Hello,
I'm Angie from Big Sky Mind.
Mindfulness is paying attention to what is happening in the present moment,
Right now.
It can help us notice how we feel and notice the world around us.
Mindfulness can help us calm down when we have a difficult emotion and it can help us feel happy too.
Today we're going to do something called a body scan.
This will help us to notice our bodies and our breath and how we feel.
Sometimes we spend so much time thinking we forget to notice our bodies,
But paying attention to our bodies can help us be present and feel calm.
You can do this body scan sitting or lying down.
I'm going to lead it as if you're sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the ground.
If you'd like to get into a comfortable position where your body can feel upright yet relaxed with your feet flat on the ground.
I'm going to invite you to close your eyes if that's comfortable for you or if not just cast your gaze down towards your lap.
And let's take a few deep breaths and on your out breath just try and relax a little more into your sitting position.
Let the weight of your body drop down into the chair and into the ground beneath you.
With each out breath just see if you can let go a little more.
Relaxing the body down.
Softening the shoulders.
Softening the face.
Letting the body become still.
Can you feel the connection with your feet on the ground without moving?
Can you feel your feet in your shoes?
What kinds of sensations can you feel in your feet?
Tingling?
Maybe they feel a bit numb?
Hot?
Cold?
And how about your lower legs?
What does that feel like?
And your knees?
Can you feel the shape of your knees without touching them from the inside?
And your upper legs?
Can you feel them pressing down into the chair beneath you?
And the weight of your body dropping down through your bottom into the chair?
Can you feel that strong stable connection with the chair beneath you?
And now bring your attention to your belly.
Have another out breath.
Can you feel your belly softening with each out breath?
And rising with the in breath.
There's no need to change your breathing.
Just notice how your belly rises and falls as you breathe in and out.
And maybe you can notice how your chest also rises and falls.
What does that feel like?
You can feel the breathing in the front of the body,
In the belly and the chest.
How about at the back of the body?
Can you feel your breathing in the back of the body between the shoulders?
Is the back of your body resting against the chair?
Or perhaps you can feel clothing against your skin as you breathe.
And you feel the breathing in your shoulders.
Maybe they're rising and falling also as you breathe in and out.
Let's take our awareness down our arms towards the elbows,
Down towards the hands.
What do your hands feel like?
Are they warm?
Are they buzzy?
Do they tingle?
What kinds of sensations can you feel in your hands,
Your fingers,
Your palms?
Let's come back up the arms towards your throat and your neck.
Does it feel long and upright?
And your head just balancing on top of your neck?
Coming round to your face and can you feel your forehead softening,
Eyes softening,
Cheeks softening?
Maybe your jaw relaxing?
And now have a sense of your whole body just sitting,
Just breathing,
Letting the weight of your body drop,
Letting the breath come and go naturally and easily.
All different kinds of sensations happening in the body right now,
Changing all the time.
And maybe there are thoughts too and they're just coming and going just like our sensations.
Coming back to how the body feels right here,
Right now.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
