Body Scan: Pain Management

Welcome,

Beautiful soul.

Thank you for being here with me today.

Before we start,

Let's take a moment to honor your efforts.

To honor you for taking some time out of your day to show up for yourself in this way.

For taking your health and your experience into your hands and empowering yourself through mindful action.

Showing up is the hardest part,

Dear one,

And you have arrived.

When we are living with chronic pain or discomfort,

It tends to constrict the way we attend to the body and strains the relationship we have with it,

Resulting in judgmental thinking,

Resentment,

And traumatic shifts in the way we view our bodies.

By focusing all of our energy on specific pain we are experiencing and ways of alleviating that pain,

We find ourselves trapped in this cycle of negative thoughts,

Feelings,

And actions that feed right back into one another,

Refueling and reinforcing the discomfort.

Today,

I will guide you in practicing a body scan to feel and breathe into each region of the body,

Bringing you fully into the moment,

Using your loving attention to tune in,

To attend to your experience,

And begin to rebuild your relationship with your body and move towards healing from a place of compassion and understanding.

Through acceptance of the existing conditions within the body in this very moment,

No matter how painful or frightening it may be,

You invite growth and healing to occur.

It is common for those who suffer from pain to have difficulty getting started because their attention keeps getting pulled away from the part of their body they are trying to focus on because of the pain.

Be gentle with yourself,

Sweet soul.

The more you practice,

The easier it will become.

Be patient with your progress,

With your body.

And when you notice your attention has gone to an area of pain,

Simply acknowledge it,

Just notice,

And then,

Without judgment,

Return your attention to the part of the body you'd been trying to attend to.

The most important part of this practice being just to try and notice what's happening in each region of the body,

Providing your loving attention to each and every detail of your experience.

You are going to be allowing your attention and your breath to slowly move through the body,

Remaining open to any sensations or pain emanating from each part,

Becoming curious about each detail,

Showing up fully for any challenge your body is facing or message it is attempting to deliver to you.

Being there wholeheartedly and without judgment to walk beside and support yourself through this,

To support your body through this,

Your mind through this.

If you haven't already,

Find yourself in a comfortable position lying down,

Or you can sit up comfortably if you'd prefer to do that.

Start taking slow,

Steady breaths down into the belly,

Closing your eyes if that's comfortable for you.

If not,

That's okay too.

Just let your gaze drift off past the end of your nose and begin to soften,

Turning your attention inward and allowing the rhythm of your breath to become an anchor to the present moment.

With each inhale,

Watch as energy,

Vitality,

And relaxation flow into your body,

Each exhale providing the opportunity to release tension,

Pain and fatigue flowing out of your body with each exhale,

Healing white light energy,

Softening and bringing comfort and ease with each new breath.

Imagine your focus as a spotlight now,

Moving it down your left leg,

Into your foot and out onto the toes,

Focusing on each of the toes one at a time.

Try to really get curious now about each feeling that arises.

Perhaps you notice the feeling of touch between your toes or a tingling sensation or maybe you don't feel anything at all.

Maybe you wiggle them a little just to remind you that they're there.

Just noticing,

Imagine the breath entering your lungs,

Passing down through the belly,

Moving down the left leg and out the toes of your foot and on the out breath it travels all the way back up through the foot,

The leg,

The belly,

Chest,

Throat and out the nose.

Taking a few breaths this way as best you can and bringing yourself back if you notice your thoughts have drifted,

Honoring your efforts each time as a perfect moment of mindfulness,

Of noticing and gently return your attention where you left off.

Now let's move that spotlight of yours up to the bottom of your left foot,

On the sole,

The instep,

The heel,

Noticing any sensations where your foot meets the floor or the bed or a sock or shoe you may be wearing.

Trying to be aware of your breath in the background as you tune into any feelings present in the foot.

Now allow your focus to move through the rest of your foot,

The bones,

The joints,

Into the ankle,

Trying to move your breath through the whole foot,

Noticing each and every beautiful detail,

Each and every beautiful part that is you.

Allowing your focus to move up into your lower leg now,

Continuing very slowly with the breath,

Moving to your calf and your shin and your knee,

Your thigh and your hips.

Using your spotlight,

Your attention in each area with the same level of awareness and curiosity,

Breathing in and out of each area of the body,

Moving the awareness across the hips,

Down into the right leg,

All the way down to the toes.

Noticing each,

Moving into the foot,

The ankle,

The lower leg,

The knee,

The knee,

The knee,

The thigh,

And back up into the hips,

Traveling up into your back,

Noticing each beautiful vertebrae protecting your spine,

Your genitalia,

Any sensations in your belly,

In your chest,

Moving up to those strong shoulders of yours,

Down into the left arm,

Each handy finger,

Your palm,

The wrist,

The lower arm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

Moving back across your shoulders over into your right arm,

Down into the fingers,

The hand,

The wrist,

The lower arm,

Elbow,

And upper arm.

Noticing any details,

Any sensations coming up into the neck,

Your throat,

Your jaw,

Your beautiful ears,

Your brow,

And up to the top of your head.

When you become aware of an area of tension or pain,

Try to breathe into it,

Bringing softness and healing,

Allowing yourself to feel the strong feelings and letting go with each out breath,

Giving your body permission to relax,

To release,

To heal,

Bringing your attention back gently each time it wanders,

Giving your body the opportunity to be seen,

To be heard,

To be loved,

Expanding that spotlight that is your focus to include your whole body now.

Noticing any thought or sensation,

Being aware of the area around you,

Any sounds,

Smells,

Feelings that arise,

Just taking it all in,

Providing your loving attention to your experience,

Hurting yourself through any challenges you are facing,

Taking mindful action that encourages healing and growth from the inside out.

And when you are ready,

You can open your eyes,

Maybe wiggle your fingers and your toes if that feels good for you,

Or maybe you'd like to stay in this peaceful place you found,

Drift off to a deep,

Restful sleep.

Either way,

Sweet soul,

The choice is always yours.

May you fully honor and appreciate the steps you are taking for yourself,

The investment you are making in your health,

Your body,

Your mind,

In each and every moment of mindfulness you gift yourself with.

Take care,

Sweet soul.

May our paths cross again soon,

And until then,

Sending lots of love and healing energy your way.