Somatic Body Scan

In somatic work, we are always delving into inquiries of our body and looking at how our body can inform our brain to regulate our nervous system, and to create more focus and ease.

In this audio, I'd like to guide you through a somatic body scan to release tension and cultivate sensory awareness. There is no right or wrong, or good or bad way to do this. Simply relax, and enjoy the process.

Transcript

Welcome everyone,

In somatic work we are always kind of delving into inquiries of our body and look at how our body can work with our mind to regulate our nervous system to create a little bit more focus,

A little bit more ease.

So today I would like to guide you into a body scan,

A somatic body scan and the reason I chose to do this just in audio format and not in a video format is so that you can lie down and close your eyes and not have to worry about how you look because as I have mentioned before there is no right or wrong in this work and there is no good or bad so a big part of it is letting go of labels letting go of how it should look like or what it should feel like and focus more on the present moment experience.

So I'd like to invite you to find a comfortable space to lie down on,

You can lie down on the floor if you have a yoga mat or a rug you can lie down on your couch,

You can lie down on your bed,

Of course a firm surface will be more conducive for this practice but whatever you can find a place to just be comfortable.

This is a body scan that I will guide you through and before we begin there are usually three hazards that can happen in this work and I think I have mentioned that prior to this session is that you might feel quite tired in the middle of it,

You might drift off into a little bit of a sleep and that's perfectly fine,

You might feel that you need to move or you want to change position and that's totally fine as well okay or if you feel that you are starting to wander off and your mind is going into checking your laundry list or your shopping list,

Again I'm going to say that it is fine because this is part of the experience but if at any point you notice these things that are starting to happen,

Perhaps try to bring your awareness back to your breath or just bring your attention back to the guidance.

In any case this is a recording that you can also revisit time and again at any time of the day and whenever you have space to lie down.

Alright so I invite you to lie down or pause the recording until you find a comfortable spot for yourself.

It is possible to lie down with your back flat and your legs straight,

Arms alongside your body.

If it's uncomfortable for you to lie down with your legs extended,

You can bend your knees,

That's totally fine and make sure that you have some support under your head especially if you have any neck tension and it's important to not let your pillow be too high when you're laying on your back so you don't want your head to be propped up too high but you don't want your chin to be lifted up higher than your forehead either so that you're too arched and if you have a bolster or pillow under your knees instead of bending your knees you can place something under your knees to support your lower back.

So the key is comfort.

So please take a moment or two to settle in and then another moment or two to make any necessary adjustment so that you are maybe 5% more comfortable and then when you settle in,

Please take a moment to close your eyes,

Allow the nervous system to switch gears from the thinking mind to the feeling body,

From doing to being allowing for the full brain activity to slow down and meet the body in stillness and quietude and begin to just sense into the weight of your body that is being supported either by the floor or by the bed or any surface that you are lying upon.

Sensing into the weight of the body,

How much of it are you able to surrender into gravity and how much of it are you still holding on to,

Perhaps not consciously holding on to but the body is still holding on to and these areas that you're holding on to might present themselves as certain stiffness or tightness,

Tension or maybe even like a little achiness.

So without judging these sensations,

Just notice where they are at,

From which place in the body is it speaking to you and then bring your awareness back to your breath.

I'd like you to just bring your hands onto your body,

So maybe placing your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your chest area and just notice how your breath is moving between these two areas that you have placed your hands on.

Notice if the breath is more in the belly area or more in the chest area and perhaps just by placing your hands onto your body you start to bring awareness to this front body.

Let's see if you can start to also connect the front body to the back body that is touching the surface that you're lying on.

Notice the relationship as your front body moves up and down,

In and out with the breath.

Is there also a movement in the back body that corresponds to your breath?

And notice where else does the breath move into,

Maybe into the sides of your body,

The two sides of the ribs,

Two sides of the waistline.

And with each exhalation,

Find a little bit more weight into gravity,

Find yourself perhaps melting a little bit more into the support of the ground or the bed or the couch.

Now I'd like you to bring your attention and intention more into the regulation of your breathing.

Start to let your inhale be a little bit deeper and your exhale a little longer.

Notice if the breath is fluid.

Is it easy to breathe in deep or is it effortful?

And is it easy to allow the exhale to empty or there is a sense of holding on and not letting go to fully empty your lungs.

Now as you begin to connect more into your breath,

Notice how the body moves as you inhale.

See if you can feel perhaps the lower back rising up away from the floor as you breathe in.

Maybe the lower back comes closer to the floor as you breathe out.

And just start to follow this rhythm.

Lower back slightly ascending,

Moving away from the floor as you breathe in.

Feel a pause at the top of your breath and then begin to exhale,

Feel the lower back releasing towards the ground into the center of gravity as you breathe out.

See if you can just allow the breath to do this work for you instead of trying to push your back away or towards the floor.

