Welcome,
My name is Nikki from True Equanimity Yoga and I will be leading you through this body scan mindfulness meditation today.
You might like to begin by making yourself comfortable,
Maybe sitting in a chair,
Allowing the back to be upright,
Sitting with energy,
With both feet flat on the ground.
You might prefer to do this practice standing or lying down,
Your hands could be resting gently in your lap or at your sides,
If you feel comfortable to do so,
Allowing your eyes to close or leaving them open with a soft gaze.
Then let your awareness come to the breath,
You might notice your inhale,
Cooler air coming in through the nostrils and notice your exhale,
The slightly warmer air as it leaves the nostrils.
Taking several long,
Slow,
Deep breaths,
Breathing in fully and a long,
Slow exhale.
Breathing in through your nose and maybe a long,
Slow exhale through the nose or the mouth.
You might even like to place your hands over your belly,
Feeling your stomach expand on the inhale and soften and let go as you exhale.
I invite you to begin to let go of the noises and distractions around you,
Beginning to shift your attention from the outside to the inside yourself,
If you are distracted by sounds in the room,
Simply notice them and then let your focus come back to your breathing.
As we begin this body scan practice,
You might want to slowly bring your awareness down to both feet,
Begin by observing the sensation in your feet,
You might even want to wiggle your toes a little,
Maybe feeling your toes against your socks or shoes if you're wearing them,
Just noticing without judgment.
You might imagine sending your breath down to your feet as if the breath is traveling through the nose,
Through the lungs,
Through the abdomen,
Down both legs all the way to your feet and then back up again,
Out through the lungs and your nose.
When you are ready,
Allow your feet to dissolve in your mind's eye and move your awareness up to the level of your ankles,
Calves,
Knees and thighs,
Observe the sensations you're experiencing throughout your legs,
Might even like to tense both legs a little on the in-breath and let them soften on the out-breath,
Maybe breathing in and breathing out of both legs.
If your mind begins to wander during this exercise,
Gently notice this without judgment and bring your mind back to noticing the sensations in your legs or noticing the breath,
You may notice discomfort,
Pain or stiffness,
Don't judge this,
Just simply notice it,
Observe how all sensations rise and fall,
Shift and change moment to moment,
Notice how no sensation is permanent,
Just observe and allow the sensations to be in the moment just as they are and as you continue to breathe in and out from both legs,
Then on the next out-breath allow the legs to dissolve in your mind and move the sensations,
The awareness up to your lower back and pelvis,
You might feel a sense of expansion in this area as you breathe in and a softening and releasing as you breathe out,
Slowly moving your awareness up to the mid-back,
The upper back,
Become curious about the sensations here,
You might become aware of sensations in the muscles,
All the points of contact with the chair or the surface you are resting on,
With each out-breath you may be able to let go of tension you are carrying,
Very gently shift your awareness to your stomach,
All the internal organs here,
You might notice the feeling of your clothing against the skin,
The process of digestion,
The belly rising and falling with each breath,
Just witnessing the sensations,
As you continue to breathe let your awareness come up to the chest,
The heart region,
You might even be able to tune in to your heartbeat,
Observe how the chest rises on the inhale and how the chest falls on the exhale,
Letting go of any judgments that may arise,
On the next out-breath shift the focus to your hands and fingertips,
See if you can send your breath into and out of this area,
As if you could breathe in and out from your hands,
If your mind wanders gently bring it back to the sensation in your hands,
Then on the next out-breath let the awareness come into both of your arms,
Observe the sensations or lack of sensations that may be occurring there,
You might notice some difference between the left arm and the right arm,
No need to judge this,
Just observing,
Witnessing,
As you exhale you may experience the arms soften and release any tensions,
Continuing to breathe,
Let the focus shift to the neck,
The shoulders,
Throat,
An area where we often hold tension,
Just be with the sensations here,
You might notice some tightness or holding,
You might notice the shoulders gently moving with the breath,
As you breathe out you may feel tension rolling off your shoulders,
The next out-breath shift your focus and direct your attention to the scalp,
The head,
The face,
Observe all the sensations occurring there,
Notice the movement of the air as you breathe into and out of the nostrils,
As you exhale you might notice the softening of any tension you might be holding,
Now let your attention expand out to include your entire body as a whole,
Bring into your awareness the top of your head down to the bottom of your feet,
Feeling the gentle rhythm of the breath as it moves through the body,
I'd like to drop the breath awareness to the level of your heart,
Resting in stillness here,
As if you could breathe in to the area of the heart and breathe out from here,
Rest in stillness for a moment and then you will hear my voice and the bell,
As you come to the end of this practice take a full deep breath,
Taking in all the energy of this practice,
Exhale fully,
I'd like to draw your awareness back into your body in this place of meditation,
I'd like to bring a bit of movement back by reeling the fingers or the toes,
Feeling your feet on the floor,
Feeling the connection to the surface that you are sitting or resting upon and when you're ready in your own time,
Opening your eyes,
Letting your attention return to the present moment,
As you become fully alert back in the present moment,
You might like to consider setting the intention that this practice of building awareness will benefit you and everyone you come into contact with today.
