The Journey Inward: Body Scan Technique

Welcome to the journey inward.

Today I will be sharing a technique referred to as a body scan with you.

A body scan is an effective method that can help you bridge your daily life into your meditation practice and how this works it's going to take us from whatever we've been doing and experiencing in our life,

Bring us into our body,

Bring us into this moment as a bridge and then we can go into our meditation practice by having let go of the sensations and emotions that maybe surrounded our day and we become more neutral,

Less affected by that all the things happening around us and instead we find ourselves turning inward.

We're using this technique today as an effective tool that I found for shifting my attention inward and for what I like to refer to as becoming embodied as well.

I want to explain that term to you because it might be something new and this is an important term whether you are practicing meditation,

Yoga or any other component of your life by becoming embodied I think that it's going to help you feel the reality of what is.

Feel a sense of neutral mindedness,

Clear perception and really let go of any negative self-talk that you may have had.

By becoming embodied we're noticing any preoccupation and self-talk by bringing mindful awareness to those experiences and maybe what our beliefs or our personal biases are that surround our preoccupation with different parts of our body,

Sensations or beliefs that we have developed over our lifetime and then in this meditation today we're going to shift from any preoccupation into a place of gratitude by becoming embodied.

Becoming embodied allows us the tools to grow more conscious of our experience living in our physical bodies.

We may find this exercise assists us in developing concentration skills,

Compassion for any of our tendencies towards self-judgment in some of those ways I just mentioned and we also notice our image patterns.

Extremely relaxing is what I'm hoping that you're going to get at the end of this meditation.

We can find body scans as an extremely relaxing tool that we may want to use at night to help prepare you for sleep.

Now as we shift into the time for our meditation we prepare to learn to listen,

Listen for what patterns and wisdoms the physical body may bring us today.

Again we're going to notice any judgment or belief patterns that have been living within us due to maybe trauma,

Life experiences and we're going to shift to a place of gratitude for whatever is.

We're learning,

Noticing as we begin meditating together.

Now find yourself in a comfortable seat and join me on our journey inward as we come home to the physical body.

You might want to close your eyes however I would like to urge you that if you've had any physical trauma in your life closing your eyes may be very uncomfortable as a new meditator or even an experienced meditator.

If that is your situation just look down the tip of your nose soften the awareness of the space around you so that you're not looking at anything in your physical environment but you have this muted vision looking right down the tip of your nose maybe noticing the physical body and maybe closing the eyes if that is within your comfort zone.

We begin our journey inward on this journey there may be places of pain and discomfort as well as places of neutral or pleasant emotion,

Places of numbness.

We're going to try to observe without becoming troubled or distracted by whatever body talk may arise.

Just notice and move on with the meditation expanding your awareness and even expanding the space that you may visualize around any sensation that really is pulling your awareness back to it within the body or troubling you.

Becoming gentle and receptive notice the space of the feet touching the floor.

Notice the soles of the feet how does it feel whether you're barefoot or in shoes notice what is touching the soles of your feet.

Spread the toes and relax the toes.

One by one taking your attention through each of your ten toes noticing sensations or lack of sensation.

Finding your attention drift to the top of the feet perhaps noticing the skin and the bones.

Awareness of the heels and the arches and curves that make up your feet.

Shifting to gratitude for the places that your feet carry you on your journey.

Awareness of your right ankle and your left ankle.

Noticing any sensation discomfort pain neutral following the pathway from your ankles up your shin bones to the knees.

Noticing the tops and fronts of the knees.

The sensation of the knees.

Maybe openness,

Density,

Space.

Traveling to the backs of the knees.

Maybe notice the surface the back of the knee may rest on.

Clothing,

Skin.

Awareness travels over the calf muscles.

Creating space and expansion so that your awareness opens around any places of discomfort or pain giving them space to for release space to be gratitude for the strength and stability and work that your lower legs and knees provide you.

Awareness travels over the knees and across the thigh bones.

Noticing the shape and sensation of the legs as the back of the thighs the hamstrings rest on the floor or your seat.

Noticing sensation.

Places of tightness places of open honoring each equally.

Noticing what is and finding gratitude.

From the upper legs we notice our sit bones touching the seat the ground beneath us holding us.

Maybe your seat expanding in your rear across the hips and pelvis.

Any awareness of the pelvic floor region the very lower abdomen.

Exhale and allow gravity to find its way downward rooting you through your pelvis hips legs and feet the places that hold you and ground you connecting you to the earth.

Finding gratitude for this grounded sensation gratitude for the weight and the durability.

Noticing again the hips pelvis low back region the very lowest realms of the low back like the tailbone the sacrum.

Allowing your awareness to begin at the skin and move to the bones and then the body cavity within.

Noticing any sensations that arise both positive or troubling and honoring them.

Breathing in gratitude with your next breath allowing awareness to come to the low belly maybe finding softness and open awareness.

