A body scan.
This body scan starts with the head ending at the feet.
Maybe a pleasant alternative to the usual body scans who start the other way around.
So step one is making yourself comfortable in any position you like.
Lying down,
Sitting,
Maybe even standing and choosing for yourself to close your eyes or keeping them open,
Giving them a soft gaze if you keep them open.
And then bringing your attention to your head,
Maybe first establishing what's going on inside.
Is it busy?
Are there many thoughts?
Is it about one subject or is it chaotic?
Just noticing what's going on and then moving your attention to the outside,
To the skull and the skin around the skull.
Feeling your head on the edges,
Just noticing the skin.
Is there any tension there?
And maybe you can feel a slight tingling at the crown of your head or maybe you don't feel anything.
Then moving your attention to the face,
Your face,
The only one you have,
The best one you can have.
Just paying attention to your eyes.
Are they working right now?
Are they active?
And do you notice any tension in other parts of your face,
The jaw,
Your lips?
And maybe you can be aware of the air flowing in and out of your nostrils while breathing.
And let's then move to the area that is holding your head,
The neck and the shoulders.
An infamous area for many people because stress is stored so easily there and that can make shoulders feel heavy,
Crampy,
Painful.
How do they feel right here,
Right now,
In this very moment?
Maybe it's just slightly different than you thought it would be.
And then moving your attention downwards a bit to the back.
Does the back hurt or is it relaxed?
Can you let it be the way it is?
You can't change it anyway.
Might as well let it be and preferably with as as much kind attention as possible.
And moving attention toward the front starting with the chest.
Some vital functions inside there.
Maybe you can notice your chest moving up and down a bit.
And does the chest feel spacious,
Open?
Or do you notice any tension there?
Sometimes just by noticing things can change and tension can drop a bit,
Can soften.
You don't need to force it to happen,
Just let it move,
Let it happen organically.
Then moving your attention to the stomach and the abdomen.
Also a place where we can store a lot of stress so that area,
Both areas,
Can feel really uncomfortable sometimes.
How is it now?
Right now,
Right here.
And if it feels good you may be able to appreciate that.
If it doesn't feel good,
Can you feel,
Can you offer it some compassion since it's still your body,
It's doing the best it can?
Giving your own body kind attention,
No judgment,
Just being with the body.
Now moving the attention to the upper limbs,
Your arms.
Maybe feeling the touch of your clothes against the skin or maybe the air around it.
And then paying attention to your hands.
Is there a feeling of holding on to something?
Just as we can hold tension anywhere in the body,
We can do that in the hands too.
Maybe there is some tension in the hands.
Are they warm?
And is that temperature the same on the inside of your hands as on the outside?
Maybe you can notice any tingling or throbbing in the fingers,
The fingertips.
Then shifting your attention to the lower limbs,
Your legs.
And sometimes we can notice the touch against the skin of something outward,
Some clothes or the air.
But it can also be a feeling coming more from the inside,
Some sort of streaming or throbbing or pulsating.
And sometimes we don't feel anything at all,
So as long as you're still paying attention you're still doing it right.
Sometimes we can feel the body and sometimes we don't.
Then moving your attention down to the feet,
Maybe feeling the connection with the floor,
The heels,
The soles of the feet,
The sides.
Or maybe you notice any sensation in the toes.
So now we've been paying attention to the body from head to toe.
And now see if you can broaden your attention to feeling your body as a whole,
As one body,
A body that is yours,
That is part of who you are.
And can you feel that connection with your body or not?
Or maybe partly?
It is still your body.
And it'll be different every time you pay attention to your own body.
Sometimes you feel parts,
Sometimes you don't.
It'll change.
Just feeling yourself here in this position,
In this posture,
Being with your body.
And trying to do that in a way that is opening,
Curious,
Kind,
Leaving judgment behind as much as you can,
Or just noticing that there is judgment and letting it be.
And maybe appreciating your body for the way it works for you,
For the fact that it is there for you no matter how.
It offers you the opportunity to have a life in whatever way.
So maybe there is some appreciation.
And if your body is not working the way you want it to do,
Or it's not looking the way you want it to look,
Can you offer it some compassion to your body,
Part of you?
So better treat it gently,
Even just for now.
And just taking another moment to just being with your body.
Just being.
That's why we're called human beings.
That's the most important thing.
Learning to be open.
So now I'm going to give you a little bit of a break.
So now we'll finish this body scan.
There's no bell,
So maybe you want to go to bed or you're in bed already and you'll continue,
Or maybe you're getting up,
Moving through the rest of your day.
Be well and take good care of yourself.
