Hi,
I'm Debbie.
Welcome.
Today we're going to practice a body scan.
Um,
I invite you to find somewhere comfortable to lie down.
It could be on a bed,
On a mat,
On the floor.
Um,
But please do,
Um,
Take some time to get yourself comfortable.
Use pillows perhaps underneath your knees.
If you have lower back issues,
Um,
Do what is best for you to,
Be in a comfortable position for the next 10 minutes-ish.
Also,
Have a blanket or something to hand in case you get chilly when you're still.
If you're not comfortable lying down,
You can of course do this in a chair or even standing.
So if you want to get comfortable now,
Perhaps pause the meditation and then come back to it when you're ready.
So,
First of all,
Allow your body to rest.
Into gravity.
Just allow it to settle.
Allow whatever is supporting you to hold you.
And if you have any areas of discomfort.
Try to even allow them to soften just a tiny bit.
And be aware of them with kindliness.
At any point during the meditation,
If you are uncomfortable and you need to move or adjust your position in any way,
Please do so.
Please look after your own well-being.
So when we've started to allow our body to settle,
Into the space around us.
We might want to take a couple of deep breaths.
So in through the nose.
And then out through the mouth.
In through the nose.
And out through the mouth.
And as you do this,
You might notice your whole body.
Begin to relax.
Let your breathing return to its natural rhythm.
Allow the body to breathe itself.
Nothing should be.
Forced.
Now notice the points of contact.
Between your body and the surface that you're resting on.
You might notice the back of your heels.
Back of your legs.
Your bottom,
Your back,
Your shoulder blades.
Perhaps your neck is resting on a pillow,
The back of your head.
Back of your arms,
Maybe your elbows.
You might have your hands placed face down,
Palm down on your tummy or you might have your hands placed beside you,
Palms upwards and wherever they're placed just notice that point of contact.
Now we're going to guide our awareness to our natural breath.
We're going to notice the breath first of all.
And our tummy.
And just notice how.
Your tummy gently expands.
And contracts with the breath.
You might notice.
The clothes in contact with your skin.
You might notice a change in pressure if your hands are resting on your tummy.
Just notice how that feels.
Curious about the sensations.
Now gently guide your awareness.
Up to your chest.
Notice the breath in your chest.
Notice how your ribs move with each breath in and out.
And you might notice.
Your ribs are moving,
Not just at the front of your body.
But at the sides of your body.
And at the back of your body as well.
Even just slight movements,
You might become aware of.
Remember just to keep your breath natural,
Just allow your body.
To breathe.
You might be able to notice some movements of the breath inside your body,
Not just on the surface.
What do those sensations feel like?
And if at any point your mind has drifted.
Don't worry,
That's what our minds do.
We all drift off and the moment that you notice you've drifted off.
That's a moment of awareness.
Just be kind and gently guide yourself.
To the breath.
In the body and the sensations that you're noticing.
Now we're going to gently guide our awareness to the back of our body.
We'll start with the buttocks where they're in contact with the bed or the floor or the chair.
What does that sensation feel like?
Perhaps there's some pressure.
Perhaps there's some tingling.
Perhaps you notice an echo of the breath.
And then allow your awareness to move up towards your lower back.
Sometimes we hold tension and tightness in this area,
So if you have any tension or tightness here,
Just gently notice what those sensations feel like.
And if it's too uncomfortable,
Then widen your awareness to take in perhaps the whole of the back or the whole of your body.
But if your back is reasonably comfortable then See if you can notice precisely where those sensations are and what sensations you notice.
Perhaps you don't feel anything at all there and that's absolutely fine too.
Just notice that you feel nothing there.
Now gently guide your awareness up to your middle back.
And here you might notice.
The back of the ribcage,
Perhaps it's expanding and subsiding as you breathe.
You notice a change in pressure against the bed.
And guide your awareness up to your upper back.
What do you notice there?
See if you can be curious about the sensations.
And now we're going to move our awareness to our shoulders.
And again,
Our shoulders is an area that lots of us hold tension in.
So,
If you become aware of tension,
See if you're able to soften.
Just let that area go,
Even if it's just a tiny bit.
And gently guard your awareness down to your upper arms.
The outside of your upper arms,
The skin,
Perhaps the contact with your clothes,
Your sleeves,
Perhaps air on your skin.
