Hi,
Welcome to my beginner body scan meditation.
The body scan is a practice that can help us become more connected to how we feel in our bodies.
Embodiment is a powerful portal to wisdom.
And when we feel connected to the body,
We can feel love,
Compassion,
Joy,
And most importantly,
We feel alive.
For many of us,
Our bodies can also be a source of discomfort,
Negative judgment,
Or even pain.
Therefore,
I invite you to be gentle with yourself during this practice,
To bring an attitude of curiosity or kindness to the experience.
And by learning to be with all that you sense in your body,
The pleasant and the unpleasant,
You can reduce unnecessary suffering and live a fully awakened life.
To start,
I invite you to take a comfortable sitting or lying position that allows you to be relaxed,
Yet alert with a spine that is tall and erect,
But not rigid or stiff.
If it feels comfortable,
Close your eyes,
Or you can maintain a soft,
Unfocused gaze on a point of your choosing.
Let's start by simply bringing awareness to any parts of the body that are making contact with the surface beneath you.
You might focus on the soles of your feet,
The back of your thighs,
Your bottom,
Or your back.
Just notice the weight of gravity grounding you in this spot and how the earth supports you.
And now I invite you to find your breath,
Bringing your awareness wherever you feel it most easily.
Let's take a few full,
Deep breaths,
Drawing air in slowly and fully into our bellies,
And then slowly releasing it.
Take another deep breath or two at your own pace,
Allowing the body to relax with each breath.
And now just allow your breath to return to its normal rhythm and rest your awareness there.
Over the next several minutes,
You will focus on physical sensations throughout your body as we systematically bring attention to each part of the body.
These sensations might be the feeling of clothes on your skin,
Tension within your muscles,
The temperature of the air,
The tingling,
Pulsating,
Or rush of blood in certain areas of your body,
Or anything else you can feel.
Sometimes you might not notice any sensation at all.
Your job is to simply observe the presence or absence of these sensations.
You do not need to change how your body feels or do anything else during this practice.
Just allowing yourself to notice with curiosity whatever is present as we scan through the body.
First,
I invite you to notice the feelings all throughout the feet.
This includes the sole,
The heel,
The toes,
And the top of the foot.
Notice the sensation of your feet,
Making contact with the ground,
Or your shoes,
Your socks,
Or anything else you can detect.
Traveling up the body,
Bring your awareness to the sensations in your ankles,
Shins,
And calves.
See if you can notice sensations both deep in the muscles and on the surface of your skin.
Maybe you simply feel numbness or no sensations at all.
That's part of the experience.
Notice what it feels like to not feel anything in particular.
You might notice your mind wandering as we do this,
Getting lost in thought,
Perhaps even evaluating or judging your body.
That's okay.
When you notice that your mind has wandered away from bodily sensations,
Just kindly,
Gently bring the focus back to the body part we are observing in the moment.
And now,
Continuing to move up the body,
Take note of the feelings in your hips and backside.
Again,
Simply notice the feelings without any need to change them.
If at some point you do feel an urge or desire to fix something or do something,
Rather than simply observe what's happening,
See if you can notice how that impulse feels without actually acting on it.
And now,
Paying attention to the feelings in your lower back and abdomen.
Notice how your body feels against the surface on which you are sitting or lying down.
See if you can pay attention to how your tummy feels right now.
Are you drawing it in or tightening the muscles in your abdomen without even realizing it?
What might it feel like to just let go,
To breathe out fully and let the abdominal muscles relax and soften completely?
For a few moments,
I invite you to pay attention to your breath in the belly,
Noticing how your abdomen rises when you breathe in deeply and falls when you breathe out.
And now,
Turning your attention to the sensations in your upper back and chest,
See if you can notice the feeling of clothing on your body.
Are there any areas in the upper torso that are feeling heavy,
Tight,
Or constricted?
Just observe what is present.
We often hold emotions in the core of our body.
As you are resting your awareness in this core,
Take a moment to notice if any strong emotions are pulling for attention.
If something feels really present for you,
Simply observe the emotion,
Briefly acknowledge its presence by naming it,
And then return your attention to the physical sensations you feel.
I invite you to now bring your attention to the feelings in your hands,
Fingers,
And wrists.
What do you notice?
See if you can feel your hands from the inside out.
Maybe there's a gentle tingling,
Pulsing,
Or throbbing.
Or again,
Maybe you don't notice any sensations in this area at all.
The invitation is just to observe what's present.
And now shifting awareness to the sensations in your forearms,
Upper arms,
And shoulders.
What can you feel?
Maybe take note.
Are the shoulders rounded and hunched?
Are they relaxed back and down?
And now paying attention to the feelings in your neck and throat.
How does that feel?
Is your mind wandering?
That's okay,
It's what the mind does.
The exciting thing is that when you notice your mind has wandered away from sensations in the body,
You are having a moment of mindfulness.
When that happens,
You can silently congratulate yourself and bring your awareness back to the body.
And now bringing awareness to the feelings in the face and head.
Attending to every feature in your face one by one,
The chin,
The jaw,
The mouth,
Even the tongue.
And now noticing the ears,
The nose,
The eyes,
The forehead.
Again,
We often hold tension in our facial muscles.
Is there anything here that could be softened or relaxed?
Just observe.
And now finally,
Slowly scan your entire body.
Noticing all the sensations from your toes to the top of your head.
What's here?
As we close this practice,
Allow yourself to make any movements or adjustments such as stretching,
Lengthening,
Or moving any body parts that need it right now.
When it feels right,
Allow your eyes to gently open and mindfully come back into presence into the room around you.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