So less muscular efforts and more attention to the intrinsic movement of your breath.

Begin to also notice if there's any other parts of your body that might be moving away from the floor or towards the floor as you inhale and as you exhale.

Maybe the space between the shoulder blades,

Maybe the spaces between the ribs,

Maybe the neck,

Maybe the back of your head,

Maybe your pelvis,

Maybe your legs,

Maybe your arms.

If your hands are still on your belly and chest,

Please just slide them alongside your body now,

So that the weight of your arms are supported by the ground.

Now sense into the whole body,

The weight of the whole body again.

Notice if anything has shifted for you,

Now that we are about 10 minutes into the meditation.

If you're feeling a little tired or sleepy,

It's totally okay to just let your attention wander off.

If you're feeling a little restless,

Perhaps just move a little bit,

Stretch it out a little and just see if you can resettle.

If your mind has wandered off,

Take this next few moments to bring your awareness back to your body,

Back to your breath.

Now begin to bring your awareness and attention to your feet.

Sense into the right foot and the left foot.

Notice the weight of each foot.

Notice if one foot might be touching the surface,

The floor,

A little bit more differently than the other.

Perhaps it's heavier,

Perhaps it has more contact,

Maybe it's rotated a certain way that is different from the other side.

And then from your mind's eye,

Notice if you can see or sense all five toes on each foot.

Notice if you can sense your big toe on your right foot,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

And the spaces between the toes.

Now bring your attention to your left foot,

Left toes and see if you can feel your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Spaces between the toes.

Now compare the clarity you have on both feet.

Notice if one foot might have more clarity,

There might be more clarity of where your toes are and the spaces in between.

Maybe that foot might seem a little bit bigger or lighter or brighter.

And then let that go.

Now feel how your calves are touching the floor.

Sense into your right calf,

Your left calf.

Notice the rotation of the calf corresponding to the rotation of your foot.

Notice if the calf muscles on each leg might feel different from the other.

And then let that go and sense into the back of your knees on each leg.

Feel the back of your right knee and the back of your left knee.

Notice if perhaps one knee might be straighter than the other or closer towards the floor.

And then come around to the kneecap,

Sense into how each side of your kneecap is pointing towards,

The direction in which it's pointing towards.

The right kneecap,

Where is it pointing towards,

Which angle?

The left kneecap,

Where is it pointing towards?

And notice the direction in which the kneecap is pointing to the rotation of your calves,

The rotation of your feet,

The direction in which your toes are pointing on each leg.

And then begin to bring your awareness to your thighs.

Feel how heavy each thigh is,

How each thigh is touching the floor,

The contact of the floor meeting the thigh,

The back of the thighs,

The sides,

Inside,

Outside of the thigh,

On each leg,

The front of your thigh.

Notice if there's any tension on the muscles around the right thigh bone,

The left thigh bone.

How does each leg feel now that you have,

Bring awareness from the thigh to the foot.

Connect your right thigh to your right foot,

Left thigh to your left foot.

And notice if there is any significant differences between each leg.

Do they feel like they belong to the same person in terms of its quality,

Sensations,

The tone,

Its weight,

And how each leg is touching the floor.

Now I'd like you to perhaps wiggle your toes,

Wiggle your right toes,

Wiggle your left toes,

And feel how the movement of your toes might have moved along the whole leg,

All the way to the thigh,

And perhaps even all the way to each side of your pelvis,

Each side of your hips.

And if you like to start to rotate your right ankle clockwise and counterclockwise,

Feel how the movement of your right foot moves all the way through to the pelvic half,

So the right foot to the right hip.

And then move your left foot,

Left ankle clockwise a few rounds,

Anticlockwise a few rounds,

Feel how that moves through your left knee,

Your left thigh,

Maybe your left hip.

Where else does it move into?

Now if you were to move both feet together very slowly,

Nothing fast,

So that the movement and your brain activity can align,

So you're not moving too fast and your brain can register what movement.

So just slow it down,

Find ease,

And find relationship between your feet to your pelvis.

And then come back into stillness.

Notice how each leg are organized now,

If anything has changed for you,

Not just in the lower half of your body but in your overall sense of being.

Now bring your awareness to your right hand,

And feel how your right hand is touching the floor.

Which part of your right hand is touching?

Is it the palms or the back of your hands?

And if there are curls along the fingers,

If there are tension in your hands,

Or any other sensations,

Maybe tingling,

Maybe coolness,

Maybe heat.

And then notice if there are differences between the right hand and the left hand,

If you bring your awareness to your left hand now.

Feel the left hand,

How it's organized,

How the left hand is touching the floor,

On the back of your hand,

On the palm side of your hand,

And the curl of the fingers,

The tone of your hands,

The sensations.

Compare the two hands.

The hands hold so much sensory neurons,

So that we can do,

We can take,

We can receive,

We can feel.

