Hello and welcome to this body scan practice.
Great job being here right now.
By doing this practice you are intentionally cultivating your ability to feel the inner landscape of the body.
You're also growing your capacity to be more resilient and more mindful.
Good work.
So let's settle in and whether seated or lying down,
Begin by closing your eyes and noticing your breath.
Just watch the breath.
Watch it enter the nose.
Watch it fill the belly and chest.
Then open your mouth and watch it go.
One after the other.
Just watch the breath in and out.
The goal of this practice is not to feel any different,
Although you might.
Instead it's to raise our awareness of various sensations in the body,
Exactly as they are right now.
Without judgment.
It's normal to occasionally get distracted by sounds,
Thoughts or even sleepiness during the practice.
So when that happens,
Just redirect your attention,
Like turning a spotlight back to the area of the body that is being scanned at the time.
With openness and curiosity,
Breathe deeply in and then out.
Now on the next inhale,
We're going to direct all of our attention,
Like a bright spotlight,
To the toes and both feet.
Scanning the toes.
Scanning the spaces between the toes.
Scanning the tops of the feet.
The insteps.
The soles of the feet.
And the ankles.
Breathing in and out.
And just sensing the ankles and feet.
Feeling them from the inside out.
On your next exhale,
Letting go of the feet.
And then shifting your spotlight to the lower legs.
Scanning the calves.
The shins.
And up into the knees.
Breathing into and out of the entire lower legs.
On your next exhale,
Letting go of the knees and lower legs.
And then scanning up into the thighs.
Deep into the hips.
Through the pelvis.
Resting attention at the waist.
Just breathing into and out of the upper legs and hips.
With each breath,
Softening the muscles and organs through the groin,
The buttocks,
And the upper legs.
Now letting go of the lower trunk and thighs.
And scanning from the waist up over the belly into the chest and back.
And up into the shoulders.
Just scanning.
Observing.
Sensing.
Noticing.
With each breath,
Scan your torso from the inside out.
Now,
Shifting the spotlight of your attention to the very tips of your fingers.
Noticing any sensations in the fingers.
The hands.
The arms.
And up into your armpits.
Pausing now to notice the entirety of your arms.
From the attachment to your shoulders to the tips of your fingers.
Scan your complete arms from the inside out.
Now,
On your next breath in,
Scanning from the base of the neck up over the entire head.
And on the out breath,
Scan back down,
Softening the forehead,
Relaxing the tongue,
And loosening the jaw.
Taking note of all the features of our face and sensing our brain from the inside out.
Now that we've scanned each area of the body,
For a few moments we'll consider the body as a whole.
Feeling and sensing the entire body,
Begin to breathe into and out of the entire body.
As you continue to breathe through your body,
This might be a good time to thank your body for what it does for you every day.
In fact,
You might take a moment to consider if your body needs anything,
Such as food,
Water,
Or sleep.
Just listen.
As we finish this practice,
You can be confident that you are building greater resilience,
And that you are increasing your capacity to live and perform more mindfully.
Great work,
And I hope you'll join me again tomorrow for another practice.
This practice will end with the sound of a bell.
