And excessive thinking and thought. But we don't have to get so stuck in any kind of goal-oriented or results-oriented mindset here. Simply trusting the practice and trusting that being in the present moment and awareness of our body is actually good for us. So first connecting with our breath and guiding the breath deep into the belly, Breathing out through our mouth, Breathing in, Letting our entire belly fill up with air, Expanding and deflating. Another deep breath in through the nose, Out through the mouth. Doing the same deep breath, But this time expanding more so in the chest region of the body. A couple of these. Now allowing both our chest and our belly region to expand with a deep inhalation, A long exhalation. And then bring our breath back to normal, Just a natural breathing and pace. And though our intention is to be aware of different body parts, Just know that you can always come back to your breath if you find your mind wandering too much or you find yourself lost in thought. You can come back to a couple, Maybe two or three deep breaths and then come back to the meditation and my guiding of you through the body. It can be helpful to close your eyes if you haven't done that already. It's not mandatory, But it can be helpful in dropping into the feelings in the body. And first bring awareness to our big left toe. Realizing the padding of the toe and the toenail. What sensations are here? And then our second toe. And the third toe. Of course not trying to make anything happen. If there's a lack of sensation you're feeling, That's okay. You can be aware of that too. Feeling the fourth toe. And the pinky toe. And noticing all five toes at the same time. And so other parts of the foot and the bottom of the foot and the top. Noticing the heel. And no, We're not thinking about these parts of our body. We don't even have to be visualizing or picturing them in our mind. But just being aware of them through the sensations we feel. Whether it's tingling or itching or pulsing or coolness or warmth or the feeling of socks or clothes we may be wearing. Awareness of the left ankle now. And the left lower leg. The shin region, The calf. Feeling the left knee, The kneecap, The back of the knee. You can bring awareness to the surface level of the skin. Where the clothes touch the body or where the body is touching the ground. You can also become aware of deeper in the body, The bones, The musculature, The tendons, Ligaments, The blood. Of course not as a way to promote thinking at all, But just an awareness that it's there and that it's part of us and it's part of this body and it's all working together. Now the left thigh. This relatively larger region, Musculature here, The long femur bone. How is the thigh right now? This is also a practice in acknowledging and accepting. We're not trying to make the body feel a certain way, Just being open to whatever arises. And bringing awareness down to the right foot. The big right toe. Maybe similar to the left toe, Maybe not. Either way is fine. And the second toe. The third toe. And the fourth toe. Pinky toe on the right foot. Sometimes it can help to just do the ever so slightest wiggle of the toes if you're having difficulty feeling them. So we want to remain in relative stillness as much as we can. And then the bottom of the foot, The top of the foot, The sides, The heel. Awareness of the bones also perhaps. Understanding how hard these feet work for us throughout the day. And the right ankle and the right lower leg. The calf, The shin. Also noticing the mind's tendency to have reactions or to have kind of judgmental criticism or commentary about different parts of our body. Of course these are just thoughts, They're not helping us in the meditation, But just noticing those, Noticing those external thoughts. And saying a polite, No thank you. Not right now, I'm taking this time for me. Letting those thoughts go. And the right knee now. The back of the knee and the kneecap and the patella. And the right upper leg. Quadriceps and the hamstring and the sides of the right thigh. Seeing the femur bone all the way up toward the hip. And shifting awareness to the pelvic region of the body, The groin area, The genital region, Pelvic bowl, These intricate internal organs as well in the lower part of the abdomen. Noticing the buttocks. And exercising this ability of non-judgment and bare attention. And noticing the abdomen region. Perhaps a bit more accessible, Feeling the rise and fall of the belly as you breathe. The upper abdomen region too and the sides. And now the chest region, The pectoral muscles, The sternum. This protective ribcage we have. And then bringing awareness to our heart region. Bringing awareness of the lungs. These internal organs. Going through the body so to speak to our upper back. Seeing its contact point with the floor. Perhaps the ever so subtle movements that are occurring in the synchronicity with the breath. And the middle of the back and the lower back. And coming back up to our left shoulder and the left upper arm. This long bone from our shoulder to our elbow. And the crook of our elbow also down to our forearm. To the left wrist. And the left hand and the palm, The back of the hand, Each individual finger. And quite a bit of sensory receptors here in the fingertips and the palm. Really at any point during this meditation you can ask yourself, What is here now? Just being open to whatever may come up. Tingling, Itching, Pulsing, Pressure, Coolness, Warmth. Not necessarily needing to label them, But just being there with whatever comes up. Noticing even the fingernails and the tips of the fingers. The intricacies of the bones and the wrists and the fingers of the hand. Coming back up to the right shoulder and the right upper arm. So again ask yourself, What's here now? And the forearm. And the right wrist and the hand. Bringing awareness to it with a sense of beginner's mind. As if this was the very first time you'd experienced having hands. What might your curiosity be like then? Kind of opening of the mind. Kind of keen awareness. And interest, Natural interest in what is happening here. What is this? And this appendage from the palm of the hand and the inside of the fingers. The feelings of the back of the hand. And coming back up to the neck area, The front of the neck and the back of the neck and the sides. Perhaps noticing the passage of air through the throat as you breathe. And noticing the chin and the jawbone on both sides. Seeing the lips and the teeth, The tongue, Feeling the nose, Both eyes, The space in between the eyes and the forehead. Knowing any possible points of tightness or tension to soften and relax. And feeling both cheeks. And feeling the sensations through the left ear, The outer rim of the ear, The inside of it as you can. And also feeling the right ear, The earlobe and the top of the ear. And feeling the back of the head. Perhaps feeling the pressure, Its contact with the floor. And the sides of the head and the top of the head, Throughout the entire scalp region. And feeling the entire skull area, The face, The head, Lips, The chin, The jaw, Holding this in gentle awareness. As we come back down through the body, In larger, Larger regions of the body now, The neck and the shoulders. Both arms, Both elbows and forearms and hands. And feeling the chest region and the belly region, The pelvic area. Feeling both thighs and knees, And the lower legs, And both feet. And expanding this awareness once more to the entire body. From the top of the head to the tips of the toes. Noticing the quality of our awareness and the quality of our body right now. Making note of any differences that may be there from the beginning of this session. Giving your body away to the gravity of the earth. And simply resting here, Dropping any instructions other than just being with what is right now. Perhaps reconnecting with the breath if you haven't done that yet. And as you transition out of this meditation and begin to open your eyes, Becoming aware of the body's tendency perhaps to move quickly, Just applying some subtle movements through the toes, Subtle movements of the fingers. Feeling particularly mindful of the way the body begins to move out of this resting position. Or maybe you just want to stay resting here a little bit longer. Completely up to you. And just finishing with a simple thank you to yourself, Thanking yourself for taking this time for self-care, Giving yourself some space from your day-to-day activities. Resting here with a sense of appreciation for this practice and for this time taking.