Body Scan To Soothe And Settle (With Music) Insight Live

Find a safe, quiet place where you will be undisturbed. This offering is intended to support rest and help you connect to the felt sense of safety, self-compassion, presence, and calm. From a recent Insight Live. I hope it is helpful. Another version without music is also available.

Music by Chris Collins

Transcript

I want to invite you just to look around,

Look around the room.

And the reason I'm asking you to look around is so that you know that it's safe to let go.

So just check your surroundings,

Remind yourself where you are.

Remind yourself that it's safe to give yourself this time.

Maybe just look around and see what colors you see.

Maybe find comforting objects in the room and let your attention rest on those objects,

Reminding yourself that this is your safe space.

Take a few moments to do that.

And as you're orienting to the space,

Maybe even go ahead and say that to yourself before you settle into your meditation position.

Just remind yourself that at this moment,

At this time,

I am safe.

And at this moment,

It is okay for me to care for myself.

And whenever you're ready,

Go ahead and let yourself slide into your position for our time together.

So maybe you will crawl up in a chair.

Maybe you're in bed or in your yoga mat.

Or maybe you're in your car about to start work.

Just wherever you are,

Recognize that you're there.

We're going to allow ourselves to begin with three breaths.

And if I offer something that does not feel comfortable in your body today,

That does not feel right,

It's okay.

This is your practice.

But if it does feel right,

Let the belly rise.

Let the breath still,

Let it hold at the top.

And then slowly let it all go with an open mouth sigh.

Let yourself do that two more times at your own pace.

No rush or hurry at all.

Just letting the belly rise.

And seeing how long you can extend your exhales.

Being mindful that extending the exhale helps our nervous system settle and helps us calm down.

And after the last breath,

Let yourself breathe normally.

Maybe then give your whole body a wiggle.

Just kind of move your arms and legs.

Kind of shake out the day.

Reminding yourself that you are safe in this moment.

Reminding yourself that it is okay to let go and to be here.

Letting the body rest.

And as you do,

Bring your attention to your feet.

Let the attention be warm and gentle.

Let the attention be kind.

This is you tending lovingly to one and only you.

And as your attention rests on your feet,

Think of all the ways that your feet served you today.

And maybe have a moment of gratitude.

And staying with the breath,

Let yourself wiggle your toes.

These toes are yours,

Every one of them.

Let yourself breathe deeply and revel in the miracle of movement.

It's okay if your mind wanders away from the experience.

Feelings do wander.

Gently,

Gently bring yourself back to this moment.

Feel yourself in your body.

Maybe even see if it can feel like melting into the mattress.

Melting into the mat.

Letting everything that does not serve you in this moment go.

And then next,

Let your attention slide gently from your feet to your ankles and your lower legs.

Let the attention be gentle and compassionate.

Let your attention remind you that you are worthy of your own loving care.

Feel the warmth of your own attention.

And just notice what it feels like to be in your body.

Letting everything that came before now stay where it is.

And letting everything that will come next stay next.

Because it's really,

Really,

Really okay for you to stay with now.

This is your time to rest.

Letting everything that comes before you go away from the experience.

And again,

Whenever the mind wanders,

Gently,

Gently bring it back.

And maybe even offer these words,

Just this.

Only this.

Let the attention rest on the breath.

Maybe noticing how slow and deep your exhale can be.

And whenever you're ready,

Let the attention slide to your knees.

Maybe to your upper legs.

The sides of your legs.

The fronts of your legs,

The backs of your legs.

Let the attention feel like love for you.

The love you need right now,

The care you need right now.

Feel it settling gently on your skin.

Let yourself feel your own warm,

Loving attention.

Maybe it feels warm like water.

Maybe it feels warm like the sun.

And maybe it feels like fresh,

Cool sheets.

Now hold all of your legs,

The top part and the bottom part,

Your knees,

Your feet.

Hold them all with warm,

Loving attention.

And perhaps some gratitude,

Letting yourself recognize all the ways that your legs serve you.

