Traversing The Inner Landscape - Body Scan - Pain - MBSR

This is a guided body scan meditation.

The body scan is usually done lying down,

But can also be done sitting or standing if that is more comfortable for you.

Your attitude towards and intentions for the practice are more important than your posture.

Ensure you're in a warm safe space where you won't be disturbed for the next 45 minutes or so.

If you are lying down it's important to remember that meditation is about falling awake,

Not asleep.

You can always keep your eyes open during the practice or bring your forearms off the floor and point your fingers towards the ceiling,

In which case if you do fall asleep they'll drop down giving you a gentle reminder to remain awake and alert.

If you have any lower back pain you may wish to place the soles of your feet up closer to your buttocks and allow your knees to gently rest against each other,

Taking some pressure off the lumbar area.

The invitation here is to approach the practice with a sense of curiosity,

Kindness and acceptance towards your moment to moment experience and to any sensations,

Thoughts or emotions you encounter during the body scan.

This practice is not a matter of success or failure,

Nor it is about trying to get anywhere,

Achieve anything or attain some special state of calm or relaxation,

Although any of those things could happen.

The body scan is about cultivating mindfulness by bringing our awareness right into our physical sensations and simply being with our experience as it is as we travel through the body scape.

Many of us have difficult relationships with our bodies,

Especially if we've experienced trauma related to pain,

Injury,

Illness or abuse.

If you do encounter difficult sensations or emotions as we travel through the body,

You have a few options and I'll be sharing these options with you as we begin the practice.

Coming into whatever position you'll be taking for the practice and if you're lying down having your legs outstretched with feet falling apart and your arms by your sides with your palms facing up if that is comfortable for you,

You may also wish to place your hands on your belly so you can feel the gentle rise and fall,

The breath settling,

Resting your attention on the weight of the body and the points of contact between the body and the surface that you are on.

Noticing the quality of that contact,

Pressure,

Hardness or softness,

Warmth or cold from those points of contact,

Just holding the entire body in awareness in this moment and noticing what's here from the head down through the shoulders all the way down to the finger and thumb tips,

Torso,

Front,

Back and sides down through the pelvic area,

The legs all the way down to the toes on both feet,

Just being with the universe of sensations in the body in this moment.

Now moving awareness of the whole body into the background and foregrounding the sensations of breath entering and leaving the body wherever that is most prominent for you,

Perhaps in the nostrils and throat,

Cool air entering the body and warm air leaving the body,

Maybe in the chest,

Lungs and ribcage expanding and contracting with each inhale and exhale,

Perhaps the sensations of breath are most prominent for you in the belly,

Soft area between the ribs and the pelvis,

Rising on each in-breath,

Falling away again with each out-breath,

Not controlling or thinking about the breath,

Being with the sensations of breath as it enters and leaves your body.

If at any time during the practice you find that your mind has wandered and your attention is no longer on my guidance or in the area of the body that we are traveling through,

You can come back to the breath as an anchor to the present moment,

Gently and kindly noting where the mind has gone and then escorting your attention back to the sensations of breath wherever they're most prominent for you,

Following the breath in and out of the body for a few cycles before returning to the guidance to the region of the body that we are in in that moment.

Now gathering your attention and on the next out-breath moving it down through the body,

Through the pelvis,

Into the left leg,

All the way down into the toes of the left foot,

Big toe,

Little toe and toes in between.

Being curious about sensations in the toes of the left foot,

Is there a tingling,

A numbness,

A feeling of clothes against the skin,

Perhaps no sensations at all,

That's okay too,

Any sensations and no sensations are all a part of the body scan,

Can be held in awareness.

Letting go of the toes and moving your attention into the sole of the left foot,

Ball of the foot,

The arch,

The heel resting on the surface,

The outer edge of the sole.

Attention now moving around to the top of the left foot,

Delicate skin and bony structure at the surface,

Muscles,

Ligaments,

Blood in the interior of the foot.

Coming now to the left ankle,

Circling the ankle with attention,

Bony protrusions on either side,

Moving right into the interior of the ankle joint,

Just being with whatever's here in this moment,

The ankle,

The left foot,

Expanding awareness to hold the entire left foot and ankle.

On the next out-breath,

Letting go of the left foot,

Moving your attention up into the lower left leg,

Calf muscle resting against the floor,

Shin bone,

The exterior of the lower left leg and the interior,

Noticing what's here right now.

Letting go of the lower left leg and bringing your attention into your left knee,

Kneecap at the front,

Soft skin at the back of the knee,

Sides of the knee.

And if you encounter intense sensations as we travel through the body or intense emotions,

You have some options.

