Hello,
And welcome to this body scan meditation.
My name is Kalyani,
And I will be your guide today.
I'm happy to share with you a warrior's at ease meditation,
Specifically designed for the military,
First responders,
Medical professionals,
Caregivers,
And their families.
Taking into account the nature of their jobs,
We simply want to bring easy-to-learn and apply methods of assisting the nervous system in resetting.
Stress and tension seem to just be accepted as a normal part of life.
We are not taught how to clear them out daily,
So we continue to carry them.
And the longer we hold on to stress and tension,
The heavier they become.
Then,
If we're exposed to something traumatic,
When we're already stressed and tense,
It creates the perfect storm for PTSD.
However,
If we learn a way to set down stress and tension daily,
We can experience the traumatic event,
But come out on the other side stronger because of it,
Instead of feeling weaker.
This is critically important.
When our job exposes us to trauma often.
I took this training because I'm a military spouse and wanted to help veterans,
But what I learned is that each and every one of us is a survivor of something.
We all have some level of trauma,
Either hidden away in our past or right here in this moment.
So we can all benefit from learning these methods of helping our body to move out of fight and flight and back into balance,
Rest,
And digest.
So even if meditation is not your thing,
Please just be willing to try this practice and become curious to see if it can help you too.
There will be no Sanskrit,
And I will not ask you to do anything crazy.
All Warriors and Ease practices are exercise.
Evidence-based without any of what my marine husband used to call woo-woo.
We'll begin by finding a comfortable position for your body.
Sitting in a chair,
Sitting on the floor,
Or even lying down if that's the most comfortable for you.
If you choose to lie down though,
Make a commitment to not fall asleep.
But if you do,
It's still okay.
It just means you needed rest.
Your subconscious mind will get everything you need from our time together.
Allow yourself to be supported by the surface beneath you.
I invite you to close your eyes,
Or if that's not comfortable,
Keep them open,
But soften your gaze.
Begin to notice how the breath just naturally begins to slow down.
Just naturally begins to slow down.
No effort at all as the breath falls in and the breath falls out.
Let's start by just breathing deeply and turning your awareness inward.
Feel the sensation of your breath as it passes in and out through your nose.
The intent of this meditation is not to try to relax.
The intent is to simply observe and welcome all sensations in the body with a curious and friendly attitude.
When we try to relax,
The goal of controlling our experience can actually create more tension.
So this exercise is simply an experiment in not trying to change anything at all.
Instead,
Witnessing and feeling what is happening moment to moment in the body.
So let's begin.
So let's gather some before data.
Right now,
If you were to rate your anxiety level on a scale of one to ten,
With one being the least amount and ten being the most,
What would it be?
In this moment,
If you were to rate your level of physical discomfort or pain on a scale of one to ten,
What would it be?
Now together,
We will take a journey throughout the body.
Remain in stillness and simply move your attention to the body.
To the part of the body mentioned and just notice any sensations there.
Remember,
We are not trying to relax or change anything at all.
We are not looking for any particular outcome.
We are simply gathering data in an experiment.
If something I ask you during this meditation isn't noticeable to you or just doesn't make sense,
Feel free to ignore it and wait for the next instruction.
You cannot do this wrong.
We are gathering this information just for you.
Remember that at any time you feel like stopping this for any reason,
You can.
You are in control of this exploration.
Most people like to remain in stillness,
But feel free to move the different parts of the body as I call them out.
This may help you sense that part more easily and help you to remain focused throughout the exercise.
Just do what feels right for your body today.
Now bring your awareness down to your feet.
Feel the sensation in your feet.
Sense or maybe even wiggle all of the toes on the left foot,
Then your right foot.
Now sense the toes on both feet.
Feel the soles of the feet,
Left and then your right.
Feel both feet together.
Observe sensation of your feet resting on the surface beneath you and allow your heels to grow heavy.
Now sense the lower legs,
The knees,
Both thighs.
Feel the whole left leg,
Foot,
And toes growing heavy.
Now feel the whole right leg,
Foot,
And toes.
Allow the sensation of heaviness in the whole right leg.
Now both legs,
Feet,
And toes all together.
Now feel the torso.
Notice sensation in your belly.
Observe sensation in your back.
Feel your lower back,
Mid-back,
Upper back.
Bring your attention to the sensation in your left thumb.
Feel the sensations in the first finger,
Second finger,
Third,
And fourth finger.
All left fingers together.
Notice sensation in your left palm.
Now the whole left hand.
Bring your attention to the sensation in your right thumb.
Feel the sensations in the first finger,
Second finger,
Third,
And fourth finger.
All right fingers together.
Notice the sensation in the right palm and feel the whole right hand.
Rest your awareness on both hands,
Feeling both hands at the same time.
Now observe sensations in both wrists,
Lower arms,
Elbows,
Upper arms,
And shoulders.
Feel both arms together.
Sensing left and right arm at the same time.
Now your arms,
Hands,
And fingers simultaneously.
Now noticing your head.
Observe any sensations on your scalp,
The forehead,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Both eyes together.
Resting your outer vision even more.
Become curious about sensations in the right cheek,
Left cheek,
Nose,
Tip of the nose,
Lips,
Space between the lips,
Sensations in the mouth,
Hinge of the jaw,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Both ears together.
Notice your ears receiving sound.
Sense the skin on your face.
Can you feel any movement of air across your face?
Feel the sensation of the entire head and allow the back of the head to grow heavy.
Back of the shoulders heavy.
Back of the arms and hands heavy.
Resting into the heaviness of the back of the ribs,
The hips,
The legs,
And your heels.
Now drop back in awareness and sense the whole body.
Feel the whole body as sensation,
The whole body together.
Observe any places in your body that are particularly noticeable.
Now return your attention to your breath.
Focus on breathing in and out through your nose.
Compare the temperature of the air as it moves in and when it moves out.
Feel the weight of your body completely supported and accept that support.
Once again,
Bring your awareness back to the space around you.
Noticing any sounds in the room and observing the sounds outside of your room.
Now let's gather more data.
What did you notice about your experience of that exercise?
It can be anything at all that you noticed.
In the beginning of this practice,
We asked two questions.
Let's check back in to see if our answers changed at all.
Right now,
If you were to rate your anxiety level on a scale of one to ten,
What would it be?
In this moment,
If you were to rate your level of physical discomfort or pain on a scale of one to ten,
What would it be?
Congratulate yourself for trying something new,
For taking time to take care of you.
Gently now begin to draw your breath in a little bit deeper and press your breath out a little bit longer.
If your eyes were closed,
Slowly blink them open with a smile,
Ready to greet the rest of your day.
The more we practice,
The easier it is to come back to this place of peace and calm within.
So come back and join me often,
Wishing for each of us a strong body,
A quiet mind,
And a gentle heart.
