Metta Body Scan

Bring loving-kindness and appreciation to the body with this Metta Body Scan. We demand so much from our bodies and can be so judgemental, neglectful and disconnected from these amazing body homes. Healing our relationship with our physical being begins right here, right now.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this loving kindness body scan.

For the next 22 minutes or so I'd like you to find a position where you're comfortable preferably lying down,

So finding your position on the floor or a bed.

And if it's not comfortable to lie down of course find a position that's more comfortable for you.

You can do this sitting as well and even standing.

So just taking a few moments to find that position.

And as you settle in allowing your attention to find the breath.

Not making the breath do anything but just letting the breath be.

Letting your attention be with it.

Noticing the rising and the falling.

The expanding and the contracting.

And then bringing your attention to your feet.

And noticing how the parts of your feet that are in contact with the floor or the bed.

Just being aware of the sensations of contact.

Seeing what you discover there.

Knowing there's no right or wrong.

There's just curiosity and openness to what you find.

And holding then the whole of your feet in your awareness.

So noticing the toes and any sensations that are in the toes.

Perhaps tingling or throbbing.

Cold.

Warmth.

Just seeing what's there for you right now in your toes.

And then allowing your attention to expand to include the ball of your feet.

And the arch.

The heel.

Noticing whatever sensations are here at the bottom of your feet.

Again with that curious and open non-judgmental attitude.

Accepting whatever you find here.

Maybe you don't notice any sensations and that's okay too.

And then allowing your attention to expand to include the tops of your feet.

And the sides.

And deep inside the feet.

So that now you're aware of the entirety of your feet.

And noticing whatever sensations catch your attention.

And as you breathe in and as you breathe out you might want to even imagine that you're breathing into and out from your feet.

However that makes sense to you.

It might be that you're breathing in through your nose and the air goes all the way down to your feet through the body.

Or it might be that you imagine that your feet,

Perhaps the pores,

Are able to take in the air.

And so you're breathing through the skin that surrounds your feet.

Whatever feels right to you.

Just seeing what that might be like if you want to.

To breathe into and out from the feet.

And now bringing some loving-kindness to your feet.

Some appreciation.

You're just noticing and being aware of all that your feet do for you.

Carrying you about day in and day out.

How strong and complicated our feet to carry the whole of our bodies.

How our feet connect us to the earth.

And now sending some loving-kindness to your feet.

So imagine that you're sending to your feet these wishes.

Feet may you be happy.

May you be healthy and strong.

May be relaxed and at ease.

And then releasing your feet and bringing your attention up into your ankles.

Noticing any sensations here.

And your lower legs,

The shins,

The calves,

And deep inside into the very bone.

Noticing lower leg and noticing ankle.

And taking a moment to bring a little bit of appreciation to this part of your body.

Just appreciating how the lower legs and ankles move us about through our day.

The flexibility of the ankles.

And the ankles are rich in proprioceptor neurons that help us to orient and help us to know where we are in time and space and help us keep our balance.

And breathing into and out from this part of the body like you did with your feet.

And sending loving-kindness to the lower legs and ankles.

Legs and ankles may you be happy.

May be well.

May be strong and healthy.

And may you have ease and relaxation.

And may be thanking your lower legs and ankles for all they do for you.

And now moving your attention up into your knees.

Noticing the kneecaps and the backs and sides of the knees and deep inside.

And including also the thighs.

Again noticing the backs of the thighs.

The tops.

The insides and outsides and deep inside.

Into this largest bone of the body and all the muscles that move through our thighs.

Being aware too as you visit each part of your body of any judgments that you hold against different areas of the body.

Just noticing if any judgment arises and seeing if you can be aware of it without really indulging it or feeding it.

And then come back to the sensations in the knees and the thighs.

Just whatever you notice and breathing into and out from the thighs.

None of our bodies are perfect.

Sometimes we have pain.

Sometimes parts of our bodies are shaped in ways that aren't considered beautiful in our culture.

Aren't considered beautiful to ourselves.

