Slow Bodyscan For Sleep

So today,

You know,

I'm offering a body scan for sleep.

So I'm going to give you a couple of minutes to find your way of being for this practice.

Ideally,

You might be lying down on a bed or a couch.

Ideally,

You might take a couple of minutes to get comfortable,

By which I mean checking.

Do you need a pillow behind your head?

Maybe a cushion under your knees?

What do you need to do to help the body to be as comfortable as it can?

And then seeing if you might have a little layering,

Maybe a blanket that you could pull up or pull down.

So just finding your way now of lying,

If possible,

Though you can also do this sitting up and then seeing if the body might find a way of having some comfort.

So this is a body scan for sleep.

So its intention is to really let the body soften.

So you may even doze during this practice.

Absolutely no problem.

You might also notice some thoughts or some worries or concerns popping in and maybe taking your attention every now and then.

Just know that this is absolutely normal.

Our minds can be busy and our minds are with us.

So whatever happens is perfectly OK.

And then what we're practicing in a way is each time we notice this busy mind kindly and gently unhooking and coming back,

Redirecting our attention to the body scan wherever the guidance is at and gently letting go of the thoughts.

So hopefully now you're in a comfortable place.

And during this body scan,

We'll be noticing the body lying down or if you need to sitting down,

We'll be feeling the body's sensations.

Just whatever is present,

Scanning the body for any kinds of obvious sensations like vibrations,

Maybe tingling sensations,

Heaviness,

Pressure,

Movement,

Heat and coolness.

So we'll just be noticing these sensations without even trying to change them or make them different,

Simply bringing a mindful attention of curiosity and openness to whatever is here in each present moment.

So just remembering that if you notice yourself starting to think about the sensation or to think about something else,

This is perfectly normal.

And when you do,

You might see if you can just simply coming back to the feelings and the sensations that are present right in that moment in your body.

So we're just noticing what is.

So to begin that now,

Seeing if you might notice just the contact between the body and the bed or the couch.

If you're lying flat,

Which is the easiest way to do this body scan,

Just seeing if you might notice those pressure points in a way where the body makes contact with the bed or the couch that is supporting you.

Maybe noticing where the feet are touching,

Maybe then the upper thighs or the buttocks tuning into the pressure of whatever part of the back might be in contact with the bed or the couch.

Just noticing these pressure points and registering any sensations that might be here right now and then inviting the body to sink,

To settle,

To let go even a little.

In this body scan,

We don't really have to work so hard.

The bed or the couch supports us and the guidance,

Too.

So we really can let go even a little.

Begin now by taking some nice,

Deep breaths.

So all the time in the world,

Breathing in nice and long and slow,

And then a nice,

Slow out-breath.

Just focusing on the breath in this way or even coming back to the breath each time you notice the busy mind.

Just allowing luxurious,

Slow breathing.

Maybe tuning into that breath in the belly,

The rise of the belly on the in-breath and the gentle falling back of the belly on the out-breath,

Just that,

Inviting the body to settle and to sink even a little as we notice the nice,

Slow breath,

The breath coming in and the breath going out,

The rise of the belly on the in-breath and the gentle falling back of the belly on the out-breath.

And now shifting the attention as best you can to just the top of your head.

So simply bringing your awareness right now to the top of the head and notice what you feel in the top of your head right now.

You might notice some vibration or some pressure.

Just registering whatever sensations might be in the top of your head right now.

And then see if you might notice where the skull makes contact with the pillar or the bed or the couch.

Just noticing the weight of the skull in contact with whatever is supporting it.

You might become aware of a sensation of pressure or weight,

Or you might notice some other sensations as the skull is in contact with whatever is supporting the head.

See if you might just be curious about whatever sensations are here right now.

Just feeling them.

Perhaps for you,

As you notice the head and the skull,

There might be some feelings of tension or tightness or soreness in the head.

And if so,

If you can invite the whole head area to relax,

To let go a little.

And if that doesn't seem possible to you,

Simply notice what you feel in the head and the skull.

And then when you are ready,

Shifting the focus a little to the face area as best you can,

Bringing all of your awareness now just to the forehead,

To the eyes,

The nose,

See if you might notice your cheeks and your mouth again in the face.

There might be sensations of tingling,

Temperature,

Tightness.

Seeing if you can notice what is here in the face and then simply let it be.

Be curious about your experience.

Just noticing and registering what is here in the face right now.

And now begin to notice sensations in your throat and your neck.

Just noticing this part of the body,

What sensations are here,

And then becoming aware of anything that's present for you right now in your shoulder area.

