Body Scan Mindfulness Meditation

I invite you to experience the body scan.

Come to lie down on your back.

Rest your head in a comfortable position so your neck completely softens and relaxes.

Bring your hands facing palms up and arms about 45 degrees from your body to release and soften your shoulders and arms,

And so your shoulder blades lay flat along the support beneath you.

Extend your legs and bring your feet wider than hip distance to release and soften your hips and legs.

Feel free to close your eyes,

And if you become drowsy,

To open them from time to time to keep yourself from falling asleep.

Come to a restful stillness but are fully awake,

Where you can follow along with what I am saying as best you can,

And most importantly,

Be aware of what you are experiencing in the present moment.

Make the intention to be in the present moment without needing to be anywhere else.

You are here dedicated to your experience in this moment.

Allow the instructions of the body scan to guide you.

Let this experience be a time of nourishment,

A time that is just for you.

Give yourself permission to feel your experience.

Its unfolding moment by moment is exactly as it is supposed to be.

Focus inward to the flow of your breath.

On the inhale,

Follow the breath in and feel as the abdomen expands and rises.

On the exhale,

Follow your breath out and feel as the abdomen contracts and navel falls towards your spine.

Mindfully follow your breath in and out.

Take a moment now and check in with your mind and body.

Acknowledge any thoughts that might be floating in your mind.

Note any thoughts of the future,

The past,

Or any judgments,

And like a curious observer,

Allow them to be as they are.

And with each exhale,

Let them go,

As if they float away like clouds in the sky of your mind,

Floating out of your field of vision.

Acknowledge any flow of emotions.

Like a curious observer,

Suspend judgment.

Allow them to be as they are.

Allow what you are feeling to be your experience without needing it to be other than it is.

And with each exhale,

Let them go.

Notice as they rise like a wave and fall and disappear into the ocean of your experience.

As you focus on each region of the body,

Notice the sensation or absence of sensation there.

Notice any thoughts,

Emotions,

Or images that enter your awareness.

Acknowledge them.

Let them be.

Bring your focus back to the region of the body,

And then breathe into that region with awareness.

Now let's bring attention to your feet and ankles.

Notice any sensation in your toes,

The bottoms of your feet,

Arches,

Heels,

The tops of your feet,

And ankles.

Explore the sense of touch and pressure of where the heels contact the support beneath you.

Notice the feeling at the surface of the skin,

And even deeper to the bones and cartilage.

Accept any and all sensations here.

Direct the breath into and out of your feet and ankles,

As if you are breathing in and out of this area.

You may imagine that as you inhale,

Air diffuses into your body through the surface of your feet and ankles,

And as you exhale,

Tension and waste diffuse out through the surface of this area.

If this is difficult to visualize,

It may help to imagine your in-breath traveling in from your nose into your lungs and down your body to your feet,

And your exhale traveling back up your body again and out through your nose.

Breathe in to your feet and ankles.

Now let go of all sensations here.

Allow this region to fade away from awareness.

As you draw your awareness upward and focus on your shins,

Calves,

Experience the sensations here,

And with your focus,

Really feel this area.

Notice the surface and deeper tissues of the muscle,

Cartilage,

And bone.

Linger here.

Whatever sensation this may be,

Physical,

Mental,

Emotional,

You may feel discomfort or nothing at all.

Do your best to just let them be as they are.

Breathe in to your shins and calves.

With each in-breath,

Breathe in fresh revitalizing oxygen,

And with each out-breath,

Breathe out tension and waste.

Let go of all sensation here.

Allow this region to fade away from awareness.

As you open your awareness to focus on your thighs and hamstrings,

Experience the sensations here,

And really feel this area.

Feel the skin,

The large muscles,

And the bone.

Accept any and all sensations.

Linger here.

Allow them to be as they are.

Breathe in to your thighs and hamstrings.

With each breath,

All tension dissolves,

Muscles soften and relax,

And release from the bone.

Let it all go.

Now let go of all sensation here.

Allow this region to fade away from awareness.

As you draw your awareness and focus on the tip of your tailbone,

Experience the sensations here.

Flow your awareness upward to the triangular bone of the sacrum,

Lying flat on the support beneath you.

And focus now on your buttocks and pelvis.

Experience the sensations,

And with your focus,

Really feel this area.

Linger here.

Let them be as they are.

Breathe in to your buttocks,

Hips,

And pelvis.

Breathe in fresh nourishing oxygen,

And breathe out tension and waste.

Let it all go.

Flow your awareness deeper to your pelvic organs.

Accept any and all sensations here.

Breathe in to your pelvic organs.

If you encounter any thoughts,

Emotions,

Or inner images,

Acknowledge each one with non-judgment,

And refocus your attention to the pelvic and genital region.

Tune in to whatever sensations are meant to be felt here.

Let go of all sensations now,

And allow this region to fade away from awareness as you bring your focus up to the region of your low back and circumference of your abdomen.