And at the same time,

Letting it be okay for your legs to do nothing right now.

Giving them permission to still and to rest.

Let yourself come back to the breath.

Let yourself notice what it feels like to slow down and to let go.

There's nothing else you have to do right now.

It is okay to be here.

Belly rising.

And let the belly fall.

Let's do that together two more times.

Letting the belly rise and heel.

Letting the belly fall.

Letting everything that's not now go.

Choosing to surrender to this moment.

Choosing to be with whatever the moment brings.

And choosing not to hold on.

Letting whatever rises,

Rise.

And gently,

Gently,

Without judgment,

Letting it fall away.

Letting thoughts about the day fall away.

Letting fears and insecurities fall away.

Letting judgments fall away.

Letting everything that's not kindness,

That's not love,

That's not care,

For the inner you,

Let it go.

Let it go.

You have permission to offer yourself your own love and care.

It's not something that you have to earn.

And it's not something that you have to deserve.

You are worthy of your own care just because you are you.

Just let yourself stay with your body.

And now see if your attention can slide to your hips.

Let the attention be warm and gentle.

Let the attention be kind.

And as the attention swirls around the hips,

Let's see if we can come back to the breath.

So in for the count of four,

Holding it at the top.

And belly fall out for the count of six.

Yes,

Do that two more times.

In for the count of four.

This time out for the count of seven.

One of the nice things about extending the exhale is that it soothes and calms the nervous system.

It's a reminder that we're not in fight or flight.

It's a reminder that we're safe in this moment and it's okay to be where we are.

It's okay to let go.

Letting yourself melt into the mattress.

Maybe surrender to the chair.

You can let go.

It's safe to let go in this moment.

It is okay to stop striving.

It is okay to stop trying.

It is okay to rest.

So yes,

Let the attention return to the hips and let it be warm,

Loving attention swirling around the hips.

These are your hips.

And this is your love showering on your unique one of a kind you.

As you breathe,

Let your attention be warm and kind.

Let it be gentle.

Let the attention feel like the love you deserve.

Let the attention anchor you in this very moment.

If wandered away,

Return to the body,

Return to the breath.

And on an inhale,

Let the attention slide up to your torso.

Letting the breath deepen.

And maybe even get curious,

What does it feel like to breathe in your body at this moment?

What does it feel like to let yourself rest?

Let the attention now slide up and along the torso,

The back,

The shoulder blades,

The lower back,

Your sides.

Feel warm,

Loving attention on your belly.

And feel it on your chest.

If care had a feeling,

What would it be like on your chest,

What would it be like on your belly?

Maybe you'll just place your hand there.

And as you feel the warmth,

As you feel the pressure of your own hand,

Let there be a reminder of your own offering of love and care.

A reminder that you are supportively available to yourself.

That you are offering yourself some much needed and some much deserved rest,

Love and care.

Remember you're giving yourself the gift of your own attention.

And returning to the body,

See what you can soften.

See if you can feel yourself slowing down.

Can you feel your own love?

Your warmth of your attention?

Stay with the body.

And let your attention slide down your shoulders,

Along your arms into your hands.

To each of your fingers,

The palms of your hands,

The back of your hands.

To your wrists,

Your lower arm,

Knee inside of your elbow and your elbow.

And to your upper arm.

Let your loving attention rest there.

You could feel your own love on your body.

What might it feel like?

Maybe let yourself breathe deeply and take that in.

The experience of your own love,

Your own care.

The experience of surrender.

Letting the belly rise.

And slowly,

Slowly letting the belly fall.

Come now to your neck and to your head,

To your ears and the top of your head,

To your chin and the back of your head.

To your forehead,

To your eyes,

To your nose,

To your cheeks,

To your mouth.

Letting your attention rest there.

Maybe just noticing what you notice.

And maybe not holding it too tightly.

You're noticing and you're letting it go.

You're noticing and you're coming back to the body.

Feeling and coming back to the breath.

Maybe gratitude is coming out for you.

Maybe sleepiness.

Whatever is present,

No judgment.

