My name is Samantha Case and I will be guiding you through this guided meditation.
You will know this meditation is finished when you hear a gentle bell at the end.
If you'd like to receive more guided meditations visit SamanthaCase.
Com.
To begin this meditation you can find a seated position or if you'd like you can lie down on the floor or on a mat.
If you're lying down for a guided body scan meditation it can be helpful to rest your legs maybe on a bed or a chair so that they're above you.
This can help prevent sleepiness while moving through a body scan meditation which can often be very relaxing.
If you're lying down your arms can be at your sides,
Palms facing up or if you're seated your hands can rest in your lap or on your thighs with your palms facing down.
Just take a moment to find a position that feels most comfortable for you.
Finding a nice long spine wherever you decide to rest and you can go ahead and close your eyes or if you'd like you can keep your eyes open just resting them on a point out in front of you so that your gaze softens.
We'll begin by just taking a few deep breaths so let all the air out that you currently hold in the body and then take a slow deep inhale filling your belly,
Your lungs and a slow exhale releasing and again a deep inhale letting the inhale draw your awareness into the body and a slow exhale and one more time filling the body deeply and a slow exhale and now let your breath return to its natural rhythm and just take a moment to notice how the body feels in this moment.
The body is always shifting and just take a moment to notice what it feels like in this moment.
Maybe noticing areas of tension or areas where you feel a sense of openness or relaxation.
In a moment I'll guide you through the body from head to toe and we'll move through different areas of the body with our intention to be noticing what sensations arise in various parts of the body and knowing that there are some areas of the body where we may not feel sensation and that's okay and just noticing that and bringing your awareness to your body without judgment,
Without attaching a story to what you might be feeling,
Just noticing.
So we'll begin with the top of the head.
Bring your attention to the scalp,
Noticing what do you feel here?
What kind of sensations are there?
What's the temperature like?
Just holding your attention in this part of the body.
Now moving that awareness into the face,
Noticing the forehead,
Temples,
The brow,
The eyes,
The skin around the eyes,
Your cheekbones,
Your nose and the tip of your nose and the skin above your lip.
Maybe you feel the breath here and your jaw,
Allowing the jaw to loosen,
Noticing if there's tension here,
A sense of holding.
Now noticing your lips and the space between the lips,
Whether they're open or closed,
The mouth,
The gums,
Your tongue,
Seeing if you can invite a sense of openness and spaciousness into the inside of the mouth.
Now I let your attention glide down into your throat,
To the front of the throat and the back of your neck,
Seeing if you can notice the sensations of breathing in this area of the body as the air moves in and out of this area.
Noticing your collarbones and your shoulders,
Your upper back.
What do you notice here?
What can you sense?
And again,
If you're not able to sense much of anything,
Just noticing that.
Let that awareness slide down the body into the lower back.
What does this space feel like?
What sensations can you notice?
Now let your awareness move its way back up into your upper back and along your arms,
Traveling down your upper arms,
Into your elbows,
The creases of your arms,
Into your forearms and your wrists,
And then into your hands,
Seeing if you can rest your hands in an easeful way,
Letting them soften,
Noticing sensations here,
Noticing spaces between the fingers and your fingertips.
Now your awareness travels back up your arms,
Into your collarbones once more,
And into your upper chest,
Your ribs,
And your lungs,
Your beating heart,
And noticing how this part of your body rises and falls with each inhale and exhale.
Bring your awareness into your belly and see if you can soften your belly with each exhale,
Relaxing,
Softening.
Now bring your awareness into your pelvis,
Noticing the support here.
If you're seated,
Feeling the seat.
If you're lying down,
Noticing the floor holding this part of your body.
Let your awareness circle in your pelvis and bring your awareness into your legs,
Starting with your quads and wrapping that awareness around your hamstrings.
It's like you're turning a light on in each part of the body.
So in your upper legs,
Imagine pulling a little string to turn the light on.
And what do you notice here?
Now bring that awareness into your knees,
The area behind your knees.
Now into your legs,
Your lower legs,
Your calf muscles,
And your shins.
And now let your awareness wrap around your ankles,
Turning the lights on.
And now into your feet,
Noticing the arches of your feet,
The soles of your feet,
And each toe and the spaces between the toes.
Now take a moment to do a full scan through your body,
Moving from your feet upwards and to the crown of your head,
And maybe back down again.
Just doing a full sweep of the body and noticing what you feel.
And see if you can develop an awareness of the entire body together,
Bringing into awareness all the different parts of the body and how they come together to form a whole,
And tuning into the sensations of the whole.
And now notice your breath and how your breath fills this whole body.
Notice how your body expands and contracts with each inhale and each exhale.
Notice if the mind has wandered,
And if it has,
Just smile at the fact that this is very normal,
This happens.
And then just gently bring your awareness back into the body,
Becoming aware of whether you feel more comfortable in the body or maybe you feel more comfortable in the mind.
And how does it feel to be with your body?
And now welcome in three deep breaths,
Filling the belly,
Expanding the lungs,
And letting the air out slowly.
And take a couple more deep breaths on your own,
Letting the breath return to you.
It's a natural rhythm.
And for a moment before you come back into this space,
Just take a minute to visualize the space around you,
Bringing to mind the different objects in the room,
Imagining the layout of the walls.
And then when you feel ready,
You can slowly blink your eyes open and maybe take a deep stretch.
And now see if you can move through the day with this sustained awareness of the body.
