Welcome to the body scan.
Beginning with adopting a comfortable position,
You may do the body scan lying down or seated in a firm but comfortable chair.
You may want to adjust for any physical issues by putting cushions under the knees or bending the knees with feet flat on the floor if you're lying down.
If seated,
Drawing the back upright so that it matches an attitude of being alert without being stiff or overly tense.
Resting hands on the lap,
Either palms down or palms up,
And feet are flat on the floor if you are seated.
Eyes can be closed or open with gaze dropped and softened.
Drawing attention first to the movements of the breath,
Wherever you feel them most clearly in the body.
This might be at the tip of the nose or the nostrils,
It may be in the chest,
Or it may be in the lower abdomen.
Drawing attention to follow the movements or sensations of the breath in whichever part of the body you are choosing to follow the breath.
Now,
As for the rest of the practice,
Setting the intention to simply observe whatever you find present rather than moving to judge or to fix.
So,
On an in-breath,
Drawing attention all the way down the body to attend to the feet.
Noticing in particular any sensations in the feet,
Anywhere in the toes,
The arches,
The tops of the feet,
The heels,
Sensations of warmth or temperature,
A tingling,
A pulsing,
No particular sensation at all.
On an exhalation,
Letting go of awareness of the feet,
And on an inhalation,
Drawing attention to the lower legs,
The expanse of muscle,
Bone,
Skin,
Tissue,
From ankles to knees.
On an exhalation,
Letting go of awareness of the lower legs,
And on an inhalation,
Drawing attention to the upper legs,
Sensations of weight,
Heaviness,
Or lightness.
Contact with the floor or the chair,
Maybe sensations of contact with clothing,
With the movements of air,
Or the temperature of the air around it.
Just noticing a blank in sensations,
If nothing particular calls for your attention.
On an exhalation,
Letting go of awareness of the upper legs,
And on an inhalation,
Drawing attention to the pelvic area and the hips.
On an inhalation,
Shifting attention now to the back,
Low back,
Mid back,
And the upper part of the back.
You'll notice from time to time that attention shifts or is drawn to some other object of focus,
Perhaps sensations elsewhere,
Or sounds,
Or thoughts or emotions.
When you notice,
When you become aware that this has happened,
Perhaps silently noting what else has drawn attention away,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Other sensations,
And then very deliberately drawing attention back to the sensations in the part of the body where we are focusing attention.
Right now,
The back.
And then letting go of awareness of the back,
And shifting attention around to the front part of the torso,
The lower abdomen,
The belly area,
The upper part of the torso and chest area,
And then shifting up to the shoulders as well.
On an exhalation now,
Letting go of awareness of the torso,
And on an inhalation,
Drawing awareness to the arms,
All the way from upper arm to elbow,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Hands,
And fingertips.
On an exhalation,
Letting go of awareness of sensation in the arms,
And drawing attention now on the inhalation to sensations in the throat,
The neck,
And the head,
Including all parts of the face,
The eyes,
The nose,
Lips,
And mouth.
And now,
To end this practice,
Bringing attention back to the breath for one more round of inhalation and exhalation,
And then when you are ready,
Opening the eyes.
