Welcome.
This is a body scan relaxation exercise.
Begin by making yourself comfortable either standing,
Lying down or sitting in a chair and allowing your back to be straight but not stiff,
Ensuring that your feet are firmly on the ground.
You can place your hands gently resting on your lap.
Allow your eyes to close or to remain open with a soft gaze and start by taking several long,
Slow and deep breaths.
Breathing in fully,
Exhaling softly.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or your mouth.
Feel your stomach expand on an inhale and relax and let go as you exhale.
Begin to let go of noises around you.
Begin to shift your attention from outside to inside yourself.
If you're distracted by sounds in the room,
Simply notice this and bring your focus back to your breathing.
Keep breathing,
Inhaling deeply,
Exhaling slowly.
Now slowly bring your attention down to your feet.
Begin observing the sensations in your feet.
You might want to wiggle your toes a little,
Feeling your toes against your socks or your shoes or the ground.
Just notice.
You might imagine sending your breath down to your feet as if the breath is travelling through the nose,
To the lungs and through the abdomen all the way down to your feet.
Allow yourself to feel the sensations and even if you don't feel anything at all,
Allow for that to be just fine.
When you're ready,
Allow your feet to dissolve in your mind's eye and move your attention up to your ankles,
Your calves,
Your knees and your thighs.
Simply observe the sensations you're experiencing throughout your legs.
See if you can breathe into and breathe out of the legs.
Bring your mind back to noticing the sensations in your legs.
If you experience any discomfort,
Pain or stiffness,
See if you can steer away from judgement.
Simply notice and observe how all sensations rise and fall,
Shift and change,
Moment to moment.
Notice how no sensation is permanent.
Just observe and allow the sensations to be in the moment just as they are as you continue to breathe into and out from the legs.
On the next out breath,
I'd like you to allow the legs to dissolve in your mind and move to the sensations in your lower back and pelvis,
Softening and releasing as you breathe in and out.
Slowly move your attention up to your mid back and upper back and start becoming curious about the sensations in these areas.
You may become aware of sensations in the muscle,
Temperature or points of contact with furniture or the bed.
Let go of any tension that you're carrying by gently relaxing into these areas with each out breath.
Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly and then very gently shift your focus to your stomach and all the internal organs here.
Perhaps you notice the feeling of your clothing,
The process of digestion,
Or the belly rising or falling with each breath.
And if you notice any mental opinions arising about these areas,
See if you can gently let these go and return to noticing sensations.
Bring your awareness to your chest and your heart region and simply notice your heartbeat.
Observe how the chest rises during the inhale and falls during an exhale.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Letting go of any judgments that may arise.
On the next out breath,
See if you can start shifting your attention to your hands and fingertips and start channeling your breathing into and out of this area as if you are breathing into and out from your hands.
Keep focusing on the sensations in your hands.
On the next out breath,
Start shifting the focus and bringing your awareness up into your arms.
Observe the sensations or lack of sensations that may be occurring in your arms.
You may notice a difference between the left arm and the right arm.
Again,
Simply notice without judgment and see if you can breathe into softening and releasing any tension that you may be carrying in your arms.
And when you are ready,
I'd like you to shift your focus to the neck,
Shoulder and throat region.
This is an area where we often have a great deal of tension.
See if you can be with the sensations here.
Notice if there is any tightness,
Rigidity or holding.
You may notice the shoulders moving along with the breath.
Let go of any thoughts or stories that you are telling yourself about this area and see if you can simply breathe and relax,
Feeling the tension rolling off your shoulders.
On the next out breath,
See if you can shift your focus and direct your attention to your scalp,
Head and face.
Observe all of the sensations occurring in these areas.
Notice the movement of the hair as you breathe in and as you breathe out of the nostrils or your mouth.
Notice your facial muscles relaxing,
Softening of any tension you may be holding onto.
And now let your attention expand outwards to include the entire body as a whole.
Bring into your awareness the top of your head down to the bottom of your toes.
Feel the gentle rhythm of the breath as it moves through your body.
And as we are coming to the end of this practice,
I'd like you to take a full deep breath,
Taking in all the energy of this practice,
Giving yourself permission to relax,
Giving yourself permission to become present,
Giving yourself permission to let go of control,
Of judgment,
Of your mind.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and return your attention to the present moment.
As you become fully alert and awake,
Consider setting the intention that this practice of building awareness will benefit everyone you come in contact with today.
