Thank you for joining me for this meditation.
You may want to take a couple of minutes here to prepare your meditation space by turning off any devices that you don't need and minimizing distraction by choosing a quiet space you can relax in.
You might find it helpful to lay in a comfortable,
Reclined position for this practice.
Alternatively,
You could sit in a chair with your feet firmly planted on the ground.
If you are driving,
You may want to wait until you can be fully at rest for this particular meditation.
Once you've found yourself in a comfortable position you can relax in,
You might find it helpful to close your eyes as you begin to draw your attention inward,
Noticing how it feels to simply be here as you in this body,
In this room,
At this moment.
As best you can,
Inviting you to observe yourself with non-judgment,
Without any sense of right or wrong,
Good or bad,
But rather to observe yourself as you are.
You might choose to observe your natural breath here,
Noting the subtle movement of your body as you breathe.
Or you might choose to slow your breath down,
Drawing it more into the belly and allowing the abdomen wall to expand with each inhalation and contract with each exhalation.
Again,
There's no right or wrong way to be in your body here.
The aim is just to notice and see what occurs.
I want to welcome you to begin to draw your attention down the torso,
Down through the legs,
And into your feet.
You might notice the place where your feet are making contact with the floor,
Welcoming you to notice the temperature of your feet,
Of your toes,
And inviting you to notice any other sensations in the feet without judgment or critique.
You're welcome to begin drawing your attention up to the ankles and the lower legs,
Maybe noticing if your legs feel heavy or light or somewhere in between.
Perhaps you notice the sensation of your clothes against your skin or even the touch of the atmosphere against your skin if it's bare.
Drawing attention up into the thighs and the hips,
Perhaps noticing the pressure of the floor or the chair underneath you,
Noticing any sensation in the legs.
Might be a pulsation,
A vibration,
A tingling or tickling or itching sensation.
You don't even necessarily need to name it.
Inviting you to connect with your back,
Noticing where it's making contact with the floor or the chair.
Perhaps there is some tension or perhaps your back feels very relaxed,
Maybe neither.
I want to invite you to draw up any ideas of how you think it should be or could be and instead observe how it is.
And instead observe how it is.
And of course,
There is always the opportunity to return to the breath.
If you ever feel a sensation is becoming very strong or intense or if the attention drifts and you find yourself thinking of other things.
Allowing the awareness to also encompass the belly.
You may or may not notice sensations in the digestive organs.
The chest is another place that you might opt to scan and see what occurs.
Perhaps you're becoming more aware of shifts in your breathing.
Perhaps the breath has increased or decreased its speed.
Perhaps it feels more shallow or more deep.
Noticing the hands,
Scanning the fingers and palms,
Noticing the wrist area.
You might want to start by scanning one hand and then the next.
Noticing any sensations in the hands.
Noticing if the fingers are apart or touching.
Noticing the temperature of your hands.
You might want to become more aware of the rest of your arms as well.
Is there any feeling or sensation there?
Did the forearms feel any different from the upper arms?
Does the left arm feel different than the right arm?
Or are they the same?
Noticing the shoulders,
The neck and the throat.
Is there any sensation here?
It might be very subtle or intense or somewhere in between.
Guiding you to observe any sensation in this area.
And of course,
You're welcome to gently move your shoulders or adjust in any way that helps you to deepen your relaxation.
Is the jaw clenched,
Welcoming you to notice any muscles in the face?
Maybe scanning through the cheekbones and noticing the muscles in and around the eyes.
Inviting you to tend to your eyes and allow them to rest,
Whether open or closed.
If they're closed,
Perhaps noticing the intensity of the light received through the closed eyelid.
If the eyes are open,
Perhaps allowing the gaze to remain soft,
Unfocused and not fixated on anything in particular.
Bringing awareness to the top of the head,
Noticing where your skin ends and the atmosphere around you begins.
Inviting you to begin to allow this focused attention to begin to spread out over the whole head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Torso,
Your back and arms,
Your hips,
Thighs,
Legs,
Feet.
You might begin to notice different sensations all over the body.
The mind is calm and observant.
Equanimous,
Becoming aware of the entire body,
Noticing all of the different sensations in the body.
Realizing how it feels to be you in this moment,
In this body,
In this room.
Inviting you to stay with the feelings for a minute,
Returning to the breath whenever you need to.
Exerting this idea to be whole,
Be whole,
By yourself,
Beyond being on the ground.
Exerting you to stay together with your body,
Your shoulders,
The Syndra River,
With your hands engulfed in the water.
Talk to yourself to from either your doodles,
Font,
Gong,
Or the apple to bed.
You can open your eyes.
Welcome back.
You might choose to slowly and gently give your body some movement and stretch,
Or you might opt to continue resting in stillness a bit longer.
You can sit up whenever you're ready.
Thank you so much for joining me for this body scan meditation.
