So today's practice is a body scan.
And I will start with a short introduction,
With being a quote by Alan Watts,
Which I found in the beautiful book by Jack Kornfield called A Path with Heart.
We could say that meditation doesn't have a reason or doesn't have a purpose.
In this respect,
It's unlike almost all the things we do except perhaps making music and dancing.
When we make music,
We don't do it in order to reach a certain point,
Such as the end of the composition.
If that were the purpose of music,
Then obviously the fastest players would be the best.
Also when we're dancing,
We're not aiming to arrive at a particular place on the floor,
As in taking a journey.
When we dance,
The journey itself is the point,
As when we play music.
The playing itself is the point.
And exactly the same thing is true in meditation.
Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.
And so with that in mind,
We'll start with a body scan,
A practice that supports our entire body-mind system.
So gently you can bring your awareness up to the top of the head near the crown.
Very slowly,
Very gently.
Can you allow your awareness to drop into the body through the crown?
Can you notice a sense of subtle relief in and around the scalp?
Can you notice your forehead and all of the muscles around the eyes?
Remembering that the body scan is a practice where we focus on the feelings,
The sensations in and around the body,
Either at the surface,
The skin,
Or from the inside out.
So here noticing that when we experience something that generates concern or stress,
We can begin to use the muscles of the face in a way that helps us feel more in control,
But it also requires a great deal of effort and energy.
So as you scan the body in,
I encourage you to also invite a sense of softening.
So allowing the brow,
The eyebrows,
The eyes,
And all of those muscle groups,
The cheeks to soften.
Allowing the lips to be soft and heavy,
Perhaps letting the mouth open just a little bit and allowing the jaw as well to open.
For a moment,
Concentrating your attention on the tip of the nostrils.
Can you feel the air coming in at the nostrils with your inhale?
And can you notice the difference,
However subtle it may be,
When the air leaves the body at the end of the breath cycle?
Allowing the tongue to be heavy and soft and becoming aware of the root of the tongue,
Which is an area where we both take in a great deal of nourishment,
Of stimulation,
But it's also an area of expression via which we get to communicate.
So taking a few moments to allow the root of the tongue to completely release and then feeling that this sense of softening drops down into the throat,
To the back of the neck.
Imagining a sense of elongation throughout the back of the neck to again support that sense of opening.
And now moving your awareness to drop down into the shoulders,
The upper back.
If at any point you notice that your mind has wandered off,
That's absolutely okay.
That's what minds do.
And when you notice,
That's when you get to practice mindfulness.
You get to bring yourself back and refocus your attention,
Exploring the present moment,
Feelings and sensations in and around the body.
So scanning your shoulders,
Your upper back for feelings and sensations,
Noticing if you come across any tightness or tension.
And if that's the case,
Perhaps trying to take one deep inhale and a deeper exhale and noticing if that offers a sense of release,
Of softening.
Moving your attention,
Your awareness to the upper chest and the heart area.
Knowing what there is to feel.
What can you sense?
What feelings of aliveness can you connect to in this moment?
Perhaps you can feel your heartbeat,
However faint that may be.
Or can you connect to the movements of your ribs,
The upper ribs expanding and moving upwards with the inhale and the release or the decompression that comes with the exhale.
Moving your awareness further down,
Noticing the solar plexus.
Another area of the body where we often store tension.
And so gently bringing your awareness to this area and to the muscles in and around the region and inviting your breath to usher in a feeling of opening,
Perhaps even spaciousness.
Almost as if suddenly the solar plexus had more space in the body,
A little bit more room to release and to spread out.
Feeling your moment to moment awareness and now moving down to the belly and the abdomen.
I invite you to let your belly be completely soft.
And as you concentrate your focus and your awareness in that area,
Just let it release.
And you can bring up the image of a child and how when they sleep,
Their bellies balloon right up and gently come back down.
And as you soften and release any tensions and tightness around the belly and the abdomen,
You can imagine that the inhalation also allows your spine to feel a little bit more elongated.
Fostering a sense of spaciousness and also a sense of energy as well.
And now allowing your awareness to begin to drop down into the hips,
The groin area,
To the pelvic floor and noticing what is there to feel.
Imagine that you can feel from the inside out and still with every breath cycle,
Cultivating that sense of decompression and softening.
Slowly bringing your awareness into the legs,
Feeling into the thighs,
Perhaps noticing touch.
If your hands are resting on your thighs,
The feeling of your clothes against your body,
Moving into the knees,
The knee joints,
Slowly moving down the calves,
The shins,
And gently moving down.
Again,
Remembering not to visualize each area,
But really feel,
Sense into the ankles,
Into the feet,
All the way down to the tips of your toes.
And now allowing your mind to enter into a witnessing mode,
Simply noticing all of the sensations that you are experiencing in this moment.
Noticing if the mind is calm,
If the mind has settled,
Noticing if perhaps you've become a little bit sleepy.
And if that's the case,
Taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out to re-energize yourself.
Letting your awareness to take in your whole body breathing in this moment,
Noticing where your attention may be pulled,
Perhaps an itch,
Tingling,
Sensations of energy or heat or cold.
Allowing the rest of your senses to support you,
Allowing the ambient sounds just to wash over you and remembering not to narrate your experience.
Just notice.
If you notice that your mind is being pulled away towards powerful thoughts or feelings,
Concerns or memories,
All of this activity that the mind is holding,
You can note the content of your mind,
Notice the thoughts and for a moment just imagine that they are passing clouds in the sky.
Notice them and know that you can come back to them in a few moments.
But for now,
Gently come back to the body,
Come back to the sensations of the here and now.
And now in the last few minutes of this practice,
I invite you to dedicate this time of contemplation and to all beings and starting with taking a few moments to imagine the people you love,
The people you cherish.
I invite you to imagine them joining you,
Sitting with you,
Imagining their safety and their deepest well-being of mind and body.
Now beginning to imagine other people that you have seen but that you don't know well,
Perhaps you don't even know their names.
And choosing to include them in this growing Sangha,
This widening group,
Inviting them to join me,
Inviting them to join you and can you imagine their deep well-being and safety of mind and body?
Now including a few people with whom you've had some difficulties,
Doesn't have to be any serious conflict but perhaps people who've been a bit short with whom you've experienced disagreement.
And in this time of practice,
Generously invite them to join you.
Envision them sitting quietly and receiving your most genuine blessings for well-being and safety of mind and body.
Noticing this ever-expanding group and now encompassing all beings everywhere,
This ever-widening sense of compassion and well-being,
Extending it to all beings everywhere.
