Welcome back to day two.
Today's meditation is focused on doing a body scan and the reason we want to do a body scan is because it increases something called interception,
Which is your body's ability to sense internal signals like tension,
Warmth,
Or discomfort.
And being aware of this strengthens awareness of bodily and emotional states.
It acts as a steady anchor for attention,
Especially powerful for beginners,
And it helps to improve concentration and reduce mental chit-chat.
So by tuning into sensations,
You become more conscious of how emotions affect your body,
Allowing non-judgmental observation.
Remember,
We want to be non-judgmental rather than reactive suppression.
And I found that when I suddenly notice tension somewhere in my body,
If I breathe into it,
I then become aware of how my emotions are showing up and I start to ask myself,
What am I letting into my space that's affecting me?
Why do I feel this way?
What just happened to create this reaction?
And how am I handling things in my life?
And that's why I like to do a body scan because it helps me to see what impacts me and once I'm aware,
I can choose how to deal with it.
And I realize that I can control my emotions and I get to know which situations tend to agitate me.
So over time with practice,
You'll start having a similar awareness and benefit too.
So we're going to do a body scan.
It'll probably take us five minutes,
Maybe six minutes.
And I just like you to find a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
You can put a pillow underneath your knees if you need to.
And even if you can't be seated or lying down,
If you're standing,
That's fine too.
It's good just to do it.
So I'd like you to close your eyes if possible or keep a soft gaze and just rest your hands where they feel comfortable.
If it's on your lap or by your sides,
On your stomach.
And just take a few deep,
Slow breaths,
Allowing yourself to settle into the space.
So you inhale through your nose and exhale out your mouth.
And I'd like you to bring your attention to your breathing,
Noticing the rise and fall of your stomach or your chest without making any changes.
Just observe,
Nonjudgmental observation.
Feeling this easy rhythm of your breath,
I'd like you to bring your awareness to your feet and notice any sensations that you might be feeling,
Whether you feel they're tingling or they're warm or you feel pressure.
And just breathe into your feet.
Send the breath to your feet.
And I think sometimes people don't know what that means.
How do you breathe into your feet or breathe into a certain area?
But you're taking your awareness and you're taking it down to that area of your body.
And you could visualize your feet breathing,
Inhaling through your feet and exhaling.
And just notice what you're feeling.
And I'd like to slowly move up from the feet,
From your toes into your ankles,
Feeling the heaviness of your heels on the floor,
Letting your feet just flop out to the side.
Send the attention to your calves,
That's the back of your leg.
Breathe into it.
Moving up towards your knees,
Feel your kneecaps relaxing.
And your thighs,
Release any tension that's in your thighs,
It's the front of the leg,
The back of the leg.
Feel the heaviness of your glutes,
Your buttocks.
Feel that resting heavily into the floor or into the chair.
And just notice how you're feeling there.
Let the breath flow in through the nose and out through your mouth.
And then bring your attention upwards more towards your hips,
The front of the hip where there's the crease.
And just be aware of any tension or tightness that there might be there.
Breathe into it.
Moving up towards your lower back,
Feel that releasing.
Your hip flexors,
They can be relaxed,
You're lying down or you're seated,
They don't need to be activated.
Notice your stomach and your belly moving every time you breathe in.
And every time you breathe out,
Bringing your attention to your chest,
Observing what happens when you inhale and when you exhale.
Moving the attention up to your shoulders,
Let them drop heavily into the floor or feel them sliding down your back if you're seated.
Moving the attention down your right arm or your left arm.
We'll do one side and then the other.
Letting the energy flow and the relaxation happen in the upper arm,
The elbow,
The forearm,
Your wrists,
Into the hands,
Into the fingers,
Noticing any sensations.
Maybe you feel a little tingling,
Maybe you feel warm or you feel cold.
Moving to the other arm,
Feel the shoulder dropping down,
Moving into the upper arm,
Feel that relax,
The elbow,
Forearm,
Your wrist,
Your hand relax,
Your fingers release.
Moving the attention to your neck,
Feel the relaxation in your neck.
Notice if there's any stiffness or clenching.
Coming up towards your jaw,
Let that go.
Feeling your eyes heavy,
Let your forehead soften,
Almost like you're melting like wax.
Just let everything go.
Moving to the top of your head,
Releasing any tension.
And then let your awareness expand to the whole body.
This is one unified entity.
Let us all together take one deep inhale when you're ready.
Sense the body rising,
Feel the energy coming into it.
And as you exhale,
Let it all go.
Feel the release.
Now you can just gently move your fingers and your toes.
You want to stretch it out,
Maybe bring your knees to your chest,
Rocking,
Massaging your back a little bit.
You can flutter your eyes open if they were closed.
And then slowly at your own pace,
Just bring yourself back into the room and back into your day.
Thank you so much.
I'll see you again on day two.
Day three.
Lots of love.
