Hello and welcome everyone.
Thank you for taking the time to join me today for this mindful body scan session.
My name is Tanya and I am truly honored to guide you through this journey of connecting with your body and the present moment.
Let's begin by talking a bit about mindfulness.
Mindfulness is really about bringing our full attention to the here and now.
It's about having an attitude of openness and acceptance.
It's the practice of being aware of our thoughts,
Our feelings,
The sensations in our physical body and also the environment around us without having judgment about all of those things.
We're simply observing our experiences as they unfold moment by moment.
Today we'll focus specifically on our body.
Our bodies are always communicating with us,
But in the busyness of life,
We very oftentimes overlook those messages.
So by paying closer attention,
We can start to gain some insight into our wellbeing and begin to cultivate a deeper connection with ourselves.
One of the core principles of mindfulness is non-judgment.
And this simply means that we're not labeling our experiences as good or bad or right or wrong and instead we're just trying to simply notice them.
So for example,
You might observe a sensation in your body as pleasant or unpleasant.
It's also important for us to approach our experience with a lot of care and curiosity and to do our best to allow whatever is happening in the moment to just be there without us trying to change it.
And in this way,
We're attempting to be more kind and gentle with ourselves,
Stay curious about our experiences,
Almost like we're exploring or experiencing it for the first time.
Lastly,
There's non-reactivity.
And this means that we're not either trying to hold on tightly to pleasant experiences,
And we're also not trying to push away all of the unpleasant ones that come up in our lives.
And this helps us to notice the flow of sensations,
The flow of our thoughts as they come and go without getting all tangled up in the stories that come along with them.
Now let's transition into our guided body scan.
Please find a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down,
And allow your eyes to close if that feels comfortable for you.
If not,
You can just hold a soft gaze on a spot in front of you.
Take a few gentle,
Deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And as you're taking these breaths,
Just allowing your body to soften and settle.
This practice is more than just being present.
It's about truly experiencing every part of your body in the moment.
So as you're adjusting into your comfy spot,
Whether sitting or lying down,
Now is the time where we're going to tune into our body.
Notice how it feels as a whole.
Maybe some parts are warmer or cooler than others.
And as you explore this practice,
It's interesting to consider that our bodies very often hold stories.
Maybe it's a pain in your lower back from sitting too long or the tightness in your jaw from a stressful day.
All of these physical sensations often mirror these narratives or stories that we tell ourselves about our bodies and our experiences.
So as we move through the practice,
Just doing our best to observe whatever sensations come up without the need to change them.
This gentle awareness that we're working towards,
It really sets the stage for our body scan.
As we move through each area of the body,
Just do your best to be curious and open,
Exercising kindness towards your body and yourself.
We'll begin at the top of our head and slowly move down to our toes,
Bringing our awareness to each part of our body.
And as we do this,
Once again,
Just noticing any sensations that come up.
We're not judging them as good or bad,
Right or wrong,
Just noticing them.
Again by bringing your attention to the top of your head,
Notice any sensations here.
Maybe you feel warmth or tingling.
Maybe you don't feel much at all,
And that's okay.
Just allowing whatever is present to be there with kindness and curiosity.
Now gently shift your focus to your forehead.
Notice if you're holding any tension between your eyes.
Just be curious about what you feel,
What you notice,
Without needing to change it.
Simply observe with a sense of openness.
Next,
Bringing attention to your eyes.
Feel the weight of the eyelids,
The space around the eyes.
Noticing any sensations here,
Allowing yourself to remain open and accepting.
Moving on now,
Our awareness to the nose.
Observe the cool air coming in and the warm air going out.
Feeling the rhythm of your breath,
Noticing it just as it is.
Now shifting your focus to your mouth,
Your lips,
And your jaw.
Just observing here,
Do you notice any tension?
Maybe in your tongue,
Are your teeth relaxed or are they clenched?
Just allowing yourself to feel whatever is happening.
Just be curious about it.
Moving on,
Bringing our attention to the neck and shoulders.
And what sensations do you notice here?
Remember we're just here to observe.
We're not judging or reacting to it.
We're just noticing.
Now bring your awareness to your arms,
Down through your elbows,
Your wrists,
Your hands,
Your fingers.
Just feel the weight of your arms resting,
The heaviness,
And observe any sensations that you notice in your hands,
Your fingers.
We're remaining open to whatever comes up for us.
Gently shift your focus now to your chest and your upper back.
Notice the rise and the fall of your breath.
Any expansion and contraction that you notice in this area of your body.
What do you observe?
What do you notice?
Without the need or the urge to change anything in this area of your body.
Bringing your attention now to your abdomen,
Your lower back.
Notice any expansion and contraction in this area of your body as you inhale and exhale.
Just allowing yourself to be present and curious.
Now bring your awareness down to your hips,
Your pelvis,
And buttocks.
Notice the contact points with the surface beneath you.
And what sensations can you observe here?
Making any adjustments as we go along,
As your body settles and softens throughout the practice.
Moving our focus now to our thighs,
Knees,
Calves,
And shins.
Do your legs feel heavy?
Maybe they feel light.
Maybe there's a tingling or a warmth to them.
Just observing.
There's no right or wrong with whatever you feel or don't feel in this moment.
Just simply allowing this area of your body to be.
And finally,
Bringing our attention now to our feet and our toes.
What do you notice here?
Really focus on this area of our body.
Focus on the tops of your feet,
Each toe one by one,
The bottoms of our feet.
What sensations do you notice?
Just allowing yourself to be fully present with whatever you notice.
Now we'll take a few moments to scan the entire body,
From the top of the head to the tips of the toes.
Just notice how all of these sensations interconnect.
Take a moment to rest in this awareness,
Doing your best to set aside any stories that come up for you.
In this moment,
You're safe to explore and be curious.
As we bring our practice to a close,
Take a few breaths.
Inhaling slowly through the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth.
Gently begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes,
Just slowly bringing some movement back into your body.
Think about if you were able to tune into your body and the senses that you noticed with some non-judgment,
Some care,
Some curiosity,
Some non-reactivity.
If at any point you found it difficult to focus or be present,
Know that there is no right or wrong way to do this.
It's all part of the practice.
There's nothing wrong with you if you weren't able to fully connect with every part of your body.
That's perfectly okay.
Acknowledging this without judgment is,
In fact,
A part of mindfulness.
Mindfulness it's like tuning into the present moment with your whole being.
No distractions,
Just you and the here and now.
But let me tell you,
It is not easy.
It's also about facing whatever comes up for us,
Whether it's discomfort,
A feeling of anxiety or even just the noise in our heads,
Without trying to push it away.
We're learning to sit with our thoughts and our feelings without judging them.
And staying focused on the present moment,
Let's be real.
It takes a lot of practice.
Our minds love to wander,
Jumping to what's next or replaying what's already happened.
But through mindfulness,
We can learn to appreciate the little things and find a little bit more calm in our everyday lives.
When you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes if you've had them closed during the practice.
And before you move on with your day,
Take a moment to really notice how you feel.
Do you notice any changes physically,
Mentally,
Maybe emotionally?
And reflect on how you can bring some of these mindfulness principles into your everyday life.
Whether it's during moments of stress or even during your routine activities like brushing your teeth.
Remember that every moment is really an opportunity to practice mindfulness.
Thank you so much for joining me in this mindfulness body scan.
I hope you found it helpful and that it brings a little bit more calm and awareness to your day.
Take care.
