Calming Body Scan Meditation And Breath Awareness

Good morning and welcome.

My name is Emmett and I'll be guiding you through a body scan meditation,

A practice to communicate and listen to the body.

We will be observing the body,

Tending from place to place,

To the unnoticed and unappreciated parts.

By bringing the loving and presence that our body needs,

We open the body to its full potential.

Navigating the sensation in our body is embarking on the path of healing.

I invite you to take a comfortable seated position or perhaps you choose to lay on the ground.

Start closing down the eyelids or lowering the gaze.

Let go of any noises outside of yourself.

Turn your attention inwards.

Bring awareness to the breath and begin to deepen the exhales as you settle into yourself.

On your next exhale,

Exhale completely.

Empty yourself.

On the inhale,

Feel the diaphragm softly sink as the belly expands,

Drawing breath into the lower lungs,

Feeling each rib open as the breath travels up through the middle of the lungs.

Finally,

As the breath climbs,

Feel the clavicle rise as the breath reaches the upper lungs.

Exhales release the breath,

Lowers the clavicle and the ribcage contracts and the belly softens inwards towards the spine.

Repeat this pranayama until it feels natural to continue with the meditation.

Maintain this breath awareness as we guide our focus through the body.

Direct your attention to your feet.

Carry your breath down to your feet.

Feel the sensation here.

Feel your right foot in space.

Expose to the air around you or against your socks or shoes.

Feel the temperature of your feet.

Perhaps you don't feel anything at all.

Allow yourself to observe the absence of sensation.

Feel the shape of your foot,

Each toe,

Each nail,

Each ripple in the skin.

Notice without judgment.

Now feel your left foot in space,

The temperature,

The sensation of whatever surrounds your foot.

Imagine the shape of your left foot,

The space between each toe,

The soft curve in the arc of the foot,

The toe pad and the ball of the foot.

Allow your feet to dissolve from your focus and raise your attention to your ankles,

Calves,

Knees and thighs.

Observe the sensations you are experiencing throughout your legs.

Breathe into and out of your right leg now.

Your ankle bone,

Your shin bone,

The calf,

The kneecap,

Space behind the knee,

The thigh bone and the back of the thigh.

Now breathe into and out of your left leg.

Observe the sensations on the left side of your body in your left leg.

Perhaps you don't feel anything at all.

Can you stay present with this?

If your mind begins to wander,

Gently notice this and without judgment bring your mind back to the sensation in your left leg.

Sometimes you can notice discomfort,

Pain or stiffness.

Stay present without judgment.

It's okay.

Simply notice and let it be.

Observe how all sensations come and go,

Shift and alter.

With each breath into the left leg something can change.

Allow the sensations to be as they are in the moment.

Do not seek,

Do not think,

Only watch and let go.

Now allow the legs to dissolve in your mind and move your attention to your lower back.

With each exhale you'll feel a little more relaxed from any tension you may be carrying in your lower back.

Deep exhales.

Now feel into your right hip,

Your left hip,

Your pelvis and your pelvic bowl.

Feel the base of your spine,

The tailbone softening and releasing as you carry the breath in and out of your lower back.

Notice the sensations in the muscle,

In the skin,

The temperature and the points of contact with which your back is touching.

Now feel the middle of your spine,

Your upper back.

Bring each breath into a vertebrae in the spine.

Bring a breath into each vertebrae and feel the space in between each vertebrae,

In between each breath.

Become curious about the sensations and then release the curiosity and keep moving.

Now notice the sensation of the contact points to your back,

If it is touching anything.

Now softly shift your awareness to the belly,

The small crevices around your stomach,

The rising and the lowering.

Feel all of your internal organs and feel the clothing or the air against your skin.

Feel the sensation and sounds of digestion and again with each breath feel the rise and the fall of the belly.

Witness without judgment.

Gently let go of any thoughts and focus on the sensations in your belly.

Be curious as though you're meeting your body for the first time.

As you continue to breathe,

Bring your awareness to the chest and heart.

Listen to your heartbeat.

Notice its rhythm and pace,

The unique sound of your heartbeat.

Now feel the flow of the chest as it expands during the inhale and contracts with the exhale.

Let go of any judgment that may arise around this area and let your breath become as big as it wants and let your stomach compress towards your spine as much as it feels right.

On the next exhale guide your focus to the hands.

Now feel all of the fingers on your right hand,

Finger by finger,

Fingernail by fingernail,

The ripples in the skin of each knuckle,

The palm and the back of the hand.

Channel the breath in and out of the right hand.

On an exhale move your focus to the left hand.

Feel each fingertip.

Feel each space between the fingers,

Your fingernails,

And the ripples on each knuckle.

Feel the palm of your hand.

Feel the lines on the palm of your hand.

Now feel the back of your hand.

Feel its gentle ridges.

Notice any sensation without any judgment.

Now bring your attention to your right wrist.

Feel whatever it may be trying to tell you,

If anything at all.

As you keep breathing,

Bring that sensation out of your forearm.

Feel its strength.

Now to the elbow and the upper arm.

Carry the breath up and notice any sensation and let them go.

Now bring your awareness to your left wrist,

Your left arm.

Is there anything here?

You can move to your forearm,

Your elbow,

And your upper arm.

Release any judgments as you observe this side of the body.

Now guide your focus up to the shoulders and the neck.

As you exhale,

Feel your shoulders soften and relax deeper and deeper.

Any and all tension rolls off the shoulders with each cycle of breath.

With each exhale you feel more and more relaxed in your shoulders.

Notice the sensation of your unique experience.

Let go of any pressure or stories that you may hold in these areas of your body.

Allow each exhale to go deeper and deeper into releasing the tension in your neck and shoulders.

Once you're content,

Follow your awareness up to your face.

Release any tension from the jaw.

Notice the sensation of your lips and the space between them.

Feel your inner mouth,

The tongue,

The teeth,

The roof of your mouth,

The back of your throat.

Swallow and go back to your breath.

Soften the right cheekbone,

Soften the left cheekbone,

And notice the sensation of air as it moves in and out of each nostril.

Feel that oxygen,

That air traveling through the nose,

Through the tip of the nose,

Through the sides of the nose.

Just feel how it feels to just breathe.

No judgment.

Follow the sensation to each eye,

Resting in your eye sockets.

Feel your eyelids,

Your eyelashes.

Feel the eyebrows and the space between them.

Feel the texture of your skin,

Of your hair.

Letting go of any judgments or distractions.

Just nourish your skin with the cycle of your breath.

Now soften the forehead,

The scalp.

Feel each follicle of hair on your scalp.

Breathe into your scalp.

Breathe into the crown of your head.

Feel your skull as a whole.

And with your mind's eye,

Follow the subtle groove where the top of the spine meets the skull.

Now follow the folds in the ears.

Feel around your ears and bring your focus to the inner ear and the earlobes.

Now slowly expand your attention outwards to include the whole body,

From the top of the head to the soles of your feet.

Feel the flow of the breath as it travels through the whole body.

As we approach the end of this practice,

Take a deep full breath,

Expanding your belly as much as you can.

Bask in all of the energy you've just inhaled and exhale.

Release.

When you're ready,

Slowly open your eyes and welcome the present moment.

Take a moment of gratitude,

Knowing and feeling the loving awareness and time you've just given yourself and your body.

The time and presence you have just given to yourself and your body will carry with you and lighten your day.

Stay awesome and follow your dreams.