Hello,
And welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Larissa Hall Carlson.
Today's body scan meditation is for cooling off,
Quieting down,
And releasing the pressure cooker type energy built up from the intensity of the day.
To begin,
Establish a steady seat with a long spine,
Or if you prefer,
Lay yourself down on a mat,
Couch,
Or the bed.
Make sure you're comfortable using pillows or props as needed.
To loosen up before meditation,
Stretch the arms up overhead and take a few deep breaths,
Releasing each exhalation with a sigh.
Once you've stretched out,
Rest the hands on the lap if you're seated,
Or rest the arms alongside the torso if you're lying down.
Open the mouth a few times,
Loosening up the jaw.
Let there be some space between the teeth.
Allow the tongue to rest at the base of the mouth.
Before beginning the body scan,
Let's release a little more tension with a quick contraction release exercise.
So to do this,
Make fists and squeeze the toes.
Engage all the muscles in the arms and legs.
Draw in the belly.
Scrunch up the face,
Squeezing all the muscles fully.
Now hold that,
Draw in a deep,
Full breath,
And on the exhalation,
Let it all go,
Relaxing and softening all the muscles.
Gradually become still.
Open or close the eyes.
Take a few moments here to notice how you're feeling in this moment.
Have you been spun from a busy day,
Overworked,
Overheated?
Set your intention for practice,
Giving yourself the gift of a rejuvenating break,
Taking time away from the day's responsibilities,
To recharge,
To come back stronger.
In this meditation,
We'll scan the body from top to bottom,
Allowing awareness to refresh each body part like a cooling waterfall.
While scanning,
Invite any tense areas you find to soften.
Let's begin.
Bring the mind's attention to the crown of the head,
Floating the mind's attention at the crown of the head.
Allow awareness to flow down into the forehead,
Loosening and broadening the brow.
Scan down into the temples.
Can you sense the space between the temples?
Make cool awareness to flow into the eyebrows,
The eyeballs,
Softening the eyelids,
And the eyelashes.
Scan down into the nose,
Feeling for the bridge of the nose,
The rims of the nostrils.
Draw the awareness to the right ear,
The left ear.
Can you sense the space between the ears?
Scan now into the back of the head,
Feeling into the cheekbones and the cheeks,
Awareness flowing down into the jaw.
Let there be a little space between the teeth,
Loosening up and relaxing the jaw and the tongue,
The lips.
Reloading the chin.
Allow awareness to trickle down into the throat,
Broadening and loosening the back of the neck,
And the jaw.
Invite a softening of the shoulders,
The shoulder blades,
And the space between the shoulder blades.
As much as you can,
Soften and relax the upper back,
The mid back,
The low back.
Allow for a downward stream of breath and coolness along the spine,
Spreading that coolness across the entire back body.
Float the awareness now to the arms.
Scanning into the upper arms,
The elbows,
Forearms.
Scanning the wrists,
The palms of the hands,
Tops of the hands,
The fingers.
Can you sense the full length and volume of the arms and hands?
Let the awareness float to the collarbones,
To the upper chest and rib cage.
Draw in a few cooling breaths,
Airing out the lungs.
Allow that cool breath to descend,
Loosening up the abdomen,
The belly.
Dropping awareness into the pelvis and the hips.
Let that waterfall of attention flow down into the thighs,
Down into the knees.
Scanning and feeling the calves and shins,
Noting the ankles,
The soles of the feet,
Tops of the feet,
And the toes.
Can you sense the full length and volume of the legs and feet?
Let the attention now expand throughout the entire body,
Allowing for spacious awareness,
Attention flowing with grace and ease throughout the entire body,
Allowing for a type of global vision.
Scanning and feeling the whole body at once,
The entire body in stillness,
The entire body at rest.
The entire body quieting down,
The entire body being rejuvenated.
Letting the body rest in stillness,
The entire body in stillness,
The entire body in stillness,
The entire body in stillness,
The entire body in stillness,
The entire body in stillness,
And refreshing the entire system,
Recharging the body and mind with breath,
With aliveness,
With energy.
Notice if anything has loosened,
Expanded,
Lifted or cleared.
What are the qualities present in the body and in the mind?
Take a few moments to reconnect with your intention for today's practice.
I'd invite you now to set a new intention for the remainder of the day.
How might you keep this spacious,
Mindful awareness?
Just coming back to the breath,
A gentle stretch,
A few moments of quiet.
Gradually allow your eyes to flutter open.
Open and close the mouth a few times,
Loosening up the jaw.
You might rock the head a little bit left and right.
Deepen your breath as you gently roll the shoulders forward and up,
Back and down,
Rolling and releasing tightness in the shoulders.
Reverse direction,
Breathing as you loosen up and release.
If it would feel good,
Stretch the arms way up overhead,
Maybe releasing a yawn or a sigh.
Savoring the sensation of waking up.
May you be at ease,
Approaching life with fresh eyes.
