25 Minute Body Scan

This is the body scan meditation by the owl and the coconut.

So finding your comfortable position,

Lying flat on a bed or rug or the floor,

You may need to use a blanket to keep yourself warm.

If it's not comfortable for you to lie flat,

Then you can do the body scan on a chair.

We might need to remind our body that we're not falling asleep.

We're coming to do a meditation.

So just taking a few moments now to bring your awareness into the physical sensations of the body,

Especially where the body makes contact with the bed or the rug or whatever you're lying on or sitting on.

Now with each breath in,

Allow yourself to sink a little deeper into the surface that makes contact with your body.

We might want to gently remind ourselves that this is a time for falling awake rather than falling asleep.

It's a time to be fully aware of our experiences.

We're not trying to change anything.

We're just experiencing sensations in the body if there are any there.

Now we can bring our awareness to the sensations of the abdomen and where the breath makes the abdomen rise and fall.

Just noticing that sensation of breath in the body.

We're now bringing our awareness to where the breath enters the body,

Perhaps through the nostrils or the mouth.

Just noticing now where the breath makes contact with the body and where the breath leaves the body,

Through the nostrils or the mouth.

Just noticing now those sensations as we breathe in and breathe out.

And remembering now that the breath is always there in the background of our practice.

We can always return to the breath as now we bring our awareness to the left foot and the big toe in the left foot.

Are there any sensations in the toe?

Bringing our awareness now to all the toes in the left foot and the bottom of the foot,

The soft part of the heel.

Any sensations?

Maybe there are none and that's fine.

So we bring our awareness now up into the heel.

Perhaps you can notice where the heel makes contact with the mat or the bed or the floor.

Perhaps you're aware of a sock.

Perhaps you have an awareness of the air,

The temperature around the foot and the ankle.

We're just noticing now what's there.

Any sensations?

As we bring our awareness now into the front of the foot,

The front of the left foot.

Any sensations?

What do we notice there?

As we bring our awareness now up into the shin of the left leg.

Again,

Any sensations?

Perhaps you can sense the fabric of your clothes against the skin.

Perhaps you get a sense of tingling.

Perhaps there's nothing and that's fine.

As we bring our awareness now up into the knee of the left leg.

Are you noticing now any sensations of the knee?

Perhaps if you're sitting you have an awareness of where the knee bends.

Again,

Maybe noticing the contact of the back of the knee on the mat or the bed.

Just being aware now that at this point the mind may begin to wander.

As we're becoming in a relaxed state,

We can just gently and kindly bring our alert awareness back to the body.

Back to the breath as we can breathe in to the knee area of the left leg.

As we now bring our awareness up into the left thigh.

Just experiencing the sense of the thigh,

The vastness.

Any tingling?

Perhaps you're experiencing some pain.

We're just noticing what's there right now.

Then on the next breath we're going to imagine or sense the breath coming down into our body.

Right down the left leg and into the big toe.

Just practicing that breath now.

Down through the lungs,

Through the abdomen,

Down the leg into the big left toe.

As we release the breath,

The breath coming up from the toe through the knee,

The thigh into the abdomen.

Out through the mouth or nose.

We're going to leave the left leg and now bring our awareness into the right foot.

Just paying attention now to the right toe,

The big toe and all the other toes.

Just noticing what's there now.

Any sensations?

Perhaps again a sense of the sock,

Perhaps a sense of temperature around the foot.

Or perhaps there's nothing and that's fine.

We just want to notice what's there.

Or perhaps we can notice an absence of what's not there.

So bring our attention to the bottom of the foot,

Soft pads beneath the toes,

The heel of the foot and into the ankle of the right foot.

Just again noticing any sensations,

Any heat,

Perhaps cold or warmth.

Perhaps you're experiencing some pain in that area or just noticing.

As we bring our attention now up into the shin of the right leg and around the back of the leg.

Perhaps you can notice where this part of the body makes contact with the mat or the bed.

As we bring our awareness now up into the knee of the right leg.

Perhaps the knee is bent and you have an awareness of the bend in the knee.

Perhaps the knee is flat and you have an awareness of where the knee makes contact with the mat.

We're just noticing what's there,

Any sensations,

Any tingles.

Just being inside the knee.

As we now move up into the thigh.

Bringing our attention now into the thigh area,

The top of the thigh,

Underneath the thigh.

Where this part of the leg makes contact with the mat or the bed or perhaps the chair.

And now taking a deep breath in and just noticing the breath coming in through the abdomen,

Down the leg and into the right toe.

And just taking that breath again.

Deep breath in through the body,

Down into the abdomen,

Through the thigh,

Through the knee and into the toe of the right leg.

And as we breathe out,

Imagining again the breath coming from the big toe in the right leg,

Up through the knee and the thigh,

Up through the abdomen and out from the mouth.

This practice might seem strange at first.

We can just practice again with a few more breaths.

In through the mouth or the nose,

Down into the abdomen,

Through the thigh,

Into the knee,

Down the shin and into the right toe.

And on exhaling,

Reversing from the big toe into the shin and the knee,

Up through the thigh into the abdomen,

Chest and out through the mouth.

And at this point now,

Our mind may be wandering into thinking or planning or judging.

And that's fine,

It's what the mind does.

We can just maybe notice in the thinking or the planning and just gently and kindly bring our awareness back to the body and the body scan.

As we now bring our awareness into the abdomen area.