Notice the sensations as you inhale and exhale.

The gentle stretch of the stomach muscles,

The breath filling in to the low back,

Like a neutral observer,

Really feel this area.

Experience the sensations on the surface of the skin,

And then go deeper into the muscles of the stomach and low back.

Go deeper still and experience the abdominal organs,

Intestines,

Pancreas,

Stomach on the left,

The spleen just above,

Under your ribcage,

And on the right,

Your liver and gallbladder,

All sustaining you,

Digesting food,

Bringing nutrients to your cells,

And turning it into energy.

Breathe in to this region.

Now let go of all sensation here.

Allow this region to fade away from awareness,

As you draw your awareness upward and focus on your mid-back,

Circumference of the ribs,

Your chest and breasts.

Experience the sensations here.

Really feel this region,

And explore deeper into the muscles and vertebra of the mid-back,

Muscles and bones of the ribs,

Of the chest.

Feel deeper underneath the back of the ribs,

To the kidneys that filter waste out of the blood,

And above them to the adrenal glands.

Flow your awareness now to your heart,

The miraculous arterial system pumping blood and nutrients to every cell of your body.

Feel your respiratory system,

The lungs vitalizing each cell,

With oxygen and cleansing out carbon dioxide,

Waste and tension.

Linger in the region of the chest and mid-back.

Let them be as they are.

Extend your self-compassion.

Where you are in your journey is exactly where you're supposed to be.

With awareness,

Breathe into this area.

Now,

Let go of all sensation here.

Allow this region to fade away from awareness.

As you flow your awareness upward to the area of your upper back,

Shoulders,

And collarbone.

Experience the sensations here.

Really feel this area.

Feel the muscles that connect your shoulders and your neck.

Feel deeper into the bone and connective tissues.

Feel with awareness and accept any and all sensations here.

Allow them to be as they are.

Breathe into your upper back and shoulders.

Now flow your awareness down your arms.

Notice the sensation in the muscle and connective tissue,

And breathe into your upper arms,

Shoulders,

Armpits,

Elbows,

Wrists,

Palms,

Down to the tips of your fingers.

Allow them to be as they are.

Let them be as they are.

Breathe into your upper back,

Shoulders,

And down the length of your arms.

Now let go of your attention on your arms,

And maintain your focus in your shoulders and into the neck region.

This area may hold stress and tension.

Notice the sensations here.

Notice the muscles of the neck,

Back of the neck,

Sides of the neck,

Front of the neck.

Really feel this region.

Let them be as they are,

Not trying or needing to change them in any way.

Breathe into this region.

With each breath,

All tension releases.

Muscles soften and relax.

Now focus deeper into the throat,

Throat,

Voice box,

And esophagus.

Linger here.

Let them be as they are.

Breathe into the region of the neck.

If any thoughts,

Emotions,

Or inner images pop into the mind,

Acknowledge each one,

And let them go with each out breath.

And focus only on the sensations here in the neck region.

Now let go of all sensation here.

Allow this region to fade away from awareness.

As you draw your awareness upward to your face and head,

Experience your jaw,

Mouth,

Tongue,

And teeth.

This is an important area where we communicate and express ourselves.

Experience the sensations here.

Feel the region with openness and curiosity.

Bring awareness to the cheeks,

Nose,

Sinuses,

Eyes and eye muscles,

Temples,

Eyebrows,

Forehead,

Scalp.

Feel the facial structure,

Skull,

Inside the head,

Into the brain.

Breathe into the region of the head and brain.

And now feel your body as a whole.

Head,

Face,

Neck,

Shoulders,

Arms,

Back of the body,

Spine,

Front of the body,

Chest and abdomen.

Feel your hips,

Pelvis,

Legs.

Feel the whole body and the experience of breath in the body,

Moment by moment.

It's rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale.

See,

Feel or imagine that on your inhale you breathe in life force energy through the crown of your head and send it all the way down through your body to your toes.

And with your exhale you breathe out tension and toxins from your whole body through your toes into the ground to be transmuted by Mother Earth back into life force energy.

Take a few moments here to inhale energy through the crown of your head,

Revitalizing you,

Nourishing you and energizing you.

And exhale tension,

All that does not serve you,

Out through your toes into the earth.

Allow your experience to be your experience.

It is exactly as it is supposed to be.

Now let go of all sensation and visualization here.

Allow it to fade away from awareness and begin to bring your awareness back into the room.

Notice where your body contacts the support beneath you.

Notice the weight of the clothes on your skin,

The temperature of the air on your skin,

The sense of touch and pressure you experience.

Begin to deepen your breath and reawaken from deep relaxation,

Feeling peaceful,

Nourished and rested.

Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes.

Take a deep breath in and reach your arms above your head and give yourself a stretch.

Exhale as you release your arms down to a comfortable resting position and open your eyes.