My dear mindfulness friends,
This is a long body scan practice.
So to prepare for this practice,
Find a place where you feel wakeful and comfortable.
A place can really support this practice.
So you can choose to lie on your bed,
Mat,
Or sit on a chair.
Or if you would like to stand,
It's also okay.
Just remembering the particular postures are not important as our attitudes to this practice.
Perhaps some intentional attitudes,
Like being kind and curious to every moment.
No need to strive for any particular sensations or state.
Just allowing each moment as it is.
And when you are ready,
You can choose to gently close your eyes or lower your gaze.
And moving your field of awareness to the breath.
Where do you feel your breath moving most vividly,
Most clearly?
It can be tip of nose,
Nostrils,
The back of throat,
Your chest,
Some gentle movements.
In the abdomen,
The belly,
The rising of each in-breath and the falling away of each out-breath.
Choose your place where you feel your breath moving most clearly.
And savoring in that place,
Grounding yourself,
Anchoring yourself.
However if you are not comfortable with breathing,
You can also choose to savor in another anchor.
It can be your feet,
It can be your hands or somewhere else.
And when you are ready,
I am inviting you to expand your attention to the whole body,
To your posture.
Where you are sitting or lying on,
And any sensations of the whole body.
And perhaps now moving to each part of your body,
Starting with your feet.
So shifting your attention to your left foot,
Noticing if any sensations may arise.
Your toes,
Insteps,
Your sole,
A heel,
Maybe a sense of tingling,
Numbness,
Or temperature,
A sense of warmth or coolness.
So we are not thinking of any sensations,
We are only moving to the raw sensations this left foot can bring to you.
And perhaps with the next out-breath,
Letting go of this part,
And moving to your left lower leg.
And any sensations here.
It's also okay to register blank,
No need to create any sensations.
Just allow in this moment as it is.
And when you are ready,
Moving to your left knee,
Kneecap,
Sides of knee and the back of knee.
Maybe inside knee,
The joints.
You may notice your mind starts to wander.
You are distracted by some thoughts or even sounds.
Just acknowledging where does your mind go.
And very firmly but gently returning to your left knee.
Returning to any sensations.
And perhaps with next out-breath,
Releasing any sensations,
Even thoughts,
And moving to your left thigh.
Very big muscles,
Very heavy bones.
Anything different or similar you can notice.
And perhaps taking a deep breath,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Letting go.
And shifting your attention to your right foot.
Any sensations of the whole foot.
And moving to each part,
Your toes,
Big toes,
Small toes,
And toes in between.
And your sole,
Instep,
Heel.
If you notice you have a sense of sleepiness,
Drowsiness.
And see if it's okay to respond to this state.
So you can choose to open your eyes or moving your fingers,
Toes,
Or slightly adjust your posture.
So these responses can let you feel wakeful again.
And also bring a sense of kindness to this response.
No need to criticize yourself.
It's just a natural feeling.
So when you are ready,
Moving to the right lower leg.
The calf muscles,
The shin bone,
Any sensations here.
And shifting to your right knee.
The surface of knee,
The skin and inside your knee,
The joints and small muscles.
And with next out breath,
Letting go.
And moving to your right thigh.
Very big muscles.
You may notice a sense of heaviness or other sensations.
And perhaps take a deep breath.
Breathing into this part and when you breathe out,
Letting go.
Letting go of any sensations that you had experienced.
And moving your attention to your pevious area.
Your buttocks and hips.
You may notice a sense of gravity,
Especially with your every out breath.
Your pevious area may sink a little deeper into your bed,
Mat,
Or chair.
Acknowledging if you have any thoughts,
Any mind wandering,
Plans in the future,
Memories in the past,
Or just a very random daydreaming.
And returning to the area we intend to focus on.
Perhaps with next out breath,
Letting go,
Releasing any thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations.
And moving to your lower back.
Perhaps this part of body we often take for granted until something goes wrong.
So now it's a time to pay attention.
And at a certain point,
Shift your awareness to the front of your torso,
Your body,
Your abdomen.
Any sensations here.
Maybe some movements.
And you can put your hands on your belly and feel in some gentle movements.
The rising of in breath and the falling away of out breath.
Perhaps also a brief pause between in breath and out breath.
And noticing any emotions may arise in your mind.
So you may feel a sense of boredom,
Irritation,
Frustration,
Or something else.
Perhaps acknowledging the state of mind.
No need to change,
No need to control.
And then returning to your abdomen.
And moving to your chest.
Any sensations here.
You can also put your hands on your chest,
Feeling its gentle movements.
Perhaps also feeling inside your heart beating.
Feeling tuning into any detailed sensations.
Even very small sensations.
Perhaps taking a deep breath.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Letting go.
And shifting your attention to your upper back.
Your shoulder blades,
Shoulders.
This part of body will often feel a sense of tension.
It will often feel very tight,
Very intense.
If we are in some emotions like anxiety,
Or a sense of stress,
Anger.
So now perhaps slightly dropping down your shoulders and relaxing you.
And moving to your arms.
Your upper arms.
And lower arms.
Perhaps noticing different sensations.
Between the different parts of your arms.
And moving to your hands.
Both hands.
Any sensations of your whole hands.
And each part of your hands,
Your fingertips,
Fingers,
Palms.
Wrists.
Perhaps you may also notice temperature.
A sense of warmth,
Coolness.
And when you are ready,
Take a deep breath.
With next out breath,
Moving your attention to your neck.
And you may notice a sense of discomfort.
No need to judge this sensation.
Just allowing this discomfort to be as it is.
Accepting it.
Your mind may get caught into your thoughts.
Your plans,
Or even worries,
Criticism,
Critical thoughts.
Just acknowledging their existence.
No need to avoid them.
Or no need to change them.
Make them different.
And then returning to the body scan.
And here's invitation is to move to the top of your body,
Your head.
Starting with the front,
Your face.
Any facial expressions here.
And moving to each part,
Your jaw.
And your mouth.
Maybe inside your mouth.
And moving to your nose.
Noticing what's changing from moment to moment.
And what's staying the same.
Cold air may enter into your nostrils.
And the warm air may come out.
And moving to your nose.
Noticing what's changing from moment to moment.
And moving to your eyes.
Muscles around your eyes.
Your eyelids.
And inside your eyes,
Your eyeballs.
And your eyebrows.
Your forehead.
Any sense of tightness here.
And perhaps with next out breath.
Moving to the sides of your head.
Your ears.
Any sensations.
And moving to the back of your head.
And your scalp.
So when you are ready,
You may want to take a few deep breaths.
Maybe very deep in breath.
And slow out breath.
And slow out breath.
And expanding your attention to your whole body.
So your whole body is lying,
Sitting here and breathing.
No need to focus on any part.
Just being open to the body as a whole.
The whole sensations of your body.
A sense of openness.
And spaciousness.
And taking your time to open your eyes if they are closed.
And feeling the transition from the body scan to this moment.
Thank you.