You may open your eyes to regather and settle and you can always keep your eyes open for the remainder of the practice if that is more comfortable for you.

You might move the body,

Shift position,

This is sometimes the most compassionate thing to do.

If you do decide to move the body,

Bringing awareness to the impulse and then right into the movements that you make.

I mean this way you're rolling the movements into the body scan practice.

You might rest your attention on one of the anchors that we've talked about,

Breath in the nostrils and throat or the chest or the belly,

Weight of the body or points of contact with the surface you're on,

Perhaps even sounds in the space around you.

And when you feel comfortable,

You can always return to my guidance or to the area of the body that we are in,

Which in this moment is the left knee.

Another option is to bring a gentle curiosity to the sensations or emotions that you're feeling.

Where in the body are you feeling these emotions?

How does it feel?

Is there a pulling or a tightness,

A gripping or a holding on?

By bringing your awareness into these areas of the body and noticing what's here,

We also notice that sensations and emotions are ever-changing,

Fleeting,

Changing in intensity,

Changing in quality,

Sometimes dissolving altogether only to reappear again.

Whenever you feel comfortable doing so,

You can return to my guidance,

To the area of the body that we are in,

Which in this moment is the left knee.

The next out breath,

Letting go of the left knee and moving your attention up into your upper left leg,

Between the knee and the hip.

The thigh is home to the largest,

Strongest and heaviest bone in the body,

The femur,

As well as some of the largest muscles.

Noticing weight,

Length and volume of the thigh,

Any sensations that are here in this moment.

Now letting go of the thigh and expanding your awareness to hold your entire left leg and the hip socket all the way down to the toes of the left foot.

Being curious about any sensations in the left leg in this moment.

Now gathering attention in the top of the left leg and moving it across the pelvis and all the way down into the right foot.

Resting your attention on the toes of the right foot.

Big toe,

Little toe,

Toes in between,

Nails.

Noticing those points where the toes attach to the foot.

Now letting go of your toes and resting attention on the sole of the right foot and the heel,

The point of contact between the heel and the surface.

Noticing any tingling,

Numbness,

Flow of energy and blood and bringing attention around to the top of the right foot.

Awareness now filling the right ankle,

Front,

Back and sides.

Coming aware of the Achilles tendon that connects the right heel to the right lower leg and letting go of the right foot.

Moving your attention up into the right lower leg,

Calf muscle,

Shin button.

Just noticing what's here on the lower right leg.

Being curious about any sensations.

If the mind has wondered,

It's okay,

There's no need to judge or criticize yourself.

Just acknowledging where the mind has gone and then gently escorting your attention back to my guidance and to the area of the body that we are in,

Which in this moment is the lower right leg.

On the next out breath,

Letting go of the lower right leg and bring your attention right into your right knee.

Being with any sensations in your right knee in this moment.

Letting go of the right knee and moving your attention up into the right thigh,

Femur bone connecting the knee to the hip.

A factory for white blood cells,

Strengthening your immune system,

Sensing the shape and muscularity of the right thigh and then gathering your attention and expanding it to fill the entire right leg,

Hip socket,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole and toes.

Just holding the entire right leg in awareness for a few moments and when you're ready,

Letting go of the right leg,

Bring your attention into your pelvic area,

Lower abdomen in the front,

Buttocks and tailbone,

In the back,

Genitals and anal region.

Noticing sensations at the surface and sensations deep inside the pelvic area,

Which protects the reproductive and other soft organs.

And on the next out breath,

Letting go of the pelvic area,

Bringing your attention into your lower back where your spine emerges.

This is an area that we often hold a lot of tension,

An area of the body that works very hard for us throughout the day,

That supports us.

Now giving it an opportunity to rest and just noticing what's here right now in the lower back.

Is there tension,

Tightness,

Any sensations at all or no sensation?

Awareness moving up the spine,

Vertebrae by vertebrae,

Up to the middle of the back where the ribs emanate from the spine,

Wrap all the way around to the front of the body.

Tension moving into the upper back,

Shoulder blades,

The top of the spine all the way up to the base of the net.

Now broadening awareness to hold the entire region of the back,

Base of the neck and the shoulders right down to the lumbar tailbone,

Midsection of the back,

Also the sides.

On the next out breath,

Letting go of the back,

Resting your attention on the belly,

Being curious about the movement of the breath and the belly following this movement right from the start of the in-breath through to the transition from in-breath to out-breath,

All the way to the end of the breath cycle.

Sensing the digestive system inside the belly,

Noticing any feelings of fullness or emptiness and letting go of the belly and moving your attention up into the chest,

The lungs filling with air on the in-breath,

The ribcage expanding around the lungs,

Then emptying and contracting on the out-breath.

