The body scan practice.
It's taking a few moments to settle into a nice comfortable posture.
So you can do this practice either sitting in a chair or lying down on the floor or on a bed.
So just allowing the body to relax as much as possible.
If you're lying on the floor just resting the arms by the side of the body.
Allowing the feet to fall outwards.
And just noticing where the body is making contact with the floor or the bed or the chair.
So beginning by bringing attention to the movement of the breath.
So just following the in-breath and following the out-breath.
We can unplug our minds from the busyness of the day.
From any worries,
Any anxieties,
Any stresses.
And just arrive into the body.
So gently and as best we can letting go of thoughts,
Of thinking,
Of planning.
And allowing the awareness to rest simply in the body.
So there's nowhere that we have to go right now and there's nothing that we have to do.
Just allowing ourselves to be here.
When we bring the attention into the body we bring the attention to the present moment.
So we can really rest in the body.
We can nourish the body with the attention and the breath and we can replenish.
As we move the attention through the body and breathe into different parts.
It's as if we are opening all the windows and letting fresh air sweep through a house.
Refreshing and energising.
So we may find this practice very relaxing.
Or we may notice different sensations as we direct the attention to different parts of the body.
So we can just allow whatever experience arises just to be.
The point of the body scan practice is to fall awake.
To become more aware.
So we can bring attention down through the body,
Through the legs.
And place the awareness,
The attention onto the big toes of both feet.
Really sensing into the toes and noticing if there are any sensations.
There might be a tingling or a fizzing.
Maybe even a slight throbbing.
Perhaps a sense of temperature,
Coolness or warmth.
Or an awareness of the sock or blanket covering the toes.
Becoming aware of all the spaces in between the toes.
Moving the attention along the soles of the feet.
All the tiny bones on the top of the feet.
Noticing where the feet make contact with the floor.
The ankle bones.
All the tiny muscles and tendons.
And imagine breathing into the feet.
And on the next out breath we can just allow the feet to dissolve in the minds eye.
Letting go of the feet and placing awareness,
Attention into the lower parts of the legs.
Sensing into the calf muscles.
Noticing if there is any tightness or holding.
Any tension.
Any sense of relaxation or softening.
Becoming aware of the shin bones.
Breathing into the lower part of the legs.
And on each out breath allowing these lower parts of the legs to soften.
To ease,
To rest.
And placing the awareness onto the kneecaps.
The backs of the knees.
And really sensing into the thighs and noticing if there are any sensations here.
Bringing a sense of curiosity to whatever sensations we experience.
So breathing into the legs and breathing out through the soles of the feet.
And on the next out breath just letting go of the legs in the minds eye.
And also if they can dissolve into the floor.
And placing awareness now into the hips,
Part of the body where we might store a lot of emotion,
A lot of tension.
Just seeing if we can allow the kindness of the breath to ease any tension that's there.
Just allowing the hips to sink a little deeper into the floor.
So there's nothing that we have to hold onto.
Fully supported by the floor or the chair.
Becoming aware of any sensations at all in the hip and pelvic area.
Bringing the awareness now to the base of the spine.
And moving slowly up through the knuckles of the spine.
Noticing any sensations in the lower back.
Maybe an ache or a tightness.
Breathing into this part of the body.
Then moving up the spine to the middle back.
Aware of the backs of the lungs.
Upper back.
On each out breath allowing for a quality of release in the back.
And allowing whatever sensations are present to be there.
Resting the awareness on the shoulders.
We often carry a lot of our worries,
Stress,
Burdens on the shoulders.
So just seeing if we can drop the shoulders on the in breath.
Drop them further on the out breath.
You can imagine breathing in between the shoulder blades.
Allowing the breath to lighten any load that is sitting here.
And on the next out breath,
Just allowing the back to really sink into the floor.
Allowing it to melt into the floor like warm water on ice.
Dissolving effortlessly.
Bringing awareness now into the arms.
Our arms that are constantly doing,
Lifting,
Writing,
Typing,
Cooking,
Cleaning.
So they hold so much of our busyness.
Seeing if we can really allow the arms to rest.
You can imagine the breath moving inside the arms.
We can bring our attention to the elbows.
Soft skin on the inside of the elbows.
Wrists.
And then just resting the awareness in the hands.
Aware of sense of temperature,
Maybe warmth or coolness in the palms of the hands.
Sensing into the fingers,
The knuckles.
Bringing the attention into the very tips of the fingers.
Becoming aware of any sensations right in the very tips of each finger.
Breathing into the arms and breathing out through the tips of the fingers.
Moving the awareness now to the front of the body.
Bringing attention to the chest area.
Just settling with the movement of the chest as we breathe in and breathe out.
We can enjoy the movement of the in breath and the release of the out breath.
Maybe even having a sense of gratitude.
Being able to breathe with relative ease and comfort.
Resting awareness now in the heart.
The heart that works so hard for us.
Never taking a break.
Responding to every thought and action and emotion.
So seeing if we can really allow the heart to rest.
Coming back again to the body if the mind wanders off.
Knowing that each time the mind wanders it's not an error of practice but an act of mindfulness when we notice and bring it back again.
So each time we come back to the body we are strengthening the mindfulness muscle.
So resting awareness now in the stomach area.
There's often a tendency to hold this part of the body.
There's a tightness.
There may even be a stirring or an agitation.
We may notice signs of digestion or signs of hunger.
Just noticing whatever sensations are there.
And as we breathe in we might have a sense of the expansion at the sides of the body.
And as we breathe out we can allow for a quality of release and ease and softening.
Placing awareness on the throat and the neck.
The back of the neck and the very base of the skull.
And on the next out breath letting go of the whole body and placing the attention on the head.
So beginning at the back of the head.
Moving to the sides and the top.
And imagining the breath entering beneath the skin and allowing the whole head to lighten.
And bringing attention to the forehead and noticing if there's a tendency to frown or a tightness or a holding.
And just seeing if with the breath we can allow this to smooth and to relax.
Almost as if the eyebrows can drift apart.
Gradually softening the face.
All the tiny muscles around the eyes.
With cheekbones.
And slowly moving attention along the jawline.
Bringing attention to the inside of the mouth.
Noticing the position of the tongue,
The teeth.
Just allowing the whole jaw and mouth to relax.
Noticing the position of the lips.
Whether they're together or apart.
And really leaning into the movement of air entering the body through the nostrils.
And the slightly warmer air that leaves the body through the nostrils.
With each in-breath we can allow a freshening of the face.
With each out-breath we can allow the face to rest to release any tension.
And now expanding the awareness to take in the whole body.
Having a sense of the whole body lying here or sitting here.
Dropping back into the body if the mind has been pulled away by thoughts or sleepiness or distractions.
Imagining the breath entering the body through the soles of the feet.
Washing through every single part,
Every cell of the body.
And leaving through the top of the head.
And then breathing in through the top of the head.
Just allowing the breath to wash through the body,
Soothing the body and leaving through the soles of the feet.
So as we near the end of the practice,
Just enjoying the last few breaths in this way.
And now we're going to take a deep breath in through the soles of the feet.
And now we're going to take a deep breath in through the soles of the feet.
.