If at any point you notice tension arising,

Sometimes in the act of noticing it,

You might find some of the tension releasing or letting go or relaxing.

And if for you right now,

There's feelings of extreme tension in the shoulder area,

See if you might breathe gently,

Directing the breath right into the shoulder area.

Now allowing that tension to soften even a little,

Just bringing some loving awareness in a way to the shoulder area,

Breathing in gently,

Inviting some softness.

And if the shoulders remain tight and tense,

Then simply notice what is here as we move on with the body scan.

At this moment,

You're aware of the sensations in your left shoulder.

Bring your attention right there to your left shoulder and then let your awareness go down your left arm,

Noticing any vibration,

Any tingling,

Heat,

Coolness or pressure all the way down to the elbow of the left arm and then the lower arm and then your left hand.

Sometimes there can be quite a few sensations in the hand area.

So noticing your left hand right now,

Becoming aware of the fingers,

The back of the hand,

The palm of the left hand,

Just being curious and open about any sensations in your hand right now.

Maybe warmth,

Coolness,

Moisture.

Inviting your left hand now to soften,

To relax,

To let go in some way and to rest.

So the whole left arm all the way down to the left hand might now be a little softer.

And now to the right shoulder,

Just as best you can,

Bringing all of your attention to your right shoulder.

Now noticing what is just here in the right shoulder,

Registering any sensations,

Sensations of tightness or holding or discomfort or perhaps softness,

Inviting the right shoulder area to soften even a little now as you begin to travel slowly down the right arm,

All the way down to the elbow,

Noticing as you do any sensations in the right arm,

Maybe feeling some vibration,

Some tingling or movement,

Noticing the right elbow,

The lower arm all the way down to your right hand.

Again,

Noticing now what sensations might be present for you just right now in your right hand,

Maybe tingling,

Warmth,

Pulsing,

Moisture,

Sensations of air circulating,

Noticing the palm of the right hand,

The back of the right hand,

Becoming aware of the fingers and the thumb of the right hand,

Inviting the whole of the right hand to soften now to let go even a little.

So often there are lots of sensations in the hand area.

But if at this point or at any point in this body scan for you,

There's no sensation,

Then just notice the absence of sensation.

Let your attention now go back to the top of your shoulders,

To the top of your back,

Noticing the shoulder area and the very top of the back.

Soften,

Breathe and begin to bring your attention slowly down your back.

As you become aware of your back,

You might like to zigzag across your back or you might like to make an up and down movement in your mind.

Sometimes there can be strong sensations in the back area,

The sensation of touching the bed or the couch,

Sensations of pressure or weight in the back.

Sometimes there's not much sensation at all in the back area.

So seeing now,

If you might just bring a gentle,

Open curiosity to what's in your back right now,

Just noticing sensations in the back area or no sensations and seeing if you might be kind to yourself,

No matter what you're noticing.

You can notice your upper back,

Your mid back and notice then the sensations in your lower back as well.

Remembering to breathe,

Just noticing the back with kindness and curiosity.

And if thoughts or thinking crop up as you're noticing your back,

Maybe worries or concerns or to do lists.

Once again,

Seeing if you might notice and then gently let go.

Let the thoughts be like clouds floating by in the sky,

Just moving across the mind,

Seeing if you might acknowledge them without taking them so personally or getting involved,

Just letting all thoughts float on by,

If possible,

Or at the very least,

As you notice your thinking,

See if you might come back to my words and this body scan,

Just noticing what we are intending to do now,

Scanning the back,

Upper,

Middle and lower back and noticing what is here.

And then when you are ready,

Bringing the awareness to the top of the chest area,

Letting yourself gently and in your own time,

Scan your chest down to the upper rib cage and into the stomach area,

Noticing what is here for you right now in this part of the body,

Seeing if you might soften your stomach even a little.

You might like to breathe more deeply right now,

Directing some breath right into the stomach area,

Allowing it to soften and to relax.

Nice,

Long,

Slow breathing,

Allowing the chest and the rib cage and the stomach to soften even a little.

And now shifting the attention down a little further to the pelvic girdle,

To that bony structure,

Hip to hip,

Seeing if you might just notice this part of the body,

Becoming aware of all of the organs contained in this part of the body and registering any sensations you feel just right here in the pelvic area.

Maybe noticing where this part of the body makes contact with the bed or the couch and just registering any sensations from this pressure or contact.

Again,

Inviting a softness,

A little letting go in this pelvic girdle area.

And you might find it helpful to imagine your breath breathing right into the pelvic area and then letting go,

Breathing right out from there.

So inviting a certain softness and a little space in the whole pelvic area.