You might be aware of the heart beating in the center of the chest,

The heart that works so hard day and night to pump nutrients and oxygen around the body,

Thanking the heart and lungs,

Showing them a kind appreciation for all the work they do,

Resting your attention on the breasts,

Pectoral muscles,

Collarbones.

Now broadening your awareness,

Fill the entire front of the torso,

Awareness spreading to the sides of the body and the hips all the way up to the armpits.

And on the next out-breath,

Letting go of the front and sides of the torso,

Bringing your attention into your shoulders and down through the upper arms,

Through the elbows,

Right down into the finger and thumb tips,

Just noticing what's here right now.

Awareness filling the fingers and thumbs,

Just noticing the quality of sensations,

Their dryness or moisture,

Warmth or coolness,

Tingling,

Numbness,

Awareness filling the palms of the hands,

Shifting your attention around to the backs of the hands and the points of contact between the hands and the surface thereon.

If the mind has wandered,

Just noting where it's gone without judgment,

Without condemning yourself,

Gently but firmly escorting your attention back into the body.

In this moment,

We're in the hands.

Attention now resting in the wrists,

Intricate joints that connect the hands to the arms,

Broadening your attention to hold the entire hands and wrists in awareness.

And on an out-breath,

Letting go of the hands and bring your attention up into your forearms.

Forearms are a part of the body that we don't often give much attention.

In this moment,

Showing your forearms some appreciation for all the work that they do,

Helping you lift and carry,

Helping you shake hands and hug,

Being with whatever sensations are in the forearms in this moment.

Now letting go of the forearms and bring your attention into your elbows,

Bony protrusion on the outside,

Soft skin on the inside,

Being with whatever sensations are in the elbow joints in this moment.

Now letting go of the elbows and bring your attention into your upper arms,

Biceps,

Triceps,

Sensing what's here right now.

Attention moving into the shoulders,

The shoulders and the area between the shoulders and the neck is where we often hold a lot of tension,

Tightness arising out of afflictive emotions that have not been processed or freed,

Tightness from sitting for too long or hunching over our desks,

Our devices.

In this moment,

Just allowing the shoulders to relax and open,

Noticing any sensations that are here.

Now broadening your awareness,

Fill the entire arms,

Shoulders down through elbows,

Right down to the finger and thumb tips,

Holding both arms in awareness,

Noticing their length and weight,

Contact with the surface you are on.

Now letting the arms go and bringing awareness into the region between the shoulders and the neck,

Your attention into the front of the neck,

The throat where air enters the body and transforms into breath,

Where food and drink enter the body,

Nourishing and sustaining us.

Moving attention to the sides of the neck and the back of the neck,

Letting go of the neck and bring your attention to the back of the head,

Resting on the floor of the mat,

Awareness emanating from the back of the head to hold the entire scalp,

Noticing hair or no hair,

Sensing the brain floating in a jelly-like substance within the head,

Protected by the hard skull bones.

Or moving your attention around to the front of the head,

To the forehead,

Area between the hairline and the eyebrow ridge and the temples,

Noticing what's here in the forehead in this moment,

There is any tension or tightness,

Just allowing the forehead to relax on each out breath,

Tension now circling the eye socket,

Sensing the eyeballs,

The eyebrows,

Eyelids,

Perhaps even the delicate eyelashes.

Moving your attention between the eyes where the nose begins,

Tension moving down the nose to the nostrils where air might be entering your body,

Tension spreading out across the cheeks all the way to the ears,

Holding the ears in awareness,

Outer ears and ear lobes,

Just sensing what's here in the inner ears,

Gathering your attention at the base of the ears and the jaw bones,

Gently moving down each side of the jaw,

Meeting at the chin,

The lips,

The interior of the mouth,

Bringing your attention into your teeth,

Gums,

Tongue,

Roof and base of the mouth,

Expanding your attention to hold the entire base and head in awareness in this moment,

Continuing to hold the head and face in awareness,

Filling the rest of the body with awareness as well,

The neck,

Shoulders and arms,

Hands and fingers,

Torso,

Front,

Back and side,

Pelvic area,

Thigh,

Knees,

Calves and shins,

All the way down to the toes for the last few moments of the practice,

Holding your entire body in awareness,

Whole and complete as it is.

And as this practice comes to an end,

Setting an intention to carry this awareness that you've been cultivating through to the next part of your day or evening,

Acknowledging and appreciating yourself for spending this time investing in your own well-being,

Whatever happened during the practice,

Whether you fell asleep,

Whether the mind wandered,

Countless times,

Just being here and showing up is enough.