Hi,
Welcome to this space of stillness and to this body scan meditation.
I'm Sarah,
And I'll be guiding you through today.
Close your eyes and take a moment to arrive here.
Set aside the busyness of the day,
Whether it's in the past or still to come.
Check in with yourself.
How are you feeling?
What are you feeling?
Resist the urge to judge your feelings as good or bad.
Allow yourself to simply be without any judgment.
Just be.
Let's begin by taking a few deep breaths together,
Allowing yourself to sink into this practice.
Let your next inhale take a little bit longer,
Slowing the breath in as you notice your chest rise in front of you,
Your back expand behind you.
And now open your mouth and let it go.
Take another long breath in,
This time feeling the breath fill the lungs and also the belly,
Noticing the ribs expanding from side to side.
Open your mouth and let it go.
As you inhale again,
Follow the breath all throughout your body,
Noticing where it moves.
And exhale.
Allow your breathing to return to normal,
Just letting it be as it is,
As you bring your awareness to the tips of the toes.
Move your attention from the outer right pinky toe all the way across,
Toe by toe,
To the outer left pinky toe,
And back again.
Notice any sensations you feel there,
If any at all.
Take your time moving from toe to toe,
Intentionally shifting your attention from one to the other.
See now if you can hold in your awareness all the toes on the right foot.
Let those toes go and shift all the toes on the left foot.
Release the left foot and now all the toes together.
Imagine you could see rays of light shooting out of your toes,
Extending the length of your body,
Taking up more space.
Hold that image in your mind's eye.
Gently shift your awareness away from your toes.
Let it slide up the length of your legs,
Over your hips and torso,
Across your shoulder blades,
Down the arms.
Guide your mind to your right pinky finger.
Starting here,
Move your attention from finger to finger,
All the way to the left pinky finger and back again,
Noticing any sensations you feel there,
If any at all.
Take your time shifting your attention intentionally.
See now if you can hold in your awareness all the fingers of the right hand.
Let those fingers go and shift to all the fingers on the left hand.
Release the left hand and now all the fingers together.
Imagine now those rays of light shooting out of your fingertips,
Extending the length of your arms,
Taking up more space.
Hold that image for just a moment.
Move your awareness now from your fingertips,
Passing back over the arms,
Up the neck,
The face,
The back of the head,
The temples,
All the way to the crown of the head.
Notice any sensations along the way.
What do you feel here?
Let your awareness rest here at the crown of the head,
Only noticing.
Imagine that light again,
Extending from the head and hold that image in your mind.
Let that image go and slide your awareness now down to your chest and upper back,
Your abdomen and your lower back.
Notice any sensations you may feel here.
Notice and acknowledge.
And now imagine that light expanding from your torso in all directions,
Filling the space around you.
Hold that image in your mind as you add on the light from your toes,
The light from your fingertips,
The light from the crown of the head.
Take these next few moments to sit and witness the miracle of your body,
Thanking it for housing you,
For giving you the experience of life and the highs and lows that come with that,
And for letting you fill the space you're in.
Slowly allow that image to fade from your mind as you begin again to deepen your breaths.
You might bring your hands to your body,
Letting each exhale be longer than its inhale,
Coming back to the space around you.
We'll take one more collective breath together,
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling out the nose as you blink the eyes open.
Thank you for sharing your practice with me.
I hope you have a wonderful day,
And I'll meet you back here next time.
