The body scan meditation.
Let's start by establishing our meditation posture.
Make sure that you are comfortable either lying on your back or on your side.
Make sure that your spine is straight but resting naturally so as to express its normal S-shaped curve.
Place a cushion under your head so that your neck is neither compacted or overly stretched at the back or front if you are lying on your back or at either side if you are lying on your side.
Have your legs outstretched but if this causes you any pain or discomfort you can place cushions under your knees so that you are lying in the semi supine position.
Your arms can either be resting at the sides of your body,
Palms up or placed gently on your abdomen.
Close your eyes or you may have them half open and place your tongue at the roof of your mouth.
Now gently give yourself up to gravity.
Really allow yourself to sink down into a fully relaxed state.
Feeling your weight held by the force of gravity.
Allow your breathing to relax.
Feel deep relaxation entering your body on each out breath.
Let yourself go more and more.
Now place your attention on your abdominal area at your lower tanden.
Be aware of the rising and falling of the belly on each in and out breath.
What can you feel here?
Be sensitive to whatever may arise.
Stay with this for a few moments.
Now bring your attention to the crown of your head and notice what you feel there.
If you feel a flow of energy this is fine.
If not this is also fine.
Don't try to make anything happen.
Just be with whatever you experience at the crown.
If your mind wanders this is okay.
Just bring it back to your crown as soon as you notice.
Whenever your mind wanders this is perfectly fine.
Simply accept that this is the normal process of the conditioned mind.
Note where the mind has gone and bring it back to the focus of the meditation.
Each time you are aware of your mind having wandered is a moment of success.
Now bring your awareness to your forehead.
If there is any sense of tension here,
Notice how this softens as you bring your awareness to it.
Take your awareness around to the side of your head above your ear and then to the back of your head opposite your forehead.
Then to the other side of your head above your ear.
Take your awareness to your eyes.
Again,
If there is any tension here,
Feel them naturally relax and soften with your mind's gentle focus upon them.
Move your awareness around to your ear,
Then the back of your head and then the other ear.
Move your awareness to your nose.
Be aware of any sensations at your nose,
Especially the movement of the breath.
The in-breath and the out-breath.
Move to your mouth.
Move your awareness around your lips.
First the upper lip and then the lower lip.
How do they feel?
Move to the jaw on one side of the head.
Then to the back of the head at the base of the skull.
And then finally the jaw on the other side of the head.
Now move down to your throat and to one side of your neck.
It doesn't matter which side.
Move from here to the back of your neck and then to the other side of your neck.
Keep bringing your mind back each time it wanders.
Move down to your chest.
Noticing how this feels first on one side,
Perhaps over the heart and then on the other side.
Then moving under your arm and around to your back and then under the other arm,
Emerging again at the chest area.
Noticing your upper arms.
First one and then the other.
Now back to your chest and the solar plexus area.
Taking your awareness around to the side of your body,
The back of your body at this height and then the other side of your body.
Take your awareness down to your abdomen and to the side of your abdomen,
The back of your body at the height of your abdomen and then the other side of the body.
Noticing your elbows on each arm.
Then taking your awareness down to your navel area.
Being aware of this area before moving on to one side of the body at this level and then the back of the body and the other side of the body.
Now moving down to the area around the pubic bone and the lower belly.
Being aware of this area and then moving to the side of your body,
The back of your body,
The lower back and the other side of your body.
Now move your awareness to your lower arm and then the other lower arm around the wrists,
Into the palms,
Over the back of your hands and along each of the fingers of both hands.
Now down to the pelvis and then out to one of the hips,
Around to the back of the body and then to the other hip.
Move down to your thigh.
Take your awareness down the front of your thigh,
Around to the side,
The back of your leg and then to your inner thigh.
Repeat this for the other leg.
Keep bringing your mind back every time it wanders.
Now move your awareness down to one of your knees.
Take your mind around the front of your knee,
Then the side of the knee and around to the back and then the other side.
Repeat this process for the other knee.
Now move down to your lower leg,
Starting at the front,
Moving to one side,
Around to the back and then to the other side.
Then repeat this process for the other lower leg.
Moving down to your ankle,
Working around the front,
The side,
The back and the other side of the ankle and then going on to the other ankle.
Moving your awareness to the top of one of your feet,
Then to the heel and the sole of the foot and moving across each of your toes in turn,
Starting with the big toe.
Now repeat this on the other foot.
Finally,
Take your awareness back to your crown and quickly sweep your awareness down through your whole body all the way down to your toes.
Make a mental note of each area of your body in turn,
But be relaxed and present.
You are just noticing how your body feels in this moment.
You may like to repeat this sweep through the body several times.
Just be natural and allow the mind to flow with the breath.
Now bring your mind back to your hara and place it deep into this area.
Notice the rising and falling of the belly with each breath.
Now extend your awareness out into the room that you are in.
Take a few slightly deeper breaths than normal and feel your connection to the earth.
Firstly,
Moving your hands,
Your feet and then in your own time,
Opening your eyes,
Ready to resume your normal daily activities.