Can you feel all five fingers on your right hand?

Are they clear to you?

How they,

How long they are,

How big they are?

Can you feel all five fingers on your left hand?

Does one hand feels bigger than the other hand?

And now find your right wrist.

Find your left wrist.

Notice if they might have some differences in the way they feel,

And the way they connect to your hand,

On each side of your arm.

And then connect your right forearm,

Left forearm.

Which side of your forearm is touching the floor more?

Which side feels lighter?

Compare your right elbow to your left elbow.

Does one elbow feel a little bit more bent than the other?

The elbow knob,

The bony part of the elbow,

Is it touching the floor?

The elbow crease on each arm.

Touching the floor,

The elbow crease on each arm.

Then feel the upper arm,

The right side of your upper arm,

Left side of your upper arm,

All the way to the armpits,

All the way to the shoulder head.

Notice the rotation of your upper arm.

Does one side rotate more outwards,

One side rotate more inwards?

And the shoulder head and the arm head,

Does one side feel that it's lifted off the floor more than the other?

Does one side of your shoulder feel closer to your ear than the other?

Now begin to move your right fingertips.

Rotate your right wrist.

And sense the relationship from your right hand to your right shoulder.

Open and close your hands,

See how that feels.

And what else is moving from the movement of your right hand and your right fingers?

And do the same for your left hand.

Keep the right hand quiet now.

Move your left fingers,

Rotate your left wrist.

Open and close your left hand.

Does it feel familiar or less familiar?

How do you connect the relationship between your left hand to your left shoulder?

And then let that go.

Keeping both hands quiet,

Feel the length of your arms on each side.

Does one arm feel bigger,

Longer,

Brighter?

Then make simultaneous movements of your left and right fingers.

And see if you can start to feel how your hands might also connect all the way to the shoulder blades and maybe even to the neck.

And then come back into stillness.

I'd like you to roll your head side to side.

Feel this trajectory in which your head is turning towards.

Notice if there are areas that might be tugging on your head.

And if you notice that there are areas that are in which your head is turning towards.

Notice if there are areas that might be tugging or pulling.

Maybe it's along the neck or the shoulders.

Maybe it's along the jaw.

Maybe even tension in the eyes as you turn.

Notice your breath as you turn your head side to side.

Then come back to stillness.

Feel how the back of your head and where the back of your head is resting on the floor.

See if you can soften your eyes a little bit more.

Feel the weight of your eyeballs sinking into the eye socket.

Notice if you can relax your jaw a little bit more.

So there's space between the upper row of your teeth and the lower row of your teeth.

Allow your tongue to relax as well.

So the tongue perhaps can just touch the back of your teeth,

The back of your front teeth.

And rest on the soft palate,

The roof of your mouth.

Find your breath through the nasal cavity,

Into the back of your throat,

Into the pit of your throat,

Into the back of your throat,

Into the back of your throat,

Into the pit of your throat,

Into the heart area,

Into the belly.

Notice if there's still tension in the belly area and let that soften.

Come back to sensing.

Feel the movement of the breath in the whole body again.

And again just checking in if anything has shifted for you.

How is your whole body feeling right now?

How much weight is being supported by gravity?

How much space are you willing to take up through your body-mind?

Feel the pulsation of your breath moving in relationship with gravity and with space.

And begin to also start to notice the sounds around you.

So not just my voice,

But perhaps the sounds in your room,

The sounds outside the windows,

Distant sounds.

Notice if you are aware of any lingering smells in the room.

Anything that's familiar that tells you that you are home in a comfortable surrounding.

Begin to start to remember where the walls are,

Where the windows are,

How high the ceiling is,

The colors of your room.

Tune into the light behind your closed eyes.

Notice if you are aware of any lingering smells in the room.

Tune into the light behind your closed eyes.

Let your breath deepen again with intention and attention.

Perhaps bend your knees and stretch your arms over your head.

Take another deep breath,

Push your palms away from you and then straighten your legs out,

Flexing your toes forward and back,

Feel into the whole front and back of the body.

And then draw your knees towards your chest,

Take your hands onto each knee and rock a little side to side.

Take your hands onto each knee and rock a little side to side.

Feel into the bony weight of your body through the ribcage,

The pelvis,

The head,

The shoulder girdles.

And then roll over to the side.

You can use your arm as a pillow under your head,

Take a few moments here in a fetal position.

When you're ready,

Find your way back up to a vertical relationship with gravity,

Into standing or into sitting with your eyes open.

Let your blood pressure come back,

Regulate.

Thank you for meditating with me.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions and I wish you a wonderful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

genlte and informative guidance, with intentional pauses, recognition, and empathy while enouraging one mindfully and zen embodyment. Sensori somatic meditations transoformed my life and this is a beautiful practice to listen to while even resting or honoring health challenges