Hello and welcome.
My name is Tara Richards and today I will guide you through a body scan.
The benefit of this practice is it brings us out of our chattering minds and into the present moment.
It cultivates an awareness of our bodily sensations from moment to moment and during this meditation we also practice kindness to whatever sensations and feelings emerge.
So find a comfortable seated position.
Plant your feet on the floor.
Close your eyes or lower your gaze and have your spine upright and tall but not forced.
And just notice how you're feeling right now.
So tuning in to the body.
Starting with your feet.
Feeling them rooted to the floor,
Supported by the earth and grounding you in the present moment.
And become aware of any sensations you might be feeling in your feet.
Are they hot or cold?
Are they feeling heavy or light?
Is there any pain or pleasant sensations or neutrality?
And continue moving up your body now to your ankles.
What are you witnessing here?
And your calves.
Any areas of tension?
Any pain or twinges?
Moving on to your knees.
And your thighs.
And your pelvic region.
And then moving on to your back.
Starting with your lower back.
Anything you're noticing here.
And if any thoughts arise just bring yourself back to your body.
And continue moving up to your upper back.
Anything you're noticing here.
Any subtle sensations that you might be able to tune into.
And then moving to the front of the torso,
To the stomach.
Are you able to relax your stomach?
And just sense what it's like to become aware of your belly rising and falling as you breathe in and out.
And then moving on up to your chest.
Anything different here that you can sense as the breath flows through here.
And then up to your shoulders.
Noticing if there's any tension or pain or twinges and just inviting them to soften.
And then moving up to the neck.
Supporting the head.
What does that feel like today?
And then drawing your attention to the back of the head.
And then moving to the front to your face.
Starting with your jaw.
Is it clenched?
Are you able to relax your jaw?
And then tuning in to where the breath leaves the nostrils.
Are you able to sense the subtle sensation as it travels in and out?
And then continuing up to your eyes.
Do they feel heavy or light?
And your eyebrows and your forehead.
Is that able to relax?
And then finally moving up to the top of your head.
What are you noticing here?
And then we're going to take in the whole body.
From the soles of our feet to the top of our head all at once.
What does that feel like today to be you in your body?
And then breathe into that.
And breathe out.
And open your eyes.
Bring yourself back to the room.
And just notice how you're feeling right now.
Thank you for meditating with me today and I look forward to meditating again with you soon.
Goodbye.
