45 Minute Body Scan

Welcome to the 45-minute body scan meditation.

Bring your awareness here.

Taking a moment to discover what this moment brings.

Start by noticing the position of the body.

Allow the body to become as comfortable as possible in the sitting or lying down position that you have chosen.

Make any small adjustments to your position as needed throughout the meditation.

You'll notice that thoughts and emotions will be coming and going even as we move the awareness through the sensations in the body.

This is no problem.

Each time we notice thoughts and emotions,

We simply note that the mind has been thinking and we allow them to be as they are,

Returning to whatever body part our attention was on.

Let's start by following the sensation of the breath in the body.

Steadying the mind by bringing the attention back to the breath again and again.

No need to try to make any changes to the sensation of the breath or any sensation in the body.

This is a practice of being with what is.

Allowing the breath to come and go as it is and noticing that each breath is unique in its own way.

And even each moment of each breath is different.

We can learn through the changing nature of the breath,

The changing nature of our present moment experience.

No two moments are alike.

In a moment when we move the attention away from the breath and into other areas of the body.

Keep in mind an attitude of a kind curiosity.

Allowing the body to be just as it is,

Just as we do with the breath.

Feeling what is present in the body without judgment as much as we are able.

Let's move the awareness away from the breath now and start with the sensations in the left foot and the point of contact where the left foot is touching the ground or the floor.

Move the awareness at your own pace across the bottom of the foot,

The arch,

The ball of the foot,

Each toe,

The top of the foot and the Achilles tendon.

Moving up into the left ankle now and exploring sensation there.

Now continuing to move the attention upwards between left ankle and knee in a pattern that makes sense for your body to be able to explore every inch between left ankle and left knee.

Noticing sensations on the inside,

In the muscle,

The bone,

As well as on the outside,

The skin,

The touch of air or clothing.

Simply noticing sensations,

Allowing them to be and allowing them to change on their own.

Approaching the left knee now,

Beginning to explore sensation in the knee cap and behind the knee.

Starting to move to the upper left leg.

Moving the attention all the way between knee and hip on the left side.

Moving the muscles in the thigh,

The inner edge,

The outer edge,

Top side and bottom side of the left thigh.

When thoughts or emotions enter into the mind,

We can notice that they have entered,

Simply letting them be and coming back to the sensation in left upper leg.

Next,

Become aware of sensations in the left hip and the buttocks on the left side.

No need to try to make anything happen or to make anything go away.

Let's move awareness away from the left side of the body and move down to the right foot.

Now that point of contact where the right foot is touching the ground.

You might notice pressure or tingles and then you can slowly move the awareness across every area of the right foot to include the bottom and top,

Heel and toes,

Even Achilles tendon.

Moving at your own pace.

Moving the attention into the right ankle,

Noticing sensation there.

And then moving attention up from right ankle up into shin and calf,

Inch by inch,

Exploring tingles and sensations,

Anything you can notice in lower right leg.

Attention… Bringing awareness into the right knee.

And then moving up from right knee to hip,

Exploring any sensations available in the right upper leg,

Right thigh,

All the way around inner edge,

Outer edge,

Top side and bottom side of the right thigh.

Noticing the changing nature of sensation,

Each moment a little bit different.

Moving awareness into the right hip.

Moving awareness into the right hip joint and the buttocks on the right side.

Moving awareness into the right hip joint.

And now beginning to explore between the two hips in the whole pelvic region,

The organs of reproduction and elimination.

Noting the changing nature of sensation,

Thought and emotion.

Staying present with the low belly,

The pelvis,

The very low back.

Noticing the changing nature of sensation,

Thought and emotion.

Keeping the attention moving,

We'll move into the belly now.

Feeling all the sensations of these organs of digestion and assimilation of nutrients.

Perhaps feeling the breath,

Stretching the skin and diaphragm.

No need to try to make any changes about what we're experiencing.

Staying present with the belly.

Awareness now moving into the low back.

Feeling the gentle curve of the spine and any sensations in this area.

