Hi,
It's Mandy here.
Welcome to the body scan.
So just taking a moment to make yourself comfortable.
Most people prefer to do that body scan lying down,
But you can do it in any posture,
Sitting or standing.
So taking a moment to make yourself comfortable for your body.
You might want to wrap yourself up in a blanket,
Put a cushion under your knees to take some weight off the back.
So the invitations in this meditation will assume you're lying down,
So just adapt the instructions if necessary,
If you've taken a different posture.
Giving the weight of your body up to gravity,
Allowing the whole body to settle,
Knowing that you're fully supported by the surface beneath you.
The intention of the body scan is to listen to the language of the body and the body speaks in sensations.
These sensations might show up in the form of movements like tingling or throbbing,
In feelings of temperature like warmth or coolness,
Or weight or density or pressure.
And some areas of the body might even feel blank or numb,
And that's totally fine too.
So throughout this practice,
Just allowing your awareness to settle on these movements and sensations within the body.
And we'll begin by bringing our attention to the breath.
So if it's helpful,
You may want to have your hands resting on your belly and just starting to connect with that rise and fall of the breath flowing in and out of the body.
Inhaling and really noticing that you're breathing in.
Exhaling and noticing that you're breathing out.
Connecting to this rhythm and flow.
The breath in the body is like an ocean swell,
Rising and falling moment by moment.
And knowing that at any time through the rest of this body scan,
You can always rest your attention here in the movements and sensations of breathing as a way of calming yourself,
Bringing yourself into a sense of safety,
Just connecting back with the present moment if you get lost or overwhelmed.
And allowing your attention now to move up into the chest area.
Noticing how the movements of the breath can be felt here too.
The expansion and contraction of the ribs as the lungs feel and empty.
You may even get a sense of your heart beating.
Allowing your awareness to settle in the whole front of the body.
Noticing these movements of breathing,
Rising and falling and calling your awareness down now to the pelvic area.
And just noticing any sensations or lack of sensations in the genitals and coming around to the bottom.
Noticing if there's any tension in the bottom muscles.
Just relaxing and softening as best you can.
Becoming aware of the lower back now.
The muscles surrounding the spine and the sacrum.
This can be an area of discomfort for some people if you're feeling or noticing any pain in this area.
As best you can,
Just responding as you would to a loved one or a child who is hurting.
Resting with this compassionate breath.
Allowing your awareness to travel up the spine.
Just noticing the gentle curve of the spine through the lower back,
The mid-back and the upper back.
Perhaps noticing how the breath can be felt in the back of the body.
The ribs actually wrap all the way around from the front of the chest to the back of the body.
Can you get a sense of the movements and sensations of breathing in the back of the body as you lie here?
Coming up to the shoulders now.
Allowing the shoulders to drop back towards the bed or the floor.
Noticing any sensations through the shoulder muscles.
You may even notice how the shoulders move with the rhythm of the breath as well.
Gently curving in or upwards on the in-breath and resting back on the out-breath.
Allowing your awareness to pour down into the arms,
The upper arm,
The armpit.
Becoming aware of any sensations here,
Like moisture or dryness.
The touch of your clothing.
Becoming aware of the elbow.
The gentle crease of the elbow.
Perhaps sensations of contact with the surface beneath you.
And the lower arm,
The wrist and the hands.
The hands can be an area that have a lot of sensation.
Tingling,
Throbbing,
Pulsing.
Just checking out what you can feel in the different parts of the hands,
The fingers,
The palm,
The backs of the hands.
Not trying to change or alter anything in any way.
Just noticing what you feel in this moment.
And if you notice that your mind's become distracted away from sensations in the body,
That's okay.
That's normal.
That's what our minds do.
Just gently noticing where your mind has gone.
Calling your attention back to the body right now,
Into the hands.
Just noticing the language of your body in the form of sensations in this moment.
And allowing your attention now to travel back up the arms,
Into the shoulders,
Pouring into the neck and throat.
Perhaps becoming aware of the gentle rhythm of the breath,
Even in the throat area.
A gentle expansion on the in-breath,
And a relaxing and toning on the out-breath.
It's purely a receptive feeling,
So don't worry if you can't feel it.
Becoming aware of sensations in the neck,
The front,
The back,
The sides of the neck.
Becoming aware of the back of the head.
Any sensations where the head is in contact with the surface beneath you.
Sensations in the scalp,
Around to the top of the head and the forehead and the face.
Just scanning the different parts of the face.
Noticing any sensations here in the space between the eyes.
Noticing any feelings of moisture or dryness in the eyes.
Perhaps connecting with any feelings of the breath as it enters the nostrils.
Becoming aware of the lips,
The teeth,
The tongue.
Just allowing the face to be soft.
And then calling your attention down now towards the hips.
Allowing the legs to just fall away from the hips.
Becoming aware of the thighs.
Big muscles,
Big bones in the thighs.
Can you get a sense of the thighs from the inside out?
Perhaps becoming aware of the touch of clothing or a sense of pulsation from deep within.
Becoming aware of the knees,
The front,
The back,
The sides of the knees.
Down into the lower leg,
The shins at the front,
The calves at the back.
Just noticing any sensations that you can feel in the lower legs.
Becoming aware of the ankles now.
You may get a sense of the skin wrapped tightly around the bone of the ankles.
And then sensing into the feet,
The heels of the feet.
Perhaps noticing any sensations where they're in contact with the floor,
The sole of the feet,
The tops of the feet.
And becoming aware of the toes,
From the big toe to the little toe.
Spaces between the toes.
Expanding your awareness now to take in the whole body.
This whole body lying here.
Breathing.
Perhaps connecting once more with that rhythm and flow of the natural breath throughout the body.
Allowing the breath to gently rock and massage the whole body.
Getting a sense of how sensations throughout the body come and go,
Just as the breath does.
Moment by moment.
Always changing and shifting.
Deeply listening to the body.
To the sensations of the body.
This language that is sometimes quiet,
Sometimes shouty,
Sometimes still.
This awake,
Alive body.
Arriving home into this body of yours.
With each breath.
Moment by moment by moment.
And as we begin to bring this body scan to a close.
Perhaps taking a moment to offer yourself a moment of gratitude.
This body of yours.
Moving,
Changing,
Breathing.
And when you're ready,
Moving and shifting and stretching in whatever way feels comfortable.
As you prepare to re-engage with your day.
Thanks.
See you next time.
