Finding Peace Meditation 2 - The Body Scan

'Finding Peace Meditation 2 - The Body Scan' is the second of eight guided meditations that accompany the book 'Mindfulness: A Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World' by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. This cover version has been updated to be more trauma-sensitive.

Photo by Kristjan Sverrisson on unsplash.

Transcript

Meditation 2, The Body Scan. This is a guided body scan meditation, Following my words as guidance but only doing what feels comfortable and feeling free to stop at any time. So lying on a mat or thick rug or on a bed, Allowing the eyes to close if that feels comfortable but feeling free to leave them open. Letting the hands lie alongside the body and the feet uncrossed, Falling away from each other and noticing the sense of the body as a whole lying here. The contact between the body and whatever is supporting you. And as you lie here reminding yourself that we're not trying to get anywhere or striving to achieve any special state, The intention here is to spend time with each region of the body in turn, Cultivating awareness of what's already here. So we're not looking for anything special to happen but allowing things to be just as we find them. So letting go of the tendency to want things to be a certain way or to judge how you're doing, Simply following along with the instructions as best you can yet recognising that there may be difficult sensations and if it's too much we can move on, We can come back to some place of safety. And whenever the mind wanders away as it will tend to do, Bringing it back without giving yourself a hard time. So now, At a certain point bringing your attention to the sensations of the breath down in the abdomen, Noticing the stretching of the abdomen wall on the in-breath and the falling away on the out-breath, Seeing if that's true for you. And now gathering the attention and moving it down the body to the feet, Noticing what sensations there are in both feet when the intention arrives here. Sensations in the toes, The soles of the feet, The heels, The top of the feet, What's here right now. If there are no sensations then simply registering a blank or if they're very subtle then simply noticing this. This is your experience right now. There's no right way to feel. Simply allowing your attention to remain here. Now taking a deeper breath and on the out-breath letting go of the feet, Letting them dissolve in awareness and shifting the attention to the ankles. What sensations are here? Taking a deeper breath and on the out-breath letting go of the ankles and shifting the attention to the lower legs. Dwelling here for a few moments, Maybe noticing any sense of contact with whatever you're relying on. Being fully alive to any and all sensations that may be from the surface of the skin as well as from inside the legs. Now taking a deeper breath and on the out-breath releasing the attention from the lower legs and shifting to the knees, Letting the attention rest here. Not thinking about the knees but sensing directly what's here right now. Noticing what sensations change and what stays the same. Seeing what's true for you right now. And then at a certain point taking a deeper breath and on the out-breath letting go of the knees and shifting the attention to the thighs. What do you notice here? Maybe sensations of contact with clothes on the surface of the skin. Sensations of heaviness or lightness, Pulsing or vibration. Any and all sensations. And now when you're ready and comfortable on an in-breath, Imagining the breath could come into the body, Flowing all the way into the legs, Right down to the feet and back again on the out-breath up and out of the body so that you're imagining or maybe sensing what it would feel like if the breath could fill the legs as you breathe in and empty from the legs as you breathe out. Just playing with this sensation for the next few breaths if you choose. And now taking a deeper breath and as you breathe out letting go of the legs, Allowing them to dissolve in awareness and shifting the attention to the hips and pelvis. Right hip, The left hip and the whole basin of the pelvis and the organs cradled in this region. Perhaps imagining the breath could flow into this region on the in-breath and out again on the out-breath. And taking a deeper breath and on the out-breath letting go of the hips and pelvis and shifting the spotlight of attention to the back, Starting with the lower back. And on an in-breath expanding the field of awareness to take in the middle of the back. And then again to take in the upper back, Including the shoulder blades, Until you're holding the whole of the back in awareness, Breathing with the back. Now taking a deeper breath into the back and as you let the breath go, Letting go of the back as well, Moving your attention to the front of the body, To the lower abdomen, Seeing what sensations there are waiting for you here as your attention moves into this region. Perhaps feeling the sensations as you breathe in and breathe out. And from time to time you may find yourself getting distracted with thoughts, Daydreams, Worries, Or the feeling of wanting to hurry up, To move on to feelings of boredom or restlessness. These might sometimes be pulling for your attention quite strongly. When this happens, Recognizing that it's not a mistake, Nothing's gone wrong, Simply taking the opportunity to notice these feelings and distractions, Just acknowledging them, Perhaps noticing how they're affecting the body. Then without judging yourself in any way, Bringing the attention back to where you had intended it to be. So now in the lower abdomen, Breathing. And at a certain point, Taking a deeper breath and on the out breath, Letting go of the abdomen and shifting attention to the chest. What sensations are here? As you cradle this part of the body in awareness, Moment by moment by moment. And at a certain point, Taking a deeper, More intentional breath into the chest. And when you're ready, As you let go of the breath, Letting go of the chest as well. Bringing your attention now to your hands and arms, Holding both hands and arms centre stage in awareness now. Then on a deeper breath, On the out breath, Letting go of the hands and the arms and shifting attention to the shoulders and neck. What sensations are here? Attending, Being here for them, Whatever they are, Breathing with them. Then taking a deeper breath and on the out breath, Letting go of the shoulders and neck, Moving the attention to the head and face. Breathing with the lower jaw and the chin, The mouth and lips, The nostrils, The surface of the nose, The cheeks on the side of the face and the ears, The eyes, The eyelids, The eyebrows and the space between the eyebrows, The forehead and the sides of the forehead, The temples and the scalp. Now imagining the breath could fill the whole head and that you could feel the breath on the back of the face as it comes in, Refreshing and renewing with each in breath. Now imagining that the breath could fill the whole body as you lie here, Breathing into the whole body, Breathing out from the whole body. And now letting go of any intentions for the breath and simply lying here, Allowing the body to be just as it is, A sense of coming home to the body, Allowing yourself to be just as you are, Complete and whole, Resting in awareness moment by moment. Thank you for listening.