Mindful Movement Body Scan

Hey friend,

It's Susan.

Welcome to this mindful movement body scan.

This practice is designed to be a moving exploration of curiosity that will enhance your awareness of how your body is feeling right now.

This simple sequence offers you a deep check-in with yourself that is centered on present moment sensation in your body rather than judgment,

Criticism,

Or any story about your body.

I love to do this practice in the morning,

Before yoga,

Or before a walk or hike,

Or any other physical practice,

So I choose movements with a clear connection to how I'm feeling right now.

This mindful movement body scan is also great for times when you've been sitting a lot or traveling or otherwise in your head and you want to drop out of your mind and into the present moment.

This is meant to be a check-in rather than exercise,

So go gently and explore each body part as we move through them to see what you notice.

Honor any injuries or physical limitations by doing the movements with attention and without forcing or pushing anything.

Simply listen to whatever sensations arise.

If any movements are not accessible to you for any reason,

You can just imagine them in your head.

I like to do this practice standing and you can certainly do it seated or even lying down.

Today we'll practice together for about 10 minutes.

You can also extend this practice and spend more time on each body part or shorten it to do a brief check-in.

It's all about the practice of paying attention and listening to sensation.

Let's begin.

First pause,

Feel your whole body as a whole.

Notice right away any places of discomfort or tension,

Whether subtle or strong.

Also notice any places that feel good.

And notice any places of disconnection or numbness.

All sensations are fine and welcome.

Simply notice them.

Now feel your feet.

Feel the weight in your feet.

Each foot has about a quarter of the bones in your body.

All those joints and muscles are designed to move in lots of different ways.

Wiggle your toes as if they were chewing the surface underneath them.

See if you can feel all 10 toes.

It's fine if you can't.

Simply notice what you feel in your toes.

Shift your weight side to side like you were on skis.

Shift your weight forward and back.

Maybe lift your toes and heels a little off the floor.

See if you can circle your weight over your feet,

Rocking front,

Side,

Back,

And side,

First in one direction and then the other.

Do you feel tightness or soreness anywhere?

Does it feel natural or awkward?

One at a time,

Tuck your toes underneath,

Putting your toenails on the floor if you can,

And feel the front of your ankle and the top of your foot.

Circle one ankle at a time.

Maybe even stand on one foot,

Perhaps holding onto a wall or a chair,

And gently shake out each foot.

Now settle your feet again.

Let them spread onto the floor and see what you notice.

Feel your knees.

Your knees are a hinge joint,

So unlike the feet and ankles,

They are only designed to move in one plane.

Gently lift one heel at a time behind you and feel the hinge of each of your knees open and close.

One side is likely to feel different than the other,

And that's normal.

Just see how that movement feels in your knees right now.

Bring your feet and knees as close together as is comfortable and place your hands gently above your knees,

Keeping them together.

Make small,

Gentle circles in one direction,

Then the other.

Pause and notice how your knees feel right now.

Place your feet wider apart so they feel relaxed and stable.

Now feel your hip joints.

Your hips are ball and socket joints that are deep in the body,

Lined up right underneath your earlobes.

Keep your knees soft and circle your hips gently in one direction,

Then the other.

Check to see that your hips are circling rather than your knees.

Keep your knees still and move from the hip joint to see how it feels.

Your hip joint is at the top of your thigh or femur bone,

So another way to move your hip joint is to move that long femur bone.

Perhaps holding onto a chair or a wall,

Lift your thigh front,

Side,

Back,

And see what you notice.

Again,

One side is likely to feel different than the other.

That's totally fine and normal.

Simply check in with each of your hip joints to see what sensations arise.

Bring your attention to your hands and wrists.

Spread your hands wide and then fold them into fists.

Move your wrists around,

Up and down and in circles.

Like your feet and ankles,

There are dozens of bones and joints in your hands and wrists which allow us to do a wide range of movements.

Wiggle and stretch your fingers.

Open and close your hands.

Shake them out.

What do you sense in your hands and wrists?

Now feel your elbows.

Most of us don't pay much attention to our elbows unless we hit our funny bone,

So take a moment to feel what's happening in these hinge joints.

Extend and fold your arms.

Turn your palms up and down and notice how that feels in your elbows.

Pause again.

What do you feel in your elbows?

Now bring your awareness to your shoulders.

Roll your shoulders slowly up,

Back and down.

Then roll them slowly forward,

Back and up.

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint but unlike the hip,

It's attached with more soft tissue than bone,

Which means it has a greater range of motion than the hip.

As you circle your shoulders front and back,

Notice if there are any rough or jagged sensations.

One at a time,

Circle your hand and arm up overhead like you're doing the backstroke.

Go slowly enough to feel the details of the movement in your shoulder.

And circle each hand back,

Up and forward and notice how that feels.

Gently swing your arms front and back and swing them in front of your body and then behind.

Move your shoulders in any way that you're curious about and notice how they are right now.

Reset and relax your feet again in a stable stance.

Let your toes relax and spread out.

Now gently start to look around the space you're in.

Let your eyes look up and down,

Side to side,

Behind you,

All around.

Look close in at your body.

Look at things at the mid-range,

Doors and windows,

Ceilings.

Look as far away as you can,

Maybe out a window.

Your spine is a long strand of interconnected joints and by moving your eyes you're moving parts of your spine.

The act of looking around your space also grounds and settles your nervous system.

You might hear some pops or cracks in your neck,

Your cervical spine,

And that's usually normal but if it hurts slow down and make the movement smaller.

Explore any places of tenderness or tightness.

Now bring your eyes forward,

Turn your shoulders side to side,

Creating a gentle rotation.

Let your arms be heavy like wet noodles and let them follow the momentum of your turning shoulders.

Take your hands overhead,

Clasp one wrist with the opposite hand and gently tip your body to the side.

If that doesn't feel good in your shoulders you can do the same movement with your arms down reaching for the side of your knees.

As you move your spine side to side notice the sensation in your ribs and waist.

Now bend your knees just a little and place your hands just above your knees.

Look up with your eyes as you also lift your tail.

Then look down with your eyes and tuck your tail underneath.

Slowly go back and forth and move your spine around in any way that feels good or interesting.

Notice what you sense in your spine right now.

Now come back to standing in an easy,

Stable way and take a big,

Easy breath.

Again notice your whole body.

You've now checked in with this mindful movement body scan and you're now ready for the next activity of your day taking with you this deep connection to the amazing instrument of your life,

Your body.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Breathe deep,

Shine bright and show up.