Hello and welcome.
I'm glad you decided to join me in this meditation today.
I want to invite you to consider the mystery of your physical body.
The bodies of cells joined together working in unison to give you this experience of the external world.
In the same way as scientists use the instruments,
We can use our awareness to scan our physical body to search for wisdom that is hidden within every cell.
Learning how to look at your body in a kind and loving way,
It's absolutely necessary to our well-being.
To start off with,
I want you to make yourself comfortable.
You may sit down or lie down in your bed,
Whatever makes you feel more at ease.
Whichever position you choose,
Make sure that the flow of your breath is unrestricted.
When you sit on a chair,
Make sure that your back is straight,
But not rigid.
I love to use the metaphor of a king or a queen sitting in dignified position,
Upright but relaxed.
As you settle down in this position,
Your body becomes more and more relaxed.
As you breathe in and out,
Notice how your body reacts to every in-breath and every out-breath.
This is a great start.
Breath is your gateway to achieve many states,
Including the state of relaxation that you're experiencing now.
Surrender to the sensations that come from within your body.
Let us begin this journey at the top of our head.
If you pay a careful attention,
You may perceive the sensations coming from the surface of your skin.
Initially,
They might be very subtle,
But over time,
You may feel them more and more.
Now,
Shift your awareness from the top of your head to your forehead.
You may notice some tension or discomfort,
And that's absolutely okay.
You may use your out-breath to soften it,
To make your forehead wrinkle-free,
Soft and calm.
Now,
Include your temples.
Move on and include sensations coming from your entire face,
The space around your eyes,
Your eyeballs.
Notice if there is any tension in your jaw.
Now,
Include your entire head,
Muscles,
Bone structures.
Moving slowly towards your neck.
Feel muscles in the left side of your neck and the right side of your neck.
Notice if you can feel any difference.
Again,
There is no need to change anything.
You're simply scanning and being curious about any sensation,
As if you're trying to place a curious gaze in that part of your body and find out what is going on there.
Now,
Moving slowly towards your shoulders.
And often you will notice there's much tension hiding there.
That tension is an expression of your emotional challenges.
Stay with those sensations.
And now you may use out-breath to let go and transport all the tension and any discomfort away through the bottom of your feet.
Now,
Moving on towards your upper back.
Feel the muscles behind your shoulder blades.
Include all the muscles around your ribcage.
Feel your breath.
Feel the expansion and contraction of your chest as the muscles move,
Contract and expand.
Now,
Search a bit deeper.
And go below the surface of your ribcage.
Reach out towards the center.
If you pay close attention,
You may feel beating of your heart.
If you're having trouble feeling beat of your heart,
Simply hold your breath just for a moment and then try again.
Heart,
The organ of inner alignment,
Sending pressure waves to every part of your body.
Feeling,
Centering,
Aligning.
Connect with this sensation now.
Now moving lower towards your solar plexus.
Feel two or three inches below your solar plexus.
Now move your awareness around your abdomen.
Notice if this feels any different.
Now moving along and feeling your sit bones.
Feel the sensations that your skin receives.
Feel all the sensations that are coming from your pelvis.
With kindness,
Accept anything that comes your way.
Like an observer looking but trying not to interfere.
Be curious.
Notice how dynamic those sensations are.
Now include sensations coming from your thighs.
Move to your knees.
Your ankles.
And finally including your feet.
If you can,
Try to notice each toe separately.
Feeling from the big one and moving along the small one.
Now feel the ball of your feet.
Imagine a brush that you can move along the ball of your feet.
All the way from the back of your heel to the tip of your toes.
At your own pace.
Move it back and forth.
And notice if you can perceive anything while you're brushing.
After you finish,
Expand your awareness and include your entire body.
Perhaps there's one particular area that calls your attention.
Imagine that this is your body trying to tell you something.
Trying to communicate with you.
This is your opportunity to give it the attention that it needs.
With kindness and curiosity.
Simply bring your awareness to this part of your body.
And bring your breath with it.
Notice how it feels to breathe in and out of this sensation.
Notice how it feels to breathe in into this area of your body.
See if there are any changes with each breath you take.
Take it easy,
Be patient.
And now to conclude,
Once again acknowledge your entire physical body.
Imagine there's so much we don't know.
And now slowly start bringing your awareness to the space around you.
One by one.
Include your external senses.
Start noticing the sounds around you.
Engage your sense of smell.
And now the sense of taste.
Include anything that you can see through your closed eyes.
The brighter and darker spots.
And now as you slowly coming out.
Start wiggling your toes.
Paying attention to every move.
Wiggle your fingers.
Move your head also slowly and gently to the left.
And to the right.
Engaging your muscles.
And now all together let us take one deep conscious breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and welcome back.
