Five minute body scan.
This is an opportunity to take stock and see how the body feels right now in this moment.
If it's right for you close your eyes but if not you can lower your gaze,
Unfocused gaze,
Maybe a few feet ahead of you and starting off by noticing the breath wherever you feel it in the body.
No need to make any kind of special effort here,
Simply noticing any movement as the body breathes,
Using it to bring you into the present moment,
Letting go of whatever's happened in your day so far and bringing the awareness all the way down into the feet and the legs,
Noticing what's here.
Perhaps noticing the feel of the feet inside any shoes or footwear,
Noticing the temperature of the feet.
Is it hot?
Are they cold?
Being curious about your experience in this moment.
If your feet are resting on the floor notice the weight of the body into the soles of the feet.
How do the legs feel in this moment?
Noticing what's here and there may not be much to notice and that's okay,
Simply resting the awareness in the feet and the legs,
Moving up the body to the bum.
Sometimes it's a lot easier to be aware of parts of the body that are in contact with something else,
So if you're sat or lying down you might notice the texture of whatever is supporting you.
Is it hard or soft?
Noticing the contact between your bum and whatever's there underneath you.
Moving to the back,
Being curious about the back.
How does it feel right now in this moment?
You might notice there's areas of pain or tension and as best you can allowing them just to be there rather than trying to tense against them or to change them.
Instead see if it's possible to soften towards them,
Allowing whatever's here to be here.
Noticing the hands,
Perhaps being aware of the shape of the hands,
The fingers,
Whether they're curled in or out,
Whether they're clenched or relaxed.
Again simply paying attention to the fingers and the hands,
Noticing the air temperature and then noticing the rest of the arms,
Perhaps noticing the weight of the arms as they fall out of the shoulders.
Any feel of clothes against skin and of course the mind may be very busy,
May be wandering off all over the place and if that's the case for you don't worry too much.
Simply noticing when the mind's distracted and bring it back to the body,
Even if it happens many times in this short meditation,
That's normal,
That's fine.
Noticing the shoulders,
How do the shoulders feel?
Is there tension here and if so is it possible to soften towards that tension?
Noticing the neck,
How does the neck feel?
Is it free?
Is there tension?
Can you soften?
And bringing the awareness all the way up into the face,
Noticing what's here in the facial area,
Is there any holding on in the jaw,
In the eyebrows,
In the forehead?
Noticing the air temperature against skin,
Maybe any movement as the breath enters the body through the nose or mouth.
And finally dropping the awareness into the belly,
Noticing any movements as the body breathes.
Maybe very subtle,
You don't need to change the breath.
Simply resting the awareness on the belly and any movements here.
Closing the meditation by spending a few more moments with the breath and in the belly.
And finally having an awareness of the whole body right now,
In this moment.
Noticing how it feels right now,
Not how it felt when you started the meditation,
But how it feels in this moment.
What it's been like to pay some kindly attention to the physical body.
When you're ready you can open your eyes and go about the rest of your daily activities.
