Let's select your posture for this body scan practice.
Either taking a seat or standing or even laying down.
Always making the choice based on what's going to serve your body best in this moment.
It might be different from the last time you did a body scan meditation or even your last meditation.
As you establish your posture and position,
Whatever you've chosen,
Seeing if you can embody the word dignity in your posture,
What might that feel like?
You're welcome to close your eyes or just lower your gaze.
However your body is,
Seeing if you can allow it to soften 5% more than it was when we first started,
Creating a little more space between your eyebrows,
Easing the roof of your mouth,
Letting your arms and elbows be soft.
I'll be guiding you through a body scan and the invitation is to come into relationship with your body,
Seeing if you can bring a new perspective with every sensation.
You can notice different feelings as either being pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral.
Seeing if you can practice with your bare attention,
Like when you can feel the Sun hitting your face.
You can think about how the Sun hits and feels on your face.
You can also know that the Sun is hitting your face without having to use any language or naming it.
That's the invitation here.
Seeing if you can just feel into the various sensations as I guide you from a journey from your feet to your head.
Before we start,
I'd like to invite you to identify a safe place in your body,
A place that feels at ease or pleasant or neutral.
This could be your hands,
Perhaps clasped together,
Or noticing your feet on the floor.
The reason I'm having you establish this,
We can call it a home base,
Is that if at any point during this scan I take you to a place that creates discomfort or triggers something uncomfortable,
I want you to know that you can come back to this spot as a place of refuge,
As an opportunity to take a break if you need to.
Once the practice becomes overwhelming,
You can switch to noticing sounds as an alternative.
And know that you always have the option just to stop the practice as well.
Always choosing what's going to serve you best.
With that said,
Let's begin by bringing our bare attention to both of our feet and the sensations there.
You might notice the texture of the surface that your feet are on,
Or of your socks or shoes.
And now move up to your ankles.
What might be here?
We're bringing curiosity,
Like a scientist.
And what we're studying is the magnificence of our own body.
And some places might have very large and noticeable sensations,
And other places might have more subtle or nuanced sensations.
And in some places you might just notice the absence of sensation.
There is no good,
Bad,
Wrong,
Or right way to practice.
Just bring in curiosity.
Let's move up to our shins.
Sometimes you might just feel the texture of clothing that you're wearing.
You may now notice your calves.
You may also notice things like softness or density.
And come up to your knees.
Perhaps there's tingling.
And then travel further up to your thighs.
And noticing the back of your upper legs.
You might notice the sensation of weight if you're in a seated position or even laying down.
Just take this one look and notice it.
And then coming up and bringing the area of your back,
Your lower,
Middle and upper back into your awareness.
Perhaps feeling the density of your spine.
And as we continue,
Scanning the second half of our body,
A gentle reminder.
That you have a home base you can come back to if any places are triggering or uncomfortable.
That you can always come back to sound.
And you can also just stop the practice if it's too intense.
We're scanning with curiosity and kindness as opposed to white-knuckling our way through every part.
Let's come to our belly now.
Perhaps becoming aware of the expanding and contracting with every breath.
And then moving up to our chest.
You might notice the rising and falling with every breath.
Or perhaps a warm temperature.
And now come into relationship with your hands and fingers.
You might notice moisture or dryness.
And becoming aware of both of your arms,
Inclusive of the forearms,
Elbows,
Upper arms.
Perhaps a sensation of heaviness.
And noticing your shoulders.
Might there be tension?
And continuing up to your neck and throat.
You might notice moisture with a sensation of airflow traveling against the back of your throat.
And then last but not least,
Bringing into awareness the entirety of your head.
Your face,
Your scalp,
Ears.
Maybe a felt sense of density and itch.
And as we bring our body scan practice to a close,
Let your awareness open up.
And notice the entirety of your body.
Perhaps feeling the sensation of being held and supported by the planet Earth.
Maybe coming back to your home base,
That place of refuge.
Maybe taking a deeper breath to signal the ending of this practice.
