Releasing Tension Body Scan

A 15 minute guided Body Scan to help relax the body and release tension. The meditation will scan the body, head to toe and become more present and aware of any sensations. This reconnection with breath awareness allows for deep relaxation.

Transcript

Hello, Welcome to this guided meditation. Today we are going to be doing a little bit of an inner exploration of our bodies. We're going to be moving through different body parts, Recognizing any sensation or tension that we might be holding on to and allowing ourselves to release that. So I ask that you find a comfortable place. Laying down might be best for this, But if you're sitting up that's perfectly fine too. So allow yourself to get comfortable in this moment and we will begin. Let's just close our eyes and become aware of our breath. You don't have to change anything in this moment, Just become aware of how the breath is moving through the body. Is it a short breath? Long breath? Are you breathing into the chest or the belly? And as we're taking time to recognize our breathing, Let's just take a few deep breaths together. Breathing in deep into the belly, Expanding the belly like a balloon and exhaling fully. Let's do this three times together. Breathing in, Expanding and releasing, Exhaling all of the air. Breathing in, Expanding the belly, Filling it full and exhale, Letting it all go. And again, Breathing in, Filling up as much as we can with air and letting go. Allowing your breath to come over you and move like waves. Allow these breaths to anchor you in the present moment. Anytime the mind begins to wander, Just bring it back to this breath, Anchoring you to the present moment. We're going to bring our attention to the physical body and we're going to become aware of each body part. As we become more present in each area, I want you to observe anything that's going on there, Any sensations, Just observe it without judgment or trying to change it. Let's start at the soles of your feet. Notice any sensations. Simply being present with the soles of your feet. Just imagine that that breath is flowing to the soles of the feet, Breathing in and out. Breathing in to the soles of our feet. Maybe you experience a softening, Opening up or release of tension in that area. Just observe anything that's going on without judgment, Breathing in. Now let's bring your attention to the entire foot, Moving up to the tops of the feet and up to the ankle. Just become aware of those areas, Breathing into the area, Feeling any sensations, Breathing deeply through the belly, Extending down to the feet, Breathing in and out, Just simply noticing. Now let's proceed up the body to the lower part of the legs, Allowing yourself to be present in this area, Feeling whatever is there, Breathing in past the belly to the lower part of the legs, Just feeling, Observing without judgment, Breathing in again to the legs. And as we breathe in, We move a little higher to the knees, Breathing in deep through the belly, Down to the feet, Up through the knees, Just feeling whatever is present. As we breathe in and out, We are present within our bodies. And again, We're moving up just a little higher. You can take a deep breath in through the belly, Reaches down to the soles of the feet and moves up to the thighs. And we become present with any sensations or feelings that we might be feeling in the thighs. Simply present in this area of the body, Breathing in, Allowing whatever is, Breathing in through the belly to the thighs and letting go. Breathing in again, We move up a little higher towards the pelvis and the hips, Breathing into this area, Being present, Observing whatever is. Without judgment, We can see, We can feel into this area, Breathing in, Allowing the breath to allow us to become more present in this area, Breathing in to the hips, The pelvis, Breathing out, Letting go. And on the next breath, We move up to the lower back, Breathing in past the diaphragm, The belly to the lower back, Being present in this area. Anything that's coming up for you, Any sensations, Just feel them, Observe them. Without trying to change them, Just be present with them. Breathing in, Being present. And on the next breath in, We move up towards the upper back and the chest. Breathing in, Being present, Feeling any sensations that are coming up in this area. Be present with any feelings, Any sensations, Breathing into them. And on the next inhale, We move our attention to the upper shoulders. Any feelings and sensations that might be coming up for us, We breathe into them, Becoming aware of our shoulders. Be aware of anything that's coming up, Breathing in deeply and letting go. And on the next inhale, We move up towards the neck, Become aware of anything that we might be feeling here. Breathing into it, Allowing the breath to move down towards the belly and back up to the neck. Breathing in, We are aware and we move our attention further up towards the jaw, Becoming aware of any sensations or feelings in this area. Breathing in, We are present in this area. And on the next inhale, We allow our attention to move towards all the muscles in the face, Feeling the cheeks, The brows, The muscles in our forehead. Breathing into this area, Allowing yourself to be present and feel anything that is coming up for you in this area. And on the next inhale, We move towards the top of the head, Feeling in the scalp anything that is coming up for you, Just being present with it. Breathing in, Breathing out, Just being present in the body. And at this time, I want you to go back to any place within the body that you might have felt any pain, Tension, Discomfort, Maybe in your neck, Your shoulders, Lower back, Whatever it was for you, Go back to that place now. Simply be with the sensation, The feeling, The tension, Being present with that body part in a non-judgmental way. Breathe in, Allow yourself to imagine that your breath is opening up any tight muscles or painful areas. Breathe into that space. Imagine that you're creating more space, Opening, Relaxing, And letting go of the tension as you breathe out. Breathe into that space, Opening, Expanding, Releasing, Breathe out, Allow the tension to flow out of the body. Breathing in, Opening up, Releasing, Breathing out, Allowing that tension to flow out. Breathe in, Opening, Breathe out, Letting the pain flow out of your body. Taking a moment here to use your breath as a tool to open, Release, And let go of anything that you're holding onto. Taking a moment now to return to the top of the head, Scan the body one last time, Moving from the head down to the tip of the toes, Scanning the body for any tension or discomfort that might be left over. Breathing in deeply, Allow the breath to flow from the top of your head all the way down to your toes and back up to the top of the head. Breathing in, Down to your toes, Filling the body, All the way back up to the top of the head and let go. Allow this breath to wash away all the tension that you might be holding onto in your body. Breathe in and let go. Allow yourself to wiggle the toes and fingers coming back to the body. And when you're ready, You can open your eyes.