Compassionate Body Scan

Hi,

My name is Elizabeth Kush and I am a licensed clinical professional counselor as well as a podcast host.

And today we're going to be,

I'm going to be sharing with you a body scan meditation.

One practice that really helped me early on but still continues to be one of my tools in my toolkit is the body scan meditation.

And the reason that I feel like it helped me early on in my process of getting more familiar and attuned to my internal world,

My body inside,

Is because it brings an awareness of all your body,

Of your whole body from head to toe in slow progression without trying to change anything but just with gentle,

Kind awareness of what's happening inside.

And that was so helpful for me to recognize that as I was having,

You know,

If my mind wandered and I started to think about what my day had planned or someone I had to call and maybe my anxiety rose,

I noticed how that felt in my body as I was bringing my attention and my awareness to that part of the body.

But it also made me realize that my body was feeling things,

Noticing things,

Reacting to things all the time.

And I hadn't been very aware of how often that happened,

That sometimes my stomach would hurt or sometimes I feel nervous and butterflies in my stomach or I get a pressure in my chest.

And I know when I feel that pressure,

That tension,

That tightness,

That my anxiety,

There's something that's making me fearful,

My anxiety is showing up.

And so then I can take the time before it gets too huge or overwhelming and take care of myself in those moments.

So the body scan has been super helpful for me in those ways.

So I would like to share a body scan meditation with you today.

You can do this meditation sitting down in a comfortable chair.

Most oftentimes it's recommended to do it lying down.

But if you're really,

Really tired or you're not comfortable laying down on your back,

You can do it sitting up.

It's a good meditation no matter what your position,

You could do it standing as well.

But whatever position you take,

Be comfortable because this meditation will last for quite a few minutes.

And I want you to be as comfortable as possible.

So doing whatever you need to do,

Whether it's getting a pillow for your back or under your knees or under your head,

Or maybe finding a comfortable chair to sit in or a cushion.

If you're lying down,

Finding ways to support your body for the next little while.

I find it easiest to do meditations with my eyes closed.

But I know that can be very hard for some people.

So if it feels more comfortable to leave your eyes open,

Just find a spot that you can gaze at softly for the next little while.

I'm going to instruct you to breathe into the places in your body that we're bringing an awareness and our attention to.

And what I mean by that is just imagining that as you breathe in and as you breathe out,

The breath is flowing in and out of those parts of your body.

And if that's hard for you to imagine,

Just breathing while you're noticing is okay too.

So take a few slow,

Deep breaths.

Breathing in,

Exhaling out.

One more time.

Breathing in and out.

Centering yourself here in this moment.

One last deep breath in and out.

And now I want you to bring your attention to the top of your head,

The back of your head,

Your face,

Your ears,

And just notice any sensations or pain or tension there in your head.

Maybe noticing where it makes contact with the floor or cushion or back of the chair.

And whatever it is you're feeling,

Just breathing into your head,

Breathing into those sensations that you're feeling right now.

And now moving your attention down to your neck and your throat and noticing whatever it is you're feeling there without judgment,

Just an awareness.

And see if you can just breathe into whatever it is you're feeling in your neck and your throat.

And shifting your attention to your shoulders where we often carry a lot of tension.

And if you're noticing that,

Just breathing into your shoulders,

Noticing where the tension is held,

Noticing if you breathe into the tension and into your shoulders,

If it shifts at all or if it stays the same or if you're not feeling anything,

All of it is okay.

And now allowing your attention to drift down from your shoulders through your upper arms and your elbows and your forearms,

Noticing if they're making contact with the floor or your body,

Noticing any sensations of tingling or warmth or coolness,

Breathing into your arms from the top to the bottom.

And now shifting your attention to your wrists and your palms,

The tops of your hands,

Your fingers,

Your fingertips,

Noticing what feelings that are there and where they're making contact,

Noticing if you can bring your awareness to each individual finger and thumb and breathing into your hands,

Softening them if you can.

And now we'll let our attention drift back up our arms to our chest and our upper back,

Just noticing any feelings or sensations,

Pleasant or unpleasant,

Whatever is there,

Just noticing and breathing into it with kindness and without judgment.

And now drifting down to your belly and your lower back,

Noticing what's there,

Noticing the sensations and the feelings,

Noticing if your mind wanders away,

Just bringing it back gently to the feelings of your belly,

In your belly and in your lower back and breathing into whatever it is you're feeling now.

And now shifting your attention and focus to your hips,

Your pelvis,

Your buttocks,

Noticing the contact points with the chair or the floor,

Noticing any pain or discomfort,

Numbness,

Tingling,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Just allowing all of that to be there,

Whatever it is,

Whatever you're noticing,

Breathing into your pelvis,

Breathing into your buttocks and your hips,

Noticing if the feelings shift or change at all,

And just allowing all of that to be there with a kind attention.

And now noticing and moving your attention down through your thighs and your knees and your calves,

Being aware of their contact points with the floor or the chair or the bed,

Noticing whatever it is,

The tingling,

The pain,

Maybe there's a cramp,

Whatever's there,

Just breathing into it,

Allowing it to be there without judgment,

Without trying to make meaning,

Just letting it be there with a kind attention.

And now moving down to your ankles and your feet and your toes.

And if your feet are resting on the bed,

Noticing the contact points there.

If your feet are on the floor,

Just noticing how your feet feel on the floor.

Is there pain or numbness?

Whatever's there,

Just breathing into that,

Allowing it to be there,

And seeing if you can notice each and every one of your toes,

From the pinky to the big toe.

Maybe trying to soften your feet,

Noticing any tingling,

Any anything,

Whatever is there.

And if your mind wanders or your attention drifts away to thoughts and worries and planning,

Just bringing it back to your body,

Bringing it back to your feet and your toes,

Breathing into your feet.

And now we're going to move our attention through our body from our toes up to our head.

So bringing an awareness to your feet and your ankles,

Up through your calves and your knees,

Through your thighs and your hips and your pelvis and your buttocks,

Up through the lower back and the belly and the chest and the upper back,

Up through your shoulders,

Down through your upper arms and your elbows and your lower arms and your wrists and your hands and your fingers,

And then back up through your hands and your arms to your neck and your throat,

Up through the back of the head,

Down through your face,

And circling back up to the top of your head and just resting your awareness there for a moment or two.

Breathing into your scalp,

Imagining a white light from above with warmth shining down on the top of your head,

Allowing that light to flow through you all the way down through your body and down to your feet,

Filling you with warmth and light.

And when you're ready,

You can wiggle your toes and move your hands,

Maybe stretching if that feels comfortable,

But gently moving your body,

Bringing your awareness back to the room,

Back to where you are,

Opening your eyes if they were closed or focusing your gaze on the room around you,

Noticing where you are,

Bringing yourself back to this moment right here,

Right now.

And as you reorient yourself to the space where you are,

Just thanking yourself in this moment for giving you the time to spend with your body,

With the sensations,

Not judging,

Not making meaning,

Not creating a story around whatever it is you were feeling,

Just allowing it to be there with compassion and kindness.