Just let it be there without fighting,

Without grasping.

Knowing that however you are is always okay.

You are okay.

You are enough.

And you have the capacity to be with whatever comes,

Recognizing that nothing is permanent.

Nothing rises and shifts and changes and falls away.

Recognizing that you can trust yourself to be in your body.

Recognizing that innate resiliency,

Innate well-being is yours.

So again,

Finding the breath.

And maybe even beginning to bring in some affirmations.

What words of comfort,

What words of care do you want to say to yourself?

What do you need to hear?

Take a moment now to offer yourself some words of kindness.

Thinking deeply as you do so that the words really sink in.

We are so often unkind to ourselves.

It's a lovely opportunity to say something kind instead,

Something loving instead,

Something nourishing,

Nurturing instead.

Let's find the breath.

And as we do,

I invite you to let your attention rest on the whole body all at once.

And as you hold your whole body in loving awareness and attention,

Let there also be some acceptance of your body.

Every single square inch of it,

Let yourself accept and love it.

Let yourself give your permission to rest,

To find ease,

To slow down.

Let yourself feel your own loving care.

You are loved.

You are lovable.

You are worthy.

And you are enough.

Let the belly rise.

Open mouth,

Sigh,

Let it all go,

Knee out breath.

And do that two more times.

And as you do again,

Bring in your own words of kindness,

Your own affirmations,

Your own care.

Speak over yourself.

And seal it with the final breath.

And if you're still awake,

I can rub your hands together.

And when they feel warm,

Place them someplace on your body that needs a little bit of extra care and attention.

Feeling the warmth of your own support.

Knowing that you are enough,

Not just for this moment,

But for always,

No matter what.

May you know peace.

May you know ease.

May you know joy.

And may you stay connected to your own enoughness.

I wish you every good thing.

Thank you for your practice.

Namaste.

Thank you so,

So much,

Everyone.

I hope that was restful.

And I hope that you were able to have sweet sleep or a sweet rest of the day.

And I hope that you feel cared for.

I hope that you feel loved.

I hope that you feel supported.

And you do deserve every good thing.

I hope you stay connected to the idea.

I'm sorry about the audio.

Yes,

Thank you,

Carol.

Thank you,

Kiana.

Thank you,

Laura.

I was,

I wasn't sure because I think the last time I used headphones and someone said they couldn't hear me with the headphones.

So that's why I wasn't sure.

Thank you,

Destiny.

Thank you,

Kimberly.

Thank you all so much too for your gifts.

I'm really grateful.

Thank you,

Christine.

Yeah.

Everyone have a really,

Really lovely day.

If you have any questions or anything,

Please let me know.

Wonderful.

Say I'm really glad.

Hi,

Ruben.

Hey,

Peter.

Nice to see you.

Hey,

Wendy.

Jay.

Thank you all so much again for your practice,

For showing up for yourselves,

For being part of the community.

Thank you,

Patricia.

And thank you,

Wilfred.

I hope that it's a lovely week.

I love the photo of your dog.

And thank you all too so much for your gifts.

And again,

Yes,

Please let me know if you have any questions about your practice or about our practice today.

And if not,

I wish you well.

I hope that you will continue to be kind to yourselves.

I hope that you will take good care of yourself,

Care for your body,

Care for your mind,

Care for your heart.

We all have to be very,

Very gentle with ourselves and each other.

It's really important.

Reviews

Your soothing voice, repeated self care messages, and the pacing were all very effective for me. Thank you teaching what self love feels like💛

Beautiful practice Barbara. I’m so grateful I found this today. It helped me to be gentle with myself. Many thanks as always and many Blessings. 🕊💕🌻

This was a wonderful live session, and I’m so grateful to be able to listen and sink deeply into rest again and as needed. Thank you so much, Barbara 💜

I have been practicing body scan meditation for years and this is felt like the most soothing, comforting hug. Your light and kindness shines through and is so needed. Thank you 💖

Really soothing thank you ❤️

That was absolutely refreshing!