And yet here they are.

This is the body that we have.

This is our home.

Can we,

Along with whatever judgments arise,

Bring some appreciation.

Some appreciation for these knees that bend and flex.

For these strong strong thighs that carry us through our lives.

This too.

To thighs and knees may you be happy and well.

May you be strong and healthy.

May you be relaxed and at ease.

And then bringing your attention up into your hips and pelvis.

And including the bottom.

Feeling any points of contact.

Any pressure against a chair or a bed.

Just seeing what sensations are here in this part of the body.

Feeling into the joint into the organs of the pelvis.

Breathing into and out from this area.

Bringing appreciation.

The ways that our hips allow us to move.

To sit and stand and walk and twist.

Noticing any judgments that arise associated with this area of the body.

Just letting that be without feeding it.

And you don't need to push it away either.

Just notice if that arises.

Maybe notice how it feels when it arises.

And then seeing if you can let go and come back to the sensations.

Letting the body itself ground you to the present moment.

And breathing into and out from this area of the body.

Maybe bringing some gratitude to the pelvis.

The organs of the pelvis.

And then sending some loving-kindness.

Hips and pelvis may you be happy and well.

May you be healthy and strong.

May be relaxed and at ease.

And then bringing your attention up into your lower back.

Your abdomen.

This place with many organs of digestion and processing.

Just seeing what sensations you notice.

Seeing what's here now in the ever-changing flow of sensation.

Noticing if there's any pain,

Discomfort.

Seeing if you can just be with that if it's present.

Breathing into and out from this area.

Be noticing the movement as you breathe in and breathe out.

Bringing some appreciation to this part of the back and the abdomen and all those organs inside.

Doing their jobs.

Unsung heroes in a way.

And then sending some loving- kindness to abdomen and low back.

May you be happy and well.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be relaxed and at ease.

And then bringing your attention up into the chest and the mid and upper back.

This whole area of the upper torso.

Where you really may notice the breath most strongly.

So just noticing whatever sensations are here.

Any warmth or coolness or coldness.

Any tightness,

Openness,

Tingling,

Expanding,

Contracting.

Just being aware without judgment.

Bringing some appreciation to this part of the body.

The spine,

The back,

And the muscles of the back.

And all they do for us in moving about and lifting and bending,

Twisting.

The heart and lungs doing their important jobs,

Vital jobs.

And to this part of the body may you be happy and well.

May you be strong and healthy.

May you be relaxed and at ease.

Now bringing attention to the shoulders.

Noticing any tension or tightness here.

Including the neck.

The inside and the outside.

The muscles and the bone.

All the tissues and the skin.

Seeing if there's an opportunity for releasing and relaxing a little bit.

As you breathe into and out from the neck and shoulders.

And bringing appreciation.

How much your shoulders hold.

How strong they can be.

How your neck allows your head to turn,

To orient,

To look up,

To look down.

Bringing some appreciation to this part of the body.

The neck and shoulders may you be happy and well.

May you be strong and healthy.

May you be relaxed and at ease.

And now allowing your attention to move down through your upper arms.

Noticing sensations here and at the elbows.

The forearms.

Maybe noticing where these parts of the body are resting.

Whether there's any contact.

Including the wrists and the hands.

Breathing into and out from the arms and the hands.

Noticing sensations.

A tingle here.

A throb there.

Some warmth.

Some coolness.

A twitch.

An itch.

Whatever's here for you.

Just being curious and open and accepting.

Bringing appreciation to the arms and the hands.

How they allow you to pick things up.

To write or paint or draw.

To hug and to hold.

All these things the hands and arms do for us.

And sending some loving kindness to the arms and the hands.

May you be strong and healthy.

May you be happy and well.

May you be relaxed and at ease.

And now bringing your awareness up to your head.

Noticing first the cranium.

The back of the head and the sides and the top.

Any points of contact here.

Whatever sensations are present.

Noticing the jaw.

Which of those little jaw joints.

Bringing some attention there.

