Welcome to this body scan meditation.
Before we get started,
Find a place you won't be disturbed.
Somewhere where you can relax and be comfortable.
This body scan can be practiced in a seated position or lying down on your back.
If lying down on your back,
Have your arms by your side with the legs falling away from one another.
Or if you're in a chair,
Have both feet on the floor and hands resting on your legs.
Start by closing your eyes and breathing in for 1,
2,
3,
4 and hold for 1,
2,
3,
4 and out for 4,
3,
2,
1.
And take a deep breath in for 1,
2,
3,
Fill up completely,
4,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4 and exhale for 4,
3,
2,
1.
And keep this going in your own time,
Nice and slowly,
Bringing your attention to the breath,
Slowing it down,
Engaging with the body.
As you feel the cooler air come into the nostrils,
Let it then flow around the body and be warmed up before exhaling it out through the nostrils or the mouth.
This time,
Imagine the air you take in is a big bubble of white,
Clean air.
Draw it all in,
Let it flow throughout the body and then gather up any stale air.
Think of this air as stale air,
As red air,
Representing anything you want to get rid of and exhale it through the feet.
Let it all go,
Let's do that again.
Inhale clean,
White,
Fresh air and let it chase around the body,
Bundling up any red toxic air and then expelling all of it through the feet.
Let the breathing happen without trying.
Increase the space between the in and out breath.
Watch and feel the chest move with the in and the out breath and the rise and fall of the belly,
Focusing your mind on the breathing,
Allowing thoughts to come and go without holding onto them or being led into distraction.
If the mind strays,
Guide it gently back to the breath as many times as you need to bring it gently back to the present.
Breathe in,
Take the attention to the feet,
From the big toes across the top of the second,
The third,
The fourth and to the little toes,
The outsides of the feet,
To the sole of the feet,
The inside edges,
Up to the heels and ankles and notice any contact the feet have with clothing or the floor.
Are there any sensations in the feet?
Remember,
It's fine not to feel anything,
It's the experience you're after and guiding your attention back to the breath if you're drifting away.
Now take the attention to the ankle bones and joints,
To the shins,
Around the front of the lower legs then at the outsides of the legs and the calf muscles and up the insides of the legs to the knees,
The flesh around the joint to the back of the knee and then let go of this area and move the focus to the thigh and the quad muscles.
Take it around the outsides of the leg and then around the back of the upper legs,
Across the muscles and all the way up the hamstring from the back of the knee to its insert in the lower buttocks,
Across the insides of the legs,
Up to the groin,
Across the hips and buttocks.
Then let go of the legs,
Relax the muscles and focus on the upper half of the body as we move up to the back.
However you're feeling is how you're feeling right now in the present.
There's no pressure on the right or wrong way to feel.
You've turned up for yourself and given yourself this short time in your day to be open to relaxation and present with every part of your body.
You may feel tingling,
Tightness,
Pain or nothing at all.
All of these are totally okay and what you are experiencing is your experience of this body scan at this moment today,
Now and nowhere else.
Focus the breath and the attention to the back,
The outsides of the back and the sides of the torso to the lower bit of the back which might not have any contact with the floor of the chair and around the front to the stomach which is where many of us hold tension and notice the rise and the fall of the belly as you breathe slowly in and out,
In and out.
Breathe into any tight feeling areas and notice if there's any pain or if you are tensing your stomach or holding on to anything.
Let this go and move up the chest to the heart.
Let the edges of your lips relax into a smile as you focus on your heart.
Imagine your heart as a big,
Bright,
Red,
Welcoming heart encompassing the whole of the front of your body and radiating out love from every part of you.
Then move up to the shoulder blades,
Over the top,
Into the back,
Down the sides of the back and then up each vertebrae,
One by one as you work up the back to the neck,
Across the back to the shoulder blades,
Shoulder joint and down the upper arms,
The biceps,
The triceps,
The elbow,
The forearms,
The wrists and the hands.
The hands being the most sensitive area,
Just feel the breath on top of the hands.
The outside edges of the palms and wriggle the fingers from the little pinkies to the ring fingers,
To the middle fingers,
To the forefingers and thumbs.
Feel each finger extend to the tips,
Across the joints and the nails and gently focus on each one of them as you relax them.
And now as you send your attention back up the hands,
The arms,
The shoulders,
We reach the throat and the neck,
Another area where tension tends to stack up.
Then into the back of the head and up over the head to the ears,
The chin,
The lips and the mouth.
Draw your senses to the tongue,
The taste in your mouth.
Notice if the mouth is dry,
Maybe lick the lips and swallow.
Feel the nose and the hairs as they feel the breath flowing in and out.
Relax the cheeks,
The jaw,
The skin around the eyes and the eyelashes,
Eyebrows,
Forehead.
Relax any tension in the face up into the hairline and release any distracting thoughts from the head.
Be aware of every part of the body and let it relax,
Noticing if there's any tension anywhere.
Do a quick scan now of your whole body.
Can any areas be relaxed further?
These might be areas to stand up to the pain rather than running away from it.
Usually when the body has pain it is trying to tell us something.
Go into that area,
Breathe into it and release it.
And as we come to the end of this body scan,
Either keep your eyes closed ready for a deep sleep or open them gently bringing your awareness back to the room.
And as we come to the end of this body scan,
Either keep your eyes closed ready for a deep sleep or open them gently bringing your awareness back to the room and take your time getting up and going into your day mindfully,
Being more aware of your body and listening to your body and your breathing.
