As someone who has struggled with stress and anxiety my entire life,
I will always remember the very first time I experienced a full body scan,
The relief,
The release and that's my goal for you today.
So go ahead and start to find your comfortable place.
You may want to lay down for this one but if sitting up is more comfortable you do you.
What's most important is your comfort,
Giving yourself this time,
This space to nourish yourself.
So go ahead and wiggle in,
Get really comfortable.
And know that even during the meditation if you find you need to scratch an itch or you need to adjust your physical body,
Go ahead,
Again this is your time,
Your practice.
And if you're comfortable,
Go ahead and let your eyes close or if your mind is still a little busy,
Let them come to a soft gaze.
And now rest your awareness on your breath.
And let's take a nice,
Long,
Slow,
Deep breath in together through the nose.
Hold it for just a moment and then open your mouth and exhale with a big sigh.
And go ahead and do that two more times on your breath pattern.
In through the nose,
Open mouth sigh.
That's right,
Allowing yourself to settle down even deeper,
Even more comfortable,
Even more relaxed.
And you'll find that all sounds,
Whether it's sounds on this recording or sounds in your environment,
Any and all sounds are yet another reminder for your body to release stress and tension and to go even deeper relaxed.
And so we begin in the center of your forehead.
Simply focusing all of your awareness on the third middle eye.
And now the hollow of the throat,
The right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Inside of the right elbow,
Lower right arm,
Right wrist,
Inside of the right palm,
Tip of the right thumb,
Tip of the right index finger,
Tip of the right middle finger,
Tip of the right ring finger,
Tip of the right pinky finger,
Inside of the right palm,
Right wrist,
Lower right arm,
Inside of the right elbow,
The right shoulder,
The hollow of the throat,
Left shoulder,
Left upper arm,
Inside of the left elbow,
Left forearm,
Left wrist,
Inside of the left palm,
Tip of the left thumb,
Tip of the left index finger,
Tip of the left middle finger,
Tip of the left ring finger,
Tip of the left pinky finger,
Inside of the left palm,
Left wrist,
Left forearm,
Inside of the left elbow,
Left upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Hollow of the throat,
And heart center,
Right rib cage,
Heart center,
Left rib cage,
Heart center,
The navel,
Pubic bone,
Just below the navel,
Right hip,
Upper right leg,
Right knee,
Lower right leg,
Right ankle,
Tip of the right big toe,
Tip of the right second toe,
Tip of the right third toe,
Tip of the right fourth toe,
Tip of the right pinky toe,
Right ankle,
Lower right leg,
Right knee,
Upper right leg,
Right hip,
Pubic bone,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Lower left leg,
Left ankle,
Tip of the left big toe,
Tip of the left second toe,
Tip of the left middle toe,
Tip of the left fourth toe,
Tip of the left pinky toe,
Left ankle,
Lower left leg,
Left knee,
Left thigh,
Left hip,
Pubic bone,
Navel,
Heart center,
Hollow of the throat,
Center of the forehead,
The third middle eye.
And if you're ready to drift off to sleep,
Go ahead and do that now.
Simply drift into a peaceful,
Restful sleep.
And if you're ready to come back,
Gently begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes,
Slowly beginning to make slightly larger moves with your physical body.
Perhaps eventually ending up with a full body stretch and practicing a little face yoga,
Turning up the corners of your mouth with a beautiful smile,
Opening your eyes,
Coming back to full waking awareness,
Feeling calm and centered,
And remember,
Habits only become habits out of repetition.
So the more you come back to this practice again and again,
The more you are training your brain and your nervous system how to be in a calm state.
And isn't that beautiful?
Thank you for your practice today.
