The body scan.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position.
Body scan is usually done lying down on your back but can be done in a seated position if you prefer.
So taking some moments now to choose your position.
A position that will work best for you and closing the eyes if that's comfortable.
Beginning to settle into your position.
Becoming aware of the whole of your body sitting or laying here.
Noticing its weight,
Shape,
Temperature.
Becoming aware of the points of contact in touch with the chair or the bed.
And giving the weight up of the body.
Allowing it to settle down into gravity.
Becoming aware of the breath.
Natural breath.
There's no need to change or force anything here.
Just allowing the breath to breathe itself.
Let's begin by inviting our awareness into the top of our head.
Scalp area.
Noticing any sensations in this part of the body.
Perhaps it feels a little itchy or warm.
Perhaps you don't feel very much.
That's okay.
We're just noticing what's happening in our experience right now.
Moving our awareness down now to the back of the head.
You might notice pressure here as it rests on a pillow or a cushion.
Coming around to the forehead.
Down into the eyes.
Noticing what it's like to have the eyes closed if they are.
Down into the cheeks,
Nose,
The mouth.
Noticing perhaps the position of the tongue in the mouth.
Coming down into the neck.
Back of the neck,
Throat.
Perhaps you can feel the breath as it moves up and down the throat.
Coming into the shoulders now.
Sometimes this area can feel tight or tense or held.
We're not trying to change anything.
We're just noticing what's here right now.
How does that feel?
And coming down into the arms,
Allowing your awareness to pour down into the arms,
Tops of the arms,
Elbows.
Perhaps you can feel the elbows in touch with the chair or the bed.
The forearms and the wrists.
And down into your hands.
How do the hands feel?
Perhaps you can notice tingling or vibrating.
Just being curious about the different sensations in the hands,
The fingers and the thumbs.
Moving back up the arms now.
Back up to the shoulders and down into the shoulder blades.
Down into the middle of the back and the lower back.
Perhaps this pleasant sensation here,
Sense of release,
Warmth,
Support maybe.
Just noticing.
Moving around to the front of the body,
To the chest.
Down into the belly.
Maybe you can feel the gentle expanding and subsiding of the belly,
As it moves with the breath,
As the breath flows in and out.
Perhaps you've noticed your mind's wandered.
You've got lost on a train of thought,
You're thinking about something else.
That's okay.
That's what our minds do.
We just notice when our mind's taken us off somewhere else,
And we gently invite it back,
Back to the sensations in the belly,
The sensations of the breath.
And coming down into the pelvis and the hips.
Down into the thighs.
Inviting your awareness to pour down now into the knees,
The fronts of the knees,
Backs of the knees.
Flowing down into the calves and the shins.
Ankles.
And on into your feet.
Perhaps the feet feel warm or cool.
Noticing sensations on the soles of the feet,
Tops of the feet,
And all the way into the tips of your toes.
Just being curious about what's here.
And now gently broadening our awareness to include the whole of the body again.
The whole body just laying or sitting here,
Resting,
With the natural flow of the breath.
No need for us to do anything.
We just allow the breath to breathe itself.
And now gently bringing this practice to a close.
Introducing some small movements,
Perhaps wiggling your fingers and toes to start with.
Coming into some bigger movements.
Having a stretch if you'd like to.
Whatever your body feels it needs right now.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