Gentle and receptive accepting what is as the belly opens maybe sense digestion.

Any history that brings sensation to this area might be felt.

Noticing digestive organs reproductive organs.

Noticing the sides of your waist in the low back curve as you travel with your awareness the circumference of the lumbar region of your body and belly.

Be in the space for the next few breaths noticing gentle acceptance of what is.

Gratitude.

Awareness travels over the ribcage into the thoracic spine carrying the space of the shoulder blades the ribs lungs heart.

You might feel the cavity of the torso expanding and contracting moving into the skin of the arms.

You might notice an absence of movement in the upper torso noticing exactly what is.

Honoring all that is with gratitude and thanksgiving.

The heart that guides you in love.

The breasts and strength and beauty.

The lungs for every breath that sustains your life.

Gratitude as we wash across the shoulders the upper back.

The shoulders that carry the weight of the world sometimes.

Honoring the strength of the shoulders and gratitude and noticing any sensations in the upper back region.

Muscles of the shoulders where we connect to the neck across the collarbone spanning the sternum the upper back region.

From the shoulders travel your awareness down each of your arms right arm from shoulder to elbow.

Left arm from shoulder to elbow.

Letting the elbows become heavy creating space and awareness around each elbow.

Noticing skin the bones of the upper arms from the elbows to wrists noticing the bones the weight any past injuries or pain held in the arms shoulders elbows wrists strong bones and muscles tendons and ligaments.

Honor all that is your arms.

Gratitude for the experience and strength that your arms have brought you.

Noticing the hands right hand soft and receptive.

Left hand soft and receptive.

Noticing the skin on the back of each hand how it rests across the bones.

The softness of the palms perhaps the fingers slowly curve in travel your awareness through all five fingers.

Noticing stiffness and tension throughout the whole body but particularly now in the arms and hands into the fingers.

We even notice the creaks and cracks that any adjustments of movement may bring and we honor and notice just being with what is.

Now in gratitude thanking your hands for all the work that they do.

The creating healing caring.

From your hands travel the skin across these soft inner edges of your arms to the armpit area.

Notice the arms and the way they rest against the torso feeling the breath expand and open into the arms and how the breath meets the body any sensation.

Notice the breath traveling across the collarbones and the neck noticing awareness of breath and body and the neck the throat.

You may swallow a few times feel space and openness within the throat or space of voice early digestion breath sound notice any vibration sensation honoring the voice honoring the throat and the neck awareness moves around the sides of the neck where they connect to the shoulders the back of the neck from the back of the neck allow your awareness to travel across the scalp over the back of the head noticing any sensation of hair touching the body skin meeting hair absence of sensation gratitude for what has been and what is mind we go inward we notice any sensations happening in the back of the head the top of the head the sensation of the cavity of the mind space tension openness pain clarity honoring with gentle awareness what is awareness travels across the brow noticing any expression that you're carrying in the brow area and the forehead softly drift your awareness across each of your eyebrows softly gently awareness travels around each eye noticing the socket that space any tension pain openness accepting finding gratitude the mind and the eyes we see learn know believe honoring sight noticing the cheekbones opening beneath the eyes and traveling to the ears notice any sensation of the ears maybe what you're hearing physical sensation honoring your sense of sound noticing if you can where the lobes connect to the jawline allowing awareness to travel around the jaw line of your face noticing the shape and sensation of the chin the jaw perhaps your lips part a sense of spaciousness maybe feel it fills the mouth as your awareness turns into the cavity of the mouth the teeth noticing the tongue our sense of taste honoring with gratitude sound taste breath noticing the breath connection from the mouth to the nose gently close the lips bring the attention fully to the nose noticing the left nostril and the right noticing the bridge of the nose any past injury pain suffering connected to breath smell noticing an absence of sensation in this area or a newness of sensation and allow the sensation to drift to the divots just above the lips at the base of the nose awareness of the breath entering the nostrils maybe this is a new sensation for you it's noticing how that experience is honoring with gratitude the sensation of breath and smell noticing the expression of the face the beauty of all that is you noticing you allow the lips to part a natural breath returning soft receptive acceptance of this moment in this day and all that you are allow the natural breath to deepen filling the cavity of the body perhaps the hands come over the heart deep gratitude for your being and for honoring yourself with this time as we transition from this body scan into the world today notice the movements and moments where you become more conscious of your embodied state of being as well as the moments where you find yourself in reflection perhaps where you feel disembodied and you begin to notice when you're absent or separate from your physical self notice and accepting when you find yourself judging or falling into the patterns of mind chatter and self-talk and just noticing those tendencies noticing the moments where you feel sensation that you hadn't been aware of and you feel more embodied and honoring those two as you transition into your day and into your world you are the scientist the witness of your expanding consciousness and the world is the petri dish providing opportunity for you to watch change and growth and to observe all you are enjoy your journey inward today and always namaste