Hello,
My name is Sam and welcome to this body scan guided meditation.
Find a quiet place where you can sit or lie comfortably and where you won't be disturbed.
Make yourself comfortable and if it feels good,
Close your eyes.
Start with a relaxing breath in and a slow breath out.
Feel yourself softening and releasing.
Bring awareness to your entire body and take a moment to observe how it feels.
Notice any areas where you might be holding tension.
But there's no need to change anything,
Just observe.
Feel how your weight is distributed.
Is it even or are you favouring one side?
Again there's no need to make any changes,
We're just getting to know the body better and understand what it might need.
Take another deep breath in so that it fills your belly and slowly let the breath go.
In this body scan,
Follow along with my words.
Focus keenly on the body part in question and notice how the sensations in it change when you bring attention to it.
Let's begin at the feet.
Focus on your big toe,
Then move to the second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and little toe and relax them all.
Give your awareness to the tops of the feet and then the soles of the feet,
Especially the arches which work so hard for us every day.
Notice your heels and find space in your ankle joint.
Move up the lower leg and fully let go through the calves,
Relaxing any tightness you encounter.
Release any hold you may have of your kneecaps and notice how this in turn sends a ripple of relaxation up into the thighs.
You might find your hips open and legs roll out a little bit when you do this.
Soften the back of the legs completely so that they sink a little closer towards the ground.
Then clench the buttocks and see if you can switch off any muscle activation around the hip joint.
Think and feel your way to the very deep muscles like the piriformis and visualize it releasing tension.
Shift the awareness to the small of the back now where so many of us hold so much tension.
Imagine a warm soothing hand is gently laying upon it and feel the tightness just dissolve away.
Allow your belly to be completely relaxed.
There's no need to hold it in,
Just let it go and feel freedom in the abdomen.
Release the tension and as you do so,
Visualize the internal organs relaxing too so you get a sense of deep softening in your body.
Soften the rib cage and the skin across it.
Find ease in the back from the lumbar spine all the way to the top of the shoulders.
Bring a little focus to the midpoint between the shoulder blades and release any tightness you encounter there.
Feel the shoulders melting back and down away from the ears and as you do this,
The collar bones will gently separate in the middle creating opening across the front of the chest.
Let's stay on the shoulders a moment longer as this is a place where many of us hold a lot of tension.
Try imagining that your shoulders and neck area are made of ice.
Thick,
Solid and yielding.
Allow this ice to melt and feel how your muscles become more supple and pliant.
Continue to thaw the muscles until all the rigidity is gone.
Now let's turn that water into vapor so we allow a sense of lightness and airiness into the whole region and we feel tightness dissipating.
Let this sensation carry down through the upper arm,
Through the biceps and triceps,
Down through the elbow into the forearm and wrist.
Pausing for a moment at the wrist,
Finding space within the wrist joint.
Then bring your focus to the palm of the hand and the skin on the back of the hand.
Find your way to the little finger,
The fourth finger,
Third finger,
Second finger and your thumbs.
Shift your awareness to the neck now and trace a line of relaxation from the top of the shoulder up the side of the neck to just behind the ear.
Allow your jaw to be slack and notice how your teeth may fall slightly apart.
Relax the tongue in the bottom of the mouth and soften your lips.
Let go of any tension in your cheeks.
Find softness in the temples.
Allow your eyes to sink deeper into the sockets.
Relax across the forehead and release your scalp.
Take a few moments to enjoy this deep state of relaxation.
Gently bring your awareness back to your body now and get a sense for how it's feeling.
What differences do you note?
In your own way,
Bring some small movements into your body and start to reawaken the physical self.
When you feel ready,
Carefully make your way back to sitting and open your eyes gently.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I wish you all the best.
Thank you for listening.
