Namaste and welcome to your body scan meditation practice.
Let's begin by making ourselves comfortable.
You're welcome to sit upright or come to lie down and have your head supported.
Your hands can rest gently in your lap or by your side.
Allow your eyes to close or to remain open with a soft gaze.
Let's begin the practice by taking a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths.
Breathing in fully and exhaling slowly.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth.
Feel your stomach expand on the inhale and relax and let go as you exhale.
Begin to let go of noises around you.
Shifting attention from the outside to within yourself.
If distractions arise,
Simply notice them and guide your focus back to the breath.
We will start the body scan now by tuning into the crown of the head.
Simply guide your awareness to the top of the head.
Tuning into whatever is present for you.
Can you feel the skin of the scalp?
The temperature of air on the skin?
Your hair?
Simply tuning into whatever is physically present.
Lower into the forehead and the eyebrows.
Noticing whatever is present.
You may notice the temperature of the air.
Some slight scrunching of the brow or some relaxation.
Whatever is present,
Simply be with it.
Tune into the eyes and the cheekbones.
Even with eyes closed,
You may notice some movement in the eyes.
Continue down to the tip of the nose and the upper lip.
Here you may feel the body breathing gently and naturally.
You may notice the cool air on its way in and coming out just a little bit warmer.
Moving on into the mouth.
Feeling the lips,
The jaw and the tongue.
Notice the moisture.
Notice how the tongue rests inside the mouth.
Soften the jaw.
Drop down into the neck and the throat.
Noticing any tension or any movement of the body with the breath.
Simply tune in to the direct physical experience.
Let go of labels,
Judgments and thoughts.
And return to the physical self.
And now moving into the tops of the shoulders and into the shoulder blades.
Perhaps noticing any movement with the breath or the sensation of the clothes on the body.
Dropping down into the upper arms and elbows.
Tuning into whatever is present in your experience.
Continue down into the forearms and the wrists.
Perhaps noticing any points of contact.
Moving into the hands.
Go over the palms,
The fingers and the back of the hand.
Notice any points of contact where the hands may be touching each other,
The ground or resting in the lap.
You may notice that the temperature of the air feels different on the back of the hand than it does on the palm.
Come back up into the chest and rest here for a few moments connecting to the breath.
The body breathing.
Observing the rising and the falling.
The expansion and the contraction.
The natural movement of the body breathing itself.
Rest your awareness with the body and stay with whatever sensations that may arise.
Drop down into the hips,
The pelvis and the buttocks.
Feel the points of contact where the body meets the support beneath.
And taking a few moments here to feel these sensations.
Move into the thighs and the knees.
Noticing any points of contact,
Any tensions,
The clothes and the body and anything else present in your direct experience.
Drop into the calves,
The shins and the ankles.
Seeing what's present for you.
Perhaps there is some ease or some jittery or anxious feeling in the legs.
Whatever is present,
Be with it.
Finally,
Move into the feet.
Going over the heel,
The arch,
The ball of the foot,
The toes and the top of the foot.
Tune into the points of contact where the feet are touching the ground or tucked up underneath you.
Take a moment here at the end to tune into the whole body together.
From the crown of the head all the way down to your toes.
Let the universe be as it is for now.
Beyond personal fears and concerns.
Beyond a mind that wants things a certain way.
Now gently guide your awareness back to the space you are in.
Notice the sounds and smells around you.
Begin to wiggle the fingers and the toes.
Moving and stretching in ways that come naturally.
When you feel ready,
Softly and gently open your eyes.
Take a moment to appreciate the state of relaxation and awareness that you have cultivated.
Carry this sense of calm and presence with you as you go about your day.
Namaste.