Just being aware of the pelvic area,

Any sensations in the pelvis,

Around the hips,

Into the buttocks,

Any sensations.

Perhaps again you can sense where the buttocks are making contact with the mat or the bed or the chair.

Just noticing any sensations that might be there.

Again we're not trying to change anything or fix anything.

We're just noticing what's there.

Perhaps with a gentle curiosity.

As we now move up into the belly.

The belly area.

As perhaps we can feel the sensation of the breath moving in and out.

And the belly moves up and down.

Just noticing now any other sensations around the belly.

As we move our spotlight of attention away from the belly and into the left hand.

Just have an awareness now of the fingers in the left hand and the thumb.

Just sensing now where the hand is resting against the mat or the bed.

Or perhaps it's resting on a part of your body.

And just noticing any sensations in the hand,

Any tingles,

Any temperature changes.

Just noticing anything now that's there in the left hand.

Perhaps thinking about the palm of the hand,

The joints of the fingers,

The joints of the thumb.

Perhaps you can get a sense of the blood flowing through the hand.

As we bring our awareness now up into the arm,

The wrist.

Just an awareness of the joint of the wrist.

Any sensations around the joint.

As we bring our awareness now into the arm,

The lower arm.

And up into the elbow.

Just have an awareness of the elbow joint.

Any sensations that might be there.

Perhaps you have an awareness of where the elbow joint makes contact with the mat or any surface.

As we bring our awareness into the upper left arm.

And the armpit.

Any sensations in the upper left arm.

Again at any time you can return to the breath.

Bring your attention to the breath as you breathe in.

And breathe out.

The mind wanders,

Which it will,

Just gently and kindly bringing that attention back to the breath and the body.

As we bring our awareness now into the right hand.

Just having a sense of the fingers and the thumb.

The joints of the fingers.

The joints of the thumb.

The palm of the hand.

The back of the hand.

The knuckles.

Just being aware of any sensations in the right hand.

And we now bring our awareness into the wrist.

And just having a sense of the wrist.

And the joint of the wrist.

As we move our attention now into the lower arm.

Perhaps you have a sensation of where the arm touches your body or the mat or the bed.

Just having a sense of what that contact is.

And perhaps you can't feel anything.

And that's fine.

We just want to move around the body with a natural sense of curiosity.

An investigation of what's there.

As we move into our right elbow.

And just having a sense of that joint of the elbow and the lower arm.

Noticing any sensations.

As we move up into the upper arm and the armpit.

Just noticing anything that might be there.

Perhaps you're sensing some pain in some of the joints.

We're not trying to shift it,

Fight against it.

We just want to notice it.

Just notice what's there with a curiosity.

As we move now into the chest area.

Perhaps now we can have an awareness of where the breath is in the body as the chest rises and falls with the breath.

We're just noticing what's there for you in the chest area.

Perhaps there's some discomfort.

Perhaps there's some tightness.

We're just noticing what's there now.

Let's remove our attention.

Downwards now into the back area,

The lower back.

The spine,

Having awareness of our lower spine.

Perhaps the spine's making contact with the bed or the mat or the chair.

Just having a real sense of awareness of the spine.

As your attention moves up the back into the shoulder area.

Often the back and the shoulders are where tension resides.

Perhaps there's tension there for you.

Perhaps there's discomfort.

We're just noticing now what's there.

Having a sense of where the back and the shoulders make contact with the chair or the mat.

As we move our awareness into the neck.

Just bringing our full awareness into the neck area.

Where the neck meets the head.

Just having a sense of curiosity within that area.

And noting now as always the mind may be wandering.

Maybe the mind wants to sleep.

Maybe the body wants to relax further.

And that's okay.

We can just gently and kindly bring our attention to the alert meditation.

And bringing our awareness into the back of the head.

And just noticing any sensations now in the back of the head.

Any tingling,

Pulsing.

Just noticing what's there for you.

So bring our attention now round to the ears.

Perhaps you've noticed sound throughout this practice.

Just opening now gently a little to the sound.

As we have a sense that our ears can hear.

So bring our awareness to the earlobes.

Back of the ear.

Just noticing what's there now.

Awareness of sound.

It's an awareness of an inner sound.

A pulsating,

A vibration.

Just noticing what's there for you.

As we bring our awareness now to the forehead.

And the eyebrows.

And just noticing now any sensations around the forehead,

The eyebrows.

Perhaps this tension.

As we move our awareness into the eyeballs.

Just noticing now is there any light seeping through the eyes.

As we bring our awareness round into the face.

The nose.

The cheeks.

The jaw.

The lips.

Just having a sense of curiosity around the face and the jaw.

The mouth,

The tongue.

The teeth.

Just noticing any sensations that might be there now for you.

And now we'll return our awareness to the breath.

Drawing in the breath into the belly.

As we sense the abdomen rising and falling.

Just coming into an awareness of the whole body now on the mat or the chair.

And just sensing that full body awareness.

This body on this mat or this bed or this chair in this moment right now.

Just having one final scan from the toes to the head.

And just noticing anything that might be there.

Any sensations.

Any temperature changes.

Just having an awareness of what's there.

And as we bring this body scan practice to a close.

We might want to just gently start wiggling the toes and the fingers.

And very gently begin to open the eyes.

As we draw the practice to a close.

Perhaps thanking yourself for giving yourself this time for the practice.

As you sit up now.