So the whole of the trunk of the body might now be a little softer,

A little more settled,

The breath itself,

Creating a little ease in this part of the body.

And now shifting the awareness to your left hip.

Just noticing the left hip,

The bone,

The joint.

And slowly begin to bring your awareness down your left leg,

Noticing any sensations in the left thigh,

Then gently on down to the left knee,

Just noticing whatever is obvious to you right now.

The left hip,

The left thigh.

And all the while,

Not forgetting to breathe nice and easy.

Just bringing a kind and curious attention to the left thigh right now.

And then on to the left knee,

The left calf.

Just noticing whatever is present just right now in the left leg.

Maybe for you,

There's some vibration,

Some tingling,

Some heat or itching,

Maybe in your left leg,

Some warmth or coolness or heaviness.

Just let it be whatever it is right now in the left leg.

Noticing your left ankle,

Your left foot,

Becoming aware of the left toes.

Sometimes there can be quite a lot of sensation in the foot area.

So just notice in your left foot right now,

Registering any sensations that are here or perhaps in your left foot right now.

No sensations.

Just becoming aware of whatever is here for you right now in your left foot.

And then see if you can bring your attention right back up to the right hip this time.

Just noticing the right hip and the right hip joint.

Noticing any sensations right now in the right hip.

And again,

Bringing your attention down your right thigh.

Just feeling into whatever is here for you in the right thigh right now.

Feeling what is present.

Certain sensation in the right thigh or no sensation in the right thigh.

Moving on down the right leg now.

Noticing any sensations in the upper part of the right leg.

Maybe for you some vibration and tingling,

Perhaps in your upper right leg,

Some heat,

Some heaviness or movement.

Noticing now the right knee and then on down to your lower right leg,

Becoming aware of the calf of the right leg.

And again,

Feeling any sensations just in this part of the right leg.

In the calf,

On down then to the right ankle.

Becoming aware now of the right foot,

The toes of the right foot.

And again,

Taking some time to really notice the right foot.

What sensations are here right now in the right foot for you?

Maybe sensations of tingling or pulsing,

Moisture,

Contact with air.

Maybe for you no sensations at all in the right foot right now.

Just as gently as you can.

Just noticing no pressure.

And if the mind is busy right now,

Just giving that mind some gentle,

Kindly attention,

Noticing the thoughts,

But seeing if it might be possible to notice the thinking without getting caught up in them,

Imagining the thoughts as clouds just floating by.

Just thinking,

Thinking,

Floating on by.

A little separation now between the thinking and yourself.

So the whole body now might be a little more settled.

But just to be sure,

Let's revisit each part.

Feet relax.

Lower legs relax.

Knees relax.

Upper legs,

Thighs relax.

Buttocks relax.

Pelvic girdle relax.

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back relax.

Shoulders relax.

Left arm all the way down to the left elbow.

Relax.

Left elbow down to the left wrist and the left hand.

Relax.

Right arm and the right shoulder down to the right elbow.

Relax.

From the right elbow down to the right wrist and the right hand.

Relax.

Front of the neck,

Back of the neck.

Relax.

Back of the head,

Top of the head.

Relax.

Forehead relax.

Eyes and the area around the eyes relax.

Nose,

Cheeks and ears relax.

Mouth and the area around the mouth relax.

Chin relax.

Chest relax.

Belly relax.

Pelvic girdle relax.

Whole body relax.

So now that the whole body is softer,

Invite the mind to quieten.

Just allowing any thinking to be like the clouds floating on by,

Not involved,

Impersonal in a way.

And then allowing the breathing itself to quieten so that you might hardly be breathing at all.

Just quietly resting breath in a way and enjoying these quiet few minutes.

Nothing to do.

Nowhere to be.

Just being with whatever is here right now.

So just right now,

Becoming aware of the body,

Making contact with whatever is supporting you without really moving right now.

Just becoming aware,

Noticing then the air circulating around you,

Maybe becoming aware of some sensations of air and contact maybe with the face or some part of the body,

Seeing can you notice air,

Noticing any sounds in the room that you're in,

Just registering any sounds.

And then when you're ready,

Opening the eyes or lifting the gaze and maybe taking a little slow look around the space that you find yourself in.

And at this time,

Your body might like to make a little movement.

We're just inviting you to keep that movement slow,

Seeing what the impulse is.

Would your body like a nice,

Long,

Slow stretch or a tiny move around on the bed or the couch that you're on?

Would your fingers like to unfurl?

Would your feet like to touch the floor?

Might you like a yawn or a sigh or a smile?

So just taking time to notice your body and then taking a little movement to your body.

So that was a body scan to prepare the body for sleep.