Body Scan To Help You Heal And Relax

The Body Scan Meditation.

In this meditation we're going to practice resting very deeply inside the body and learning to treat ourselves with care and kindness.

We'll take some deep rest which will help the body heal and restore.

It's a simple meditation where we gradually rest awareness in all the different parts of the whole body.

This will help our thoughts and worries calm down a little.

First of all getting in the right position for your body.

I suggest you do the body scan lying down if you can,

If that's comfortable.

This will probably help you feel a little more relaxed and at ease.

But of course use another position if that feels better.

I'll lead the meditation as if you're lying down.

If you're choosing another position just adapt the instructions for yourself as we go along.

And now gradually settling into the position you've chosen.

First of all really feel the weight of your whole body on the surface it's resting on.

Can you let your body be heavy and supported by the bed,

Floor or chair.

Letting gravity take your weight as fully as you can.

Really allowing the surface you're resting on to hold and support you and to take your weight.

Allowing yourself to rest as deeply as you can.

To help deepen the sense of letting go,

Let's take a slightly deeper breath in and then release and let go even more on the out breath before allowing your in breath to naturally flow back into your body in its own time.

Do this a few more times if you'd like to.

Really giving your weight up to the surface it's resting on with each out breath.

And now allowing your breathing to settle and to find its own natural rhythm.

And rest your awareness inside the experience of breathing.

Not as a thought or an idea but as an experience in your chest,

Belly and even the back of your body.

Feeling into its natural rhythm.

Let your breathing rhythm be as natural as possible for you right now.

There's no special way of breathing and be careful not to force or strain.

And if you find that bringing awareness to your breath makes you feel uncomfortable,

Then focus instead on the feeling of the weight of your body on the bed or the floor.

Now inviting your awareness all the way down through the body to the feet and the toes.

See if you can allow your awareness to be inside this area.

We're not looking at the body from the outside.

Instead we're resting very deeply inside the body,

Inside the feet and the toes.

Feeling the contact with the floor or bed.

Letting go and resting.

Maybe the sense of your feet and the toes is strong with intense sensations and feelings.

Or maybe they feel far far away from your awareness.

Maybe they feel numb or dull.

Being careful not to judge your experience unkindly.

Mindfulness is about knowing what's happening whatever your experience is.

Then very gently and gradually coming into a deeper sense of being right here,

Right now with deeper awareness and rest moment by moment.

Now allowing your awareness to flow through the feet up into the ankles and the lower legs just as they are.

Resting with a sense of presence being right here.

Flowing up through the knees into the upper legs all the way to the hips.

Checking that the buttocks are soft and not tense as they rest on the bed or the chair.

And having a sense of your legs all the way from the bottom of your toes right up to the hips.

Resting and letting go.

Seeing if you can have an attitude of caring towards your legs.

It might be that you can feel pain somewhere in your legs.

Or perhaps they're feeling dull or even numb.

Let's see if we can have an attitude or an intention to care for our legs just as they are.

They are a part of us.

Allowing your awareness now to flow up into the trunk of your body,

Your torso,

The middle of your body.

First of all becoming aware of the belly at the front and then the lower back and all the muscles inside too.

And seeing how breathing is showing up in this part of the body.

Becoming more aware of how the whole of this part of your body is breathing.

Becoming aware of the pattern of breath.

Maybe there's an opening feeling on the in-breath and a falling back feeling on the out-breath.

Allowing the breathing to gently massage,

Rock and support this whole part of the body.

If there's discomfort or pain,

Allowing the hard edges to be soothed by the gentle breath.

And if your breathing is stressed because of your COVID symptoms,

Then bringing your awareness to the sense of stability in the body and rest your awareness there.

Always giving your weight up to the surface you're resting upon.

Allowing awareness to continue its journey up through the body.

Coming up into the chest at the front and the middle back and the upper back in the back of your body.

The whole of the upper part of your body becoming filled with awareness and rocked and supported by breathing.

The front,

The sides,

The whole back of the body.

Seeing if you can care for your body as you lie here.

It might be uncomfortable and even painful at times,

But here you are giving your body some deep rest to help it recover.

And now as you breathe,

Allowing awareness to pour through your shoulders and all the way down the arms.

The upper arms,

Elbows,

Lower arms,

Wrists,

Hands,

Fingers and thumbs.

Having the hands supported and the whole of the arms letting go into gravity,

Resting.

Letting the shoulders,

Arms and hands all be at rest in each moment.

Pay particular attention to letting the hands and the fingers be soft.

Allowing your awareness to flow back up through the arms,

Through the shoulders,

Into the neck.

The front,

Back and sides of the neck and flowing up inside the head.

Coming through the base of the skull,

The back of the head,

The sides of the head.

And allowing awareness to softly pour into the whole face.

If you're lying down,

Checking that the head is fully supported by the pillow or the cushion.

Letting go,

Releasing and letting the whole face be soft.

The forehead,

The eyes,

Cheeks,

Lips,

Tongue and the jaw.

The whole face soft.

Paying particular attention to softening the jaw and the tongue as this might ease your breathing a little bit.

Now expanding to be aware of the whole body lying here.

Resting,

Letting go,

Breathing,

Getting softer.

Resting inside breathing,

Resting inside sensations.

Letting everything flow through you moment by moment and seeing if you can care for your whole body.

Noticing the way experience is continually changing.

Our discomfort or fatigue is never exactly the same one moment to the next.

Resting within the sense of flow,

Taking things one moment at a time as you rest here.

Continuing the meditation for as long as you like and when you're ready gently bringing it to a close.

Gently moving the body when you're ready.

Taking your time to come back to an upright position and taking this quality of awareness with you.

Being careful not to strain your body as you move.

There's no need to rush.

You can take your time.

Thank you for your practice and for caring for your body,

Your heart and your mind in this way.

And your body,

Your heart and your mind will be grateful.

I wish you all the best.