Welcome.
You're about to embark on a journey of exploring the bodily sensations.
Find a position that is relaxing and comfortable for you,
Either sitting or lying down,
And begin by closing your eyes.
Gently bring your awareness to the physical sensations of where your body is in contact with the floor.
Spend a few moments exploring these sensations as your awareness rises and falls.
And now simply bring a warm,
Kind,
And curious focus to the physical sensations of your body as it naturally rises and falls with each breath.
Notice any sensations as your abdomen rises and falls.
And now continue this warm,
Kind,
And curious awareness as your system must move your attention to each part of your body.
We're not trying to change anything.
We're just noticing the sensations that are present in the body from moment to moment,
Allowing things to be simply as they are.
Let's begin the body scan.
Starting at the top of your body with the forehead,
Noticing any sensations,
Any pressure,
Or tension.
Moving down to the eyes,
Observing any sensations on the eyelids,
Or perhaps where the top and bottom eyelids make contact with each other.
To the ears,
The nose,
Perhaps becoming aware of the sensations of the air as it passes in and out of your nostrils.
The cheeks and the lips,
Noticing where the upper and lower lips make contact.
The mouth and the jaw,
Noticing any tension that might be held in the jaw.
And now holding your entire head in full awareness.
Focusing now on the muscles in the back of your neck.
The front of the neck now,
Around the throat.
If your mind has wandered away from the body sensations,
This is perfectly normal.
Simply acknowledge this with a sense of warmth and kindness and gently return your awareness to the bodily sensations,
The sensations around the throat.
Moving on to the sensations of the shoulders,
You may feel some tension and that's okay.
Simply noticing it and perhaps breathing into the tension and breathing it out as you exhale.
And now moving your attention to the left upper arm.
Perhaps there is some contact to the clothes you are wearing.
Moving down to the elbow,
The lower arm,
The forearm and the wrist.
When you arrive at the hand,
Can you feel any sensations in your palm?
Perhaps in the back of your hand.
And now moving your awareness to the thumb and each of the fingers in turn.
Gently moving your awareness to the right upper arm.
Perhaps you can notice some contact with the clothes you're wearing.
Moving down now to the elbow,
The lower arm,
The forearm and the wrist.
When you arrive at the hand,
Can you feel any sensations in your palm?
Perhaps in the back of your hand.
Now moving your awareness to the thumb and each of the fingers in turn.
Gently transitioning to the chest,
Noticing the breath and the sensation of the ribcage rising and falling.
Continuing down to your abdomen,
Noticing with kind,
Gentle and accepting awareness as the breath moves in and out of your body.
And if the mind wanders away,
You might want to note where your mind has wandered to.
For example,
Thinking,
Thinking,
Planning,
Planning,
Worrying,
Worrying.
And then as kindly and as gently as possible,
Bringing the mind back to the sensations of the abdomen.
And on the next in breath,
Imagine you're filling the whole torso with air.
And as you exhale,
You allow any tension to release.
Now focusing your attention on the upper back,
The shoulder blades and the spine.
As you move your attention to the middle of the back,
Perhaps noticing any sensations of the breath as it rises and falls.
Noticing the pressure of the back as it nestles into any surfaces it may be in contact with.
Moving to the lower back,
The lumbar region,
Breathing in to any tension.
Now taking a few moments to simply observe any sensations throughout the whole of the back.
Transferring your awareness down to the hips,
The pelvis area and the buttocks.
Gently noticing any sensations of contact with the surface beneath you.
Down to your thighs,
The back,
The front and the sides of the thighs.
Just noticing what is present.
Moving to the knees,
The bones of the knees,
The ligaments and the tendons.
Just noticing the sensations now in the lower legs,
In the shins and the calves.
Now moving your attention to focusing on your feet,
Starting with the ankles.
Simply noticing any sensations on the skin and inside the ankles too.
Then the heels,
You might notice some slight sense of pressure where the heel makes contact with the surface beneath you.
Moving to any sensations in the tops of your feet,
The soles and eventually your toes.
Are there any tingling sensations?
Perhaps even noticing the temperature of the skin on your feet.
Moving to any sensations in the tops of your feet,
The soles and eventually your toes.
Are there any tingling sensations?
Perhaps even noticing the temperature of the skin on your feet.
On your next in-breath,
Feel or imagine you can breathe into the whole of your body,
Following the breath as it flows through your chest,
Torso,
Legs and all the way down to your toes.
And on the out-breath,
Feel or imagine the breath flowing out from the toes,
Feet,
Legs,
Torso,
Chest and finally out through your nose.
Take a few moments to practice breathing in this way.
And now simply spending some time resting in the awareness of your whole body.
See if it is possible to allow your body and its sensations to be just as you find them.
See if you can keep the awareness of the sensations as you naturally inhale and exhale.
Now as we end the practice,
Gently start to move the body,
Perhaps wiggling the toes and the fingers and stretching your arms and legs.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
Have a wonderfully mindful day.
