Welcome,
I'm so glad you're here for this practice today,
This body scan meditation.
So often in our busy lives we find ourselves living up in our minds,
In our thoughts.
We can get so caught up in them,
Carried away,
Overwhelmed by their emotional charge.
And a body scan meditation is a wonderful way to come back to the body,
To fully experience the body and its many sensations.
And as you scan your body today,
I encourage you to use a beginner's mind,
Bringing curiosity and compassion to any sensations you find.
So let's get started.
Take some time to find a comfortable position for meditating,
Sitting or lying in a way that respects your practice and how your body feels right now.
And if you feel comfortable to,
Go ahead and close down the eyes or you can lower and soften your gaze.
Settle in here,
Quieten,
Soften,
Dropping into the body and connecting with your breath as it flows naturally.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your nose.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Feeling the body expand up and out on the inhale and let go on the exhale.
Attuning to the breath here in order to focus the mind and anchor yourself in this present moment.
Now using the out breath to intentionally soften your body.
Think about releasing tension from top to toe as you exhale.
So let the brow unfurl,
Jaw drop,
Shoulders relax down,
Belly soften and legs become heavy,
Melting into the surface below you and see if you can get a sense of the ground supporting you,
Holding you as you continue to breathe in through the nose and out through the nose.
Now beginning our body scan by bringing awareness to your toes and feet.
Curiously noting any sensations here,
Bringing a beginner's mind to both feet and all 10 toes.
Notice feeling contact with the surface below or the touch of socks or air,
Maybe a temperature or some tingles.
Whatever you find,
Simply bring awareness to this,
Not judging any sensations as right or wrong,
Not reacting to anything you find,
Just acknowledging what is.
Now allowing your attention to travel up the lower legs,
To the shins,
The calves,
Not visualizing these areas,
But feeling sensations here at the skin level and deeper into the musculature,
Perhaps feeling the caress of clothing or an ache from exercise,
Curiously observing and if the mind starts to wander,
Gently draw it back to the body,
To sensations,
Attuned to them,
Welcome them in.
Now moving on to the knee,
Sometimes an area for discomfort and if that's the case,
Simply acknowledge the sensations,
Allow them,
Breathing into them and gently letting go of any thoughts or reactions or resistance that might be arising,
Reminding yourself that all sensations are impermanent,
Just like the clouds in the sky,
They will shift and change in time.
Now bringing awareness to the upper legs,
To sensations in the quads,
The hamstrings and all the body parts you sit on,
Feeling the weight of the body as it rests here,
Allowing it to be heavy,
Soft,
At ease,
With your mind focused on sensations.
And now the abdomen,
Perhaps noticing some pangs of hunger or feeling the movements of digestion or how the belly moves in rhythm with the breath,
Leaning into sensations you might otherwise ignore,
Being fully present to them.
And now the chest,
Observing the sensations of breathing,
Feeling into the rise and fall of the chest,
The expansion and the contraction as you breathe,
Being fully aware of the body breathing and also aware of any sensations here in your heart space,
Perhaps some heaviness or tightness or a sense of energy,
Welcome whatever you find.
Coming to the shoulders now,
Both sides of the shoulders,
You might notice some tension or knots here and if that's so that's okay,
Simply be a witness to any sensations,
Using your out breath to soften around them and just sit with what is.
Now allowing your attention to wander down your arms,
The upper arms,
Lower arms,
Hands and all of your fingers,
What sensations are here right now in the arms and the hands.
And returning to the torso,
To sensations in the lower back,
The mid back and upper back,
Scanning the whole back now and noting the qualities of any sensations you find.
Is there any tightness,
Pressure,
Warmth,
Throbbing or tingling?
Are the sensations widespread or in a particular area?
Do they move or change at all as you observe?
Just noting with interest and compassion how the back feels today and gently letting go of any narrative about what sensations mean.
There's nothing to do,
Nothing to fix or resist,
Simply be a witness,
Continuing to breathe as you scan.
Moving up to the neck,
To the front of the neck and throat,
Perhaps feeling the movements of a swallow and the back of the neck.
Do you feel air here,
Contact with a pillow or a wisp of hair and the back of the head,
The scalp,
Maybe some tightness or tingles,
Keeping the mind steady and focused on sensations.
Then up to the crown of the head,
Perhaps you feel an itch or a buzzing sensation.
Lean in,
Hone your awareness,
Knowing there is sensation in every inch of the body.
Travelling down to the forehead,
The eyes,
Perhaps detecting the slight movements behind the eyelids,
The cheeks,
Lips,
Maybe feeling where the lips touch,
The jawline,
Allowing it to be soft.
And finishing at the nose,
The nostrils,
Attending to the sensations of the breath here,
Observing the inhale and the exhale,
Flowing in and flowing out,
Following the breath all the way into the body and all the way out.
Resting here for a few more moments in deep awareness of the body breathing,
Rising and falling in unison with the breath.
And now transitioning back to our day by inviting back movement,
Perhaps wiggling our fingers and toes,
Rolling back our shoulders,
Stretching out.
And when you are ready,
Go ahead and open your eyes.
Thank you for your practice today,
Bringing mindfulness to your felt experience.
You can return to this practice anytime you need to turn down the volume on the thinking mind by leaning into the sensing body.
And as you go forward into your day,
I invite you to keep in mind the impermanence of all sensations,
Of all phenomena,
How everything shifts and changes with time,
Knowing the more we practice sitting with what is,
With less resistance,
Less reaction,
The greater ease we might find.