Just as we experienced the breath changing with each moment,

You may notice that sensations are also changing with each moment without any effort on our part.

Continuing to move attention up the spine from the low back,

Coming into the mid back.

Feeling how the muscles and bones come together,

Perhaps feeling the ribs,

The shoulder blades.

Exploring mid back and upper back all the way up to the shoulders.

Simply noticing sensation and allowing it to be as it is,

Always changing.

If you notice that the attention wanders from time to time,

Into thoughts about the body or about other topics,

Simply come back to sensation as soon as you notice that the mind has wandered.

This is no problem at all and is a natural part of the process.

We're building concentration and steadiness of mind even as we explore the changing nature of sensation in the body.

Let's start to bring the awareness forward now from the back body up into the chest cavity,

Moving into the ribs,

The lungs,

The region of the heart.

And all of these internal organs housed in the protective casing of the ribs,

Noticing any movement or change in this area of the body.

The side muscles naturally create together with the Darwinian It's even possible that your body may have fewer or extra parts than somebody else's body.

This is fine.

Simply move the attention to as close as the region of the body that's being described as is available in your own body.

Noticing any thoughts and emotions that naturally arise as we move the attention from part to part and place to place.

Continuing to feel the breath,

Feel the body in this region of the chest.

Moving the attention forward even more and now noticing sensation externally on the skin or the breasts and the upper chest,

Upper shoulders.

Next we'll move into the left shoulder and notice sensation around the area of the left shoulder and under the arm into the armpit.

Starting to move attention downwards from shoulder to elbow on the left arm.

Noticing any available sensations in the left upper arm without judgment and without trying to change anything.

Moving into the left elbow now,

The hard outer edge and the soft inner edge.

Noticing any sensation here and then working the awareness down from elbow to wrist,

Exploring every inch of the left forearm.

Bring attention now into the left wrist.

Noticing sensation here and then working down into the hand,

Exploring the thumb,

Each finger,

The backside of the hand and the palm side of the hand.

Many,

Many touch sensors in the hands to be noticed.

Now to move into the right shoulder,

By moving onto the Pretty lady as not We'll move awareness now from the left hand into the right hand,

Starting at the fingertips,

Moving upwards into the palm and back side of the hand and including the thumb.

Attention now in the right wrist.

And then from wrist upwards towards right elbow,

Noticing any sensation in right forearm,

The bones,

The muscles,

Even the hairs growing out of the skin.

Also noticing when thoughts and emotions come into our awareness,

Noting that they are present and letting them be.

Attention now in the right elbow.

And then moving to the right upper arm,

Any sensations available coming and going between right elbow and right shoulder.

Experiencing sensations in this living tissue,

The cells,

The muscles,

The bones.

Experiencing how the body is always changing.

Right upper arm continuing to move upwards into the right armpit and right shoulder.

We'll move across from the right shoulder to the base of the neck,

Exploring at your own pace any sensations in the neck and throat.

Then we'll move up into the scalp of the head,

Feeling the hairs growing out of the head and including the ears at this time.

Moving into the face,

These muscles that are expressing our emotions all day long.

Now noticing the various sensations across the face.

You'll want to explore the forehead,

The eyes,

Sensations of the eyes in the sockets,

The cheekbones,

The soft inner palate of the roof of the mouth,

The moisture in the mouth,

The heaviness of the jawbone used to speak and chew,

The tongue,

Lips,

And chin.

Taking time to notice all the different sensations coming and going from the face.

And now we'll move our awareness more quickly to unify the body into one whole.

Starting with the top of the head,

Experiencing the sensations in the whole face and head,

Moving down the neck and across the shoulders,

Down the arms,

The torso,

The chest and back,

The hands,

The belly,

The hips,

The thighs,

Lower legs and feet.

Feeling the whole body now unified in one piece,

Living,

Breathing,

And changing moment by moment.

And we'll end with the wish that whatever benefits come from this practice may be passed along to all those with whom we come in contact and may all beings find peace.