Healing Body Scan Meditation

Allow your eyes to comfortably close.

Draw yourself back from the places you lie scattered,

The future,

The past,

And sounds.

Let those attachments go.

Become aware of the ebb and flow of your breath,

And the weight and volume of your body.

Breathe out,

Down the full length of your body,

Allowing your body to release what it's brought with it here,

And no longer needs to carry.

Let it flow out and away.

When you are ready,

Take your attention to where the weight of your body rests on the surface directly beneath it.

Notice the surface is steady.

Notice the steadiness is there for you now,

And allow the whole of you to sit back onto the steadiness.

Breathe the steadiness slowly up into your body,

Up into your mind.

Let it steady you.

As you do so,

Notice the ground beating your body's weight through the steadiness.

Steady,

Solid ground.

Everything connects to ground.

If a part of you is still a little ahead of yourself,

Or on the front foot,

Draw all of you back to rest on steady,

Solid ground.

In this moment,

Here.

Breathe out the energy of being ready to do the next thing.

Let it flow out and away.

Breathe out needing to get anything right.

Let it flow out and away.

Breathe out watching and waiting for the next thing to happen.

Let it flow out and away.

Breathe out the day so far.

Breathe out the last few days.

Breathe out the last few weeks.

Let it all flow out and away.

In your own time,

Become aware of the sensation as air enters your nostrils and leaves.

Notice the air is cool as it enters.

Warm as it leaves.

Notice the movements your body makes as you breathe.

The expansion of the in-breath.

The release of the out.

Notice the inner stretch of the in-breath.

As your shoulders,

Chest,

And thorax open to receive.

Allow yourself to receive nourishment as you breathe in.

When you are ready,

Notice the release of the out-breath.

Notice the softening,

Letting go motion as the breath flows out.

And how the whole of your upper body follows through with that softening,

Letting go motion.

As your breath flows out,

You can help your body to release what it's been holding.

By sensing and imagining on each out-breath,

The downward flow as the body releases what it's been carrying.

Let it flow down your body,

Out and away.

And as we can sometimes pick up other people's stuff,

Say the affirmation,

I let go of everything that doesn't belong to me.

Let it all flow out of you and away.

In your own time,

Gently take your attention to your shoulders.

Just notice them from a soft sitting back place.

Breathe into your shoulders and allow them to soften and release what they've been carrying as you breathe out.

Let it flow off your shoulders,

Down and away.

When you are ready,

Take your attention to your arms.

Breathe into your arms,

Allowing your arms to relax.

Allowing your arms and hands to release everything they've been holding as you breathe out.

In your own time,

Move your attention to your chest.

Breathe into your chest,

Allowing it to soften and release what it's been holding as you breathe out.

Moving down a little to your upper abdomen.

Breathe into here,

Allowing everything this place has been holding to soften and release as you breathe out.

When you are ready,

Move down to your belly.

Breathe into your belly,

Allowing it to soften and release what it's ready to let go as you breathe out.

And moving down to your buttocks.

Breathe into your buttocks,

Allowing them to soften and release as you breathe out.

Moving to your upper leg.

Breathe into your upper legs and knees,

Letting them soften and release all they've been holding as you breathe out.

Moving to your lower legs.

Breathe into your lower legs,

Allowing them to soften and release as you breathe out.

And breathing into your ankles and feet,

Allow them to soften and release as you breathe out.

In your arms,

Slowly move your attention up to the top of your back.

Breathe into here,

Allowing the top of your back to release everything it's been carrying as you breathe out.

And breathe into your mid-back,

Allowing your mid-back to soften and release what it's been holding.

Moving down to your lower back.

Breathe into here,

Allowing it to release what it's been holding.

Let it flow out and away.

When you are ready,

Gently move your attention up to your head.

Breathe into your forehead,

Allowing all the muscles in your face to soften and release as you breathe out.

Letting your eyes and jaw soften also.

In your own time,

Gently return to your chest area.

Breathe into your chest once again and release yet more of what it's ready to let go on your out-breath.

As your breath ebbs and flows,

Notice your breathing in from the space around you and out into it.

And become aware of the touch of the air on your face and body.

Notice the air asks nothing of you,

Demands nothing from you.

It just is.

Allow yourself to soften and sit back into the just-is-ness.

The gentle play of light and shade through your closed eyelids,

Right round your peripheral vision.

The sounds,

Near and in the distance.

Let them be there,

Let everything be there.

As you let your body's weight be supported by the steadiness directly beneath you.

Allow yourself to sense outwards,

To the horizon spreading all the way round you,

Into the distance and beyond.

Light of sky above you.

Notice the spaciousness.

You have all of this space for yourself.

Take as much space as you need.

You can breathe from the farthest horizons if you wish.

Breathe the spaciousness into any places within you that have got full up,

Closed off or something else.

Let your mind soften and sit back in your head to take a sky bath.

And allow yourself to just be for a while.

As you let that happen,

Allow your attitude towards yourself to become kinder,

Warmer.

Let loving kindness in around you,

All the way round you.

Breathe the healing balm of loving kindness in and out on the ebb and flow of your breath.

Let it nourish you.

Breathe the loving kindness into places within you in need of kindness,

In need of healing.

Allow the loving kindness to fill you up from top to toe.

Letting loving kindness surround every cell in your body.

As you do so,

Appreciate yourself for whatever you want to.

Enjoy the appreciation.

In your own time,

Ready,

Gently,

Come back to the movements your body makes as you breathe.

And the sensation as air enters and leaves your nostrils.

Notice the weight of your body making contact with the surface directly beneath it.

Notice the surface is steady.

Notice the steadiness is there for you now.

Breathe the steadiness up into your body,

Up into your mind.

Let it steady you.

Notice your breathing in from the space around you and out into it.

Notice you're here in this moment and in your own way,

Your own time.

You can draw this meditation to a close.