And guide your awareness to your elbows,
Not just the outsides of your elbows.
Perhaps you can notice some sensations even inside your elbows.
And gently down to your lower arms.
And then guide your awareness into your hands.
The palms of your hands,
The backs of your hands.
Each of your fingers.
And your thumbs.
I'm just going to allow you a moment or two to.
.
.
Really focus on the sensations you can feel there.
Perhaps there's tingling,
Perhaps they're warm,
Perhaps they're cool.
Perhaps there's a sense of numbness.
Perhaps you notice the skin feeling dry,
Perhaps you notice where your hands are contacting your tummy if they're resting on your tummy,
Or perhaps where they're contacting the bed.
Just going to give you a moment or two to notice that and then I'll come back to you.
Now we're going to guide our awareness back up our arms.
Through up to our shoulders and into our throat.
And allow our throat to soften.
You might notice at this point the air as you breathe moving through your throat.
And out again.
Guide your awareness around to your neck,
Again an area of tension,
If you're able to let that tension go just a little.
Allow it to soften.
And guide your awareness.
Around to your head,
The back of your head.
Can you allow your head to be heavy on the pillow?
It doesn't need to be held,
It's being supported.
What do you notice with your scalp?
Perhaps you feel warmth,
Perhaps tingling,
Tightness,
Softness.
Guide your awareness gently over the top of your head and down to your face,
Your forehead.
If you notice that you're frowning slightly or your forehead is tight,
Can you loosen,
Can you allow that to soften?
Notice your eyes,
Your eyelids.
What can you feel there?
And if you find that you've got lost in thought again.
Just kindly and gently.
Bring your awareness back.
Back to your body.
And noticing the sensations.
Bring your awareness to your nose.
Your nostrils,
You might spot the breath.
In and out of your nostrils.
What can you feel as that happens?
And now I invite you to gently guide your awareness to your mouth.
Notice your jaw,
Is your jaw being held tightly?
Two jaws tight.
See if you can allow it to soften.
And then notice your mouth,
Your lips.
And even inside your mouth.
What does that feel like?
What position is your tongue in?
Now we're going to guide our awareness.
Back down our body.
To our hips.
What can you feel inside your hips,
Outside your hips?
Slowly and gently guide your awareness to your thighs.
You might notice the contact of your clothing with your thighs.
You might feel warmth.
Coolness.
Tightness.
And now gently.
Allow your awareness to move down to your knees.
Notice the contact of your knees with the surface that you're resting on.
Perhaps with your clothing.
Be curious about what you can feel outside your knees and also perhaps those sensations inside.
Or perhaps there isn't.
Now guide your awareness down to your calves.
And then to the fronts of your legs,
Your shins.
And down to your ankles.
The outside of your ankles,
The inside of your ankles.
Allow the whole of your legs.
To give up their weight to gravity.
Let your legs be held by the surface that you're resting on.
Now guide your awareness.
To your feet.
The tops of your feet.
Sides of your feet.
The soles,
The heels.
And then allow your awareness.
Notice what's happening inside each of your toes,
From the small toe all the way up to the big toe.
What can you feel there?
Notice the breath in your body.
Your whole body.
And allow it to gently soothe.
Any areas of discomfort.
Be aware.
Of your whole body lying here and being held.
Notice that sensations are often moving and changing from one moment to the next.
And that perhaps if we have any.
.
.
Areas of discomfort or pain.
That that doesn't stay the same.
But that can change or can move too from moment to moment.
And we can only experience.
Any of those sensations one moment at a time.
Just for a moment,
I'm going to allow you to just be aware of your whole body lying here.
Breathing.
And then,
When you're ready,
We are going to gradually bring this meditation to a close.
You can very gently make some small movements,
Perhaps wriggle your fingers.
Or your toes.
And then when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Just take a little bit of time before you move from the surface that you're on.
Just to allow the effects of your practice to settle.
Notice how you're feeling.
And if you're lying down,
Take care with how you move from that position,
Particularly if you have any discomfort.
Perhaps roll onto your side.
Before getting up.
I hope that you can take with you for the rest of the day some of the awareness that you've had and I hope that the kindliness that you've shown to any areas of discomfort,
You can take that too.
And thank you for practicing with me.
If you would like to,
You can always listen to this again if it's been helpful for you and also please do have a look at some of my other practices.
Okay,
Wishing you well.
Thank you.
