Hi,
This is Chris from MindSpace.
I am a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction,
MBSR.
And as such,
I offer the official MBSR course.
I will now guide you through a 20-minute body scan meditation.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position for you.
You might choose to lay down on the floor or onto a mat.
Or if you prefer,
You can also find a position sitting that can be either on a chair or a meditation cushion.
If you decided to lay down on the floor,
Just coming to our back and stretching the arms and legs out to a distance that feels good to you today.
In case you are sitting,
Just making sure you're sitting away from the back of the chair so that your back is self-supporting and the head is balanced on top of the head,
Shoulders are tucked back and the hands you can put in the lap or onto the knees,
Palms facing up or down.
Once settled in,
You might want to gently close your eyes.
When we are stressed,
We can actually feel it in the body.
However,
Most of the time,
Most of us are not aware of our body and when we are stressed.
That's why the intention of this body scan meditation is to become aware of the body.
You might want to bring an attitude of patience,
Beginner's mind and kindness.
The attention we put into the body,
We turn towards,
Inhabit and check in with each area of the body,
Staying a while and then letting go and moving on to the next body part.
Now let's start with the body scan meditation.
I invite you to take a deep breath in and slowly letting the air out.
Perhaps you repeat this one more time,
Just taking a deep breath in and slowly letting the air out.
Bringing your attention to the entire body,
Lying or sitting here,
From the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Simply breathing,
Sensing and maybe letting go,
Becoming a little bit heavier with the next out breath.
Maybe noticing the movement of the breath,
The rhythm as the breath rolls in and rolls out.
There's nothing to do or change,
Simply riding the waves of the breath from moment to moment.
So really just arriving in this moment,
Even when we have a very busy mind,
That's alright.
We'll just come back to the breath and to the body lying or sitting here.
Now you can bring your attention into the feet.
Maybe becoming aware of where the feet touch the ground or the floor and how there are certain parts of the feet making contact,
How there are different pressure points.
Maybe there's a sense of temperature,
Cold or warm on the feet or a sense of touch against fabric such as the socks.
Or maybe the sense of air against the feet.
Or maybe nothing at all which is alright.
Simply observing.
And what do the toes feel like?
They might be different from toe to toe but also there might be differences between the left foot and the right foot.
Even when you are already slowly moving up into the ankles and the calves,
What can you notice here?
There might be pressure on the calves,
Maybe different sensations in the left and the right ankle.
Then letting go of that part and moving up into the knees and the thighs.
What can you observe here?
Feeling into the bones and the flesh,
The muscles,
The skin.
Just be with what is here.
And if the mind has taken us into the past or the future,
That's alright.
That happens to all of us all the time.
But we're simply practicing coming back to the awareness of the knees and the thighs.
And when you are ready,
Moving up now into the pelvis,
Observing what we can note in that area.
Maybe there's a sensation of tension or pain or maybe a sensation of relaxness and looseness here.
Whatever it is,
Simply acknowledging it and maybe breathing into it and out of it.
Letting go.
Now letting go of the pelvis and moving your attention into the belly.
What can you observe here?
Is it possible to notice the breath in the belly as you inhale and exhale?
Maybe or maybe not.
Then letting go of the belly and moving into the chest.
What sensations can you notice here?
Maybe you can observe the breath here as the breath rolls in and rolls out.
No need to change or do anything.
Simply putting your attention into the chest and see if you can observe the breath.
Now letting go of the chest and bringing your attention into the back.
Focusing on the spine from the top until the very end.
What can you notice here?
Maybe certain parts making contact with the ground and other parts are up in the air.
And if you are sitting on a chair,
Maybe just sensing the touch of air or texture against the whole of your back and along the spine.
And if a feeling of tension or pain is here,
Because this is an area that's very prone for this,
Then maybe just breathing into it and out of it.
Just practicing to let go a little bit and maybe becoming a little bit heavier.
Letting go now of the spine and the back and bringing your attention into the hands and the fingers.
How do they feel like?
Are the fingers curled up or are they flat?
Moving on into the wrists and the lower arms.
What can you note here?
Maybe a sense of contact or touch or pressure,
Warmth or cold.
What's here?
Letting go of the wrists and the lower arms and moving further up into the elbows and the upper arms.
Simply noticing what's here for you now.
And when we are caught up in emotions or thoughts,
Then that's alright.
And if it feels right,
Just making the choice to come back to the body.
No need to touch ourselves,
That's normal.
And now focusing on the area of the shoulders and the neck.
This area is particularly prone to tension and pain.
And if that is what you are experiencing,
Then see if you can maybe simply breathe into it and out of it.
Releasing any resistance,
Just being with the things as they already are in this moment.
Letting go and softening.
And then moving on into the head.
What does the head feel like?
And now putting our attention onto the face,
Becoming aware of the entire face.
What does the forehead feel like?
The nose?
The eyes?
The jaw?
The mouth?
The ears?
And maybe now with the next outbreath,
Just letting go of any tension in the face.
And when you are ready,
Letting go of the awareness of the face and allowing the awareness to open to include once again the entire body lying or sitting here.
From the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Simply investigating the feeling of being alive.
Right now and right here.
And now we start to slowly draw this practice to a close.
So you might slowly become aware of your physical position in the room.
Maybe becoming aware of sounds inside you,
Inside the room you're in and sounds outside the room.
And then start to introduce some movement.
Starting to wiggle the hands and toes.
Maybe turning the head from left to right or up and down.
And simply just start to move and stretch in whatever way feels good to you right now.
And when you're ready,
Gently opening the eyes,
Becoming aware of the room you're in,
Of the colors and the shapes and forms.
And just really coming back into the present moment.
The body scan meditation is now complete.