Seeing if there might be an opportunity to relax and release a little bit more into the jaw.

Noticing the sensations of the mouth,

The lips,

The cheeks and nose.

All the muscles around the eyes.

The eyes themselves resting in their sockets.

The temples,

The forehead,

The ears.

The whole head and all that it holds are skulls and the brain.

All these elements of our nervous system.

Breathing into and out from the whole of the head and face.

Noticing any movement in eyes.

Just allowing that to be.

Breathing into and out from head and face.

Bringing some appreciation.

This mouth and jaw that lets you speak and eat.

All the important functions of the nose.

The eyes allowing us to see.

The ears allowing us to hear.

All those inner workings.

The brain,

Our nervous system.

Bringing some gratitude for all that they do for us.

And some loving kindness.

Head,

Face,

Brain.

May you be happy and well.

May you be strong and healthy.

May you be relaxed and at ease.

Now bringing your whole body into your awareness.

A very wide lens.

Just kind of getting a felt sense of the whole of the body.

From the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

Noticing the sensations.

Breathing in almost like you can breathe in and out from the pores of the skin of the whole body.

And breathing out.

Bringing appreciation to this body.

This home.

Noticing any judgments.

See if you can let those pass through.

Knowing that they're there.

But that's not all that is here.

There's also all the ways that our bodies work.

Often without our awareness.

The breathing.

The pumping of blood.

The making of hormones and other chemicals.

All the things that are happening underneath awareness most of the time.

And how beautiful and miraculous it is really.

All these parts of the body working together.

What an incredible design this body is.

So as you hold your whole body in awareness and in appreciation,

Bringing some loving-kindness for the whole body.

May this body be happy and well.

May this body be healthy and strong.

May this body be relaxed and at ease.

May this body be safe and protected.

And may I bring loving-kindness and appreciation to this body often.

And this ends this meditation.

Namaste.

Reviews

For me this was amazing experience. I often struggle with my body, I mean, can't feel him or I can't exit the tension cage.
Speaking gentle to him is also a great challenge for me.
But you, your friendly accompaniment enabled me to really feel at home inside me at on top to feel benevolence towards him.
And he was so full of gratitude and answered with wonderful relaxation.

Thank you so much for this. 🙏

Lovely meditation, easeful exploration of the body. Body scans sometimes feel to me they can come with assumptions about interoceptive capacity, this meditation felt much more inclusive and really kind. Thank you 🙏🏾

This is such a nice practice that is like a combination of metta and yoga nidra. I really love it, thank you.

Beautiful practice! A lovely way to start the day. Thank you 🙏🏻

Really loved this metta, my body feels so loved and relaxed. Will definitely come back to this 🤗⭐️Thank you so much, many blessings! 💜🎃🍀💫

Very relaxing. She has a great voice and her cadence was calming as well.

What a beautiful treat to give quality time to your body, sending love, kindness and appreciation.

Beautiful meditation, just what I needed. It was a good mix of other types of meditations and it made me concentrate much easier.

Great. A gentle practice with reminders of gratitude for the body as well as metta

Super relaxing and really well guided. A little more silence would have been nice to allow for full attention on the kind thoughts

My favorite body scan on insight Timer of all I’ve tried. Thank you!

Fantastic body scan with loving kindness to the body

Thank you Susan Sweetwater, for this beautiful, soothing, deeply appreciative loving kindness meditation for our bodies, for ourselves. It’s a gift. Namasté 🙏🏼

Fantastic! Very relaxing and remembering to be kind to my body and treat it well. Thank you.

Such a lovely voice which beings calm and balance into your practice. The body scan is well paced and very calming. Thank you for this meditation!

💙

Wonderfull To express love and kindness to the body.
Thank you

A lovely comprehensive body scan that combines metta, thank you! 💗

I’ll need to do this before bed! So relaxing... I found my mind drifting several times, it your slow and steady pace made it easy to return and catch-up. Thank you.

That really brought a smile to my face. So relaxing too! Thank you ❤️