Just a short body scan.
So first choose your posture.
Maybe lying down,
Maybe sitting.
And make it as comfortable as possible.
And then first bringing your attention to being aware of the breath.
Somewhere in your body.
Feeling the movement of the fact that you are breathing,
That you are alive.
There is nothing you need to do.
Nowhere you need to go.
Just paying attention to this very moment and your experience.
So now moving your attention through the body down through the legs to the feet.
Feeling all those small parts in your feet.
The toes,
The soles of the feet,
The heels.
Does left and right feel the same?
And then moving attention a little bit upward to your lower legs,
The shins,
The calves.
And then bringing awareness to your knees.
Unlike all joints,
The knees are prone to stress.
They can collect stress quite easily.
So sometimes our knees bother us.
And maybe you know how that is,
But that is all knowledge.
So now coming back to your knees the way they feel right now,
Right here.
Then moving on to the upper legs.
Maybe being aware of the touch of the skin against your trousers or a blanket or whatever.
The air around you.
Or maybe it's rather a feeling from the inside.
Some kind of streaming,
Throbbing feeling.
Or maybe you don't feel anything.
It's all okay.
Everything that is part of your experience is okay.
It's here.
So now letting go of the attention of the legs and moving on to the buttocks.
Can you feel the pressure of the ground underneath?
And then moving upwards along the spine to the lower back.
The middle of your back.
Does that part of your back touch the floor?
And a little bit further upwards,
The shoulder blades.
Just being aware of your back.
And you may notice that so every now and again the mind will wonder.
And that is only human.
That's part of all of this.
So that's not a problem.
So whenever you notice that your mind wondered that is called the magic moment.
Then you can make a difference by turning back to here yourself in this very moment.
So we've just given attention to the back.
And then we're changing towards the front.
The abdomen.
Maybe feels hard or soft.
It can sometimes be painful.
Or maybe also really nice and warm and relaxed.
Maybe sensations of being a bit hungry.
Moving a little bit upwards to the stomach.
That can collect stress quite easily.
So the stomach has got a lot more to digest than just food alone.
How does your stomach feel right now?
Then moving upwards,
Paying attention to the chest.
Being aware of the chest rising and falling on each breath.
Or being aware of the rhythm of your heartbeat.
The heart where you can be strong and vulnerable.
Where we can feel happiness,
Love,
Sadness,
Grief.
Can you be there with your heart just for now in a gentle way?
Without judging.
Without thinking,
Just being there.
Then moving your attention through the arms to the hands.
Can you be aware of your fingers?
Feeling your fingers separately?
The fingertips.
And what is the temperature like on the inside and the outside of your hands?
Is that the same?
Then moving your attention to the lower arms.
Maybe being aware of the touch of the skin.
Or being aware of the sort of movement on the inside.
Or maybe you are not in touch with your lower arms at all.
You don't feel them.
That's possible.
That can change each time you do this same exercise.
Every part of your body,
Sometimes we can feel it a little or very good.
Sometimes we can't,
We don't feel it.
So that's all good,
It's all perfect.
As long as you are paying attention to what is happening there in this moment.
The only moment that counts.
Moving on to your elbows.
And the upper arms.
Maybe you have been working out in the gym and you are aware of your muscles.
Then we arrive at the shoulders,
Left and right.
And often they have quite a load to carry.
And that can make them feel heavy or tired.
Or quite stiff,
Also in the neck.
So how does your neck and shoulders feel right now?
And moving on to the back of the head.
And the crown of the head.
Maybe a tingling,
Sort of itchy feeling.
Or maybe you don't feel anything at all.
It's all ok.
And then we are arriving at the face.
Starting with the jaw and the chin.
Just noticing is there any tension there.
And it can happen that just by paying attention a little bit more relaxation comes in.
Your jaw starts to relax just a little bit more.
Or maybe it doesn't.
It's all ok.
And moving on to the mouth,
The lips and the inside of your mouth.
And the cheeks.
The shape of your ears.
It's not about listening now.
It's about the physical shape.
Can you feel the contours?
And bringing attention to your nose.
Maybe you can feel the air flowing in and out through the nostrils.
You can be aware of the difference in temperature of the air flowing in and the air flowing out again.
And then being with the eyes,
The area around them.
All those little muscles.
Are your eyes itself,
The eyeballs and the eyelids,
Are your eyes allowed to rest?
What do you notice them being active,
Working?
And then the forehead and the little spot between the eyebrows.
Is there any tension there?
So now you've been paying attention to your whole body in all those different parts.
And now see if it is possible to broaden your attention to feeling your body as a whole.
You in one piece from head to toe.
Can you experience your body as a whole?
As one living body,
Breathing,
Moving because of the breath.
And noticing all those sensations inside that body.
A throbbing,
Tingling,
Streaming body.
All those sensations that happen inside of you.
So maybe you can be aware of them and maybe you can't.
It's okay.
It can change every time again and again.
So just being here with your body and with all those physical sensations.
Not doing anything,
Just being.
Without any judgement and with kindness towards yourself,
Towards your body,
Towards your own experience.
So now letting go of your attention to your feeling your body.
And coming back with attention to being here in this place where you are lying down or sitting.
And maybe taking a moment to reflect on this exercise.
And then finishing it.
Slowly,
Gently.
And don't forget to thank yourself for having given attention to you and whatever is there.
Because that is an act of kindness.
May you be well.
