Sleep - Loving Kindness Body Scan

Welcome to this meditation and mindfulness practice called the Compassionate Body Scan.

You may want to sit on a chair with your back upright and yet relaxed,

Or else on a meditation cushion,

Or you may even want to lie on your bed if you're falling asleep.

Once you get yourself situated,

We'll begin.

Good.

Let's start by first getting in touch with our body,

How it feels right here in the present moment.

See if you can feel the weight of your seat on the cushion,

Or of your back on the floor or the bed.

Just notice the entire field of the body sensation.

Any prickling,

Tingling,

Heaviness,

Pressure.

Any lightness you may feel,

Just feel your body just as it is right now.

What we're going to be doing is moving our attention and awareness to different parts of the body,

Sweeping from the crown of the head down to the toes and back again.

As we go through different parts,

Giving ourselves compassion for any pain or tension we may feel there,

Or perhaps for any shame or feelings of inadequacy we have about certain body parts.

So starting with the crown of the head,

Just notice what sensations are there.

See if you can tune in to that point just between the air above your head and where your skull starts.

Again,

Is there any tingling or sensation there?

If so,

Just notice it.

If not,

That's fine too.

Then become aware of your facial muscles.

We have hundreds of muscles in our face.

They work very hard for us,

Expressing our emotions,

Some of which are quite painful.

If you feel any tension or stress in any of your facial muscles,

Just let them go,

Relax them and soothe them.

Maybe imagine caressing your face with your awareness,

Being grateful for how hard our face muscles work for us.

Then become aware of the back of your head.

Any sensation there?

If you have any sort of headache or pain,

Just being kind,

Tender,

Compassionate to the fact that you're feeling,

Perhaps as well as you'd like,

Or if no sensation is there,

Just feel whatever's happening right now.

Now become aware of how your neck feels,

And again,

Is there any tension,

Burning,

Tightness?

Our neck often holds our,

Well,

First of all,

Holds up our head,

And it holds a lot of tension,

Especially if we sit at a computer all day.

So just relaxing the neck muscles and soothing and comforting any points of pain you may be experiencing.

Dropping down into the shoulders,

A lot of emotional tension,

Like fear and stress is held in our shoulders.

We almost always feel some sort of pain and tension there.

First,

Just notice what you feel.

What is the sensation like?

Is it hot,

Cold,

Tight,

Stabbing,

Or dull?

Take a moment to have compassion for the stress of being shoulders in your body.

They take on a lot for us,

And just soothing,

Comforting any feelings of pain or discomfort you have.

Then dropping down so that you're aware of your upper back,

Your shoulder blades,

And again,

Feeling any tension that's there,

Any discomfort,

And just allow it to be as it is.

Hot,

Cold,

Sharp,

Or soft.

Using our awareness to acknowledge any pain and to soothe that area of our body.

I want you to mentally imagine getting a little bit of a massage there in your shoulder blades.

Then become aware of your chest area,

The seat of our heart,

Where emotions are often felt very intensely,

Including difficult ones like grief and disappointment.

Try to notice how the physical sensations of your chest are manifesting.

Is the sensation moving?

Is it buzzing?

Or is it tight?

Just simply notice what's there,

Relax around it,

And comfort yourself for any pain you might be feeling in your chest,

Just like a mother might caress a child who's feeling discomfort.

Take the same attitude with your awareness.

Then focus your attention on your stomach area or your gut.

A lot of difficult emotions get stored here,

Including fear.

We may have some judgments about our stomach.

Maybe it's not quite as thin as we'd like it to be.

First just focus on the actual sensations of your stomach.

Is there any movement?

Maybe you're digesting food.

Any tension?

Or any physical discomfort?

Then also,

Are any feelings coming up of inadequacy or non-acceptance of being exactly who you are in the moment?

Whatever arises,

You're going to take a very calm,

Comforting,

Loving stance towards this part of our body.

We often have such difficulty with,

Maybe even sending some appreciation for the very hard task of digesting our food,

Allowing us to be alive,

Just relaxing and softening.

Now turn your awareness towards your lower back.

Very big muscles there needed to keep us upright.

If you feel any tension,

Try to relax that part of your body and consciously soothe and comfort any pains or aches you might feel.

It's hard to be in this human body with its limitations,

But we can be kind to ourselves in this moment.

Now we drop down to our pelvic area and again,

A lot of tension often gets put here.

We don't even pay attention to.

We often avoid paying attention to this part of our body.

Just notice what feelings are there.

If there's any discomfort or tension,

Try to relax.

If there are any emotions that come up for you that are difficult,

Again,

Take a very soothing,

Comforting approach towards this part of your body,

Just allowing it to be as it is.

Now moving down to your seat itself.

If you're sitting,

This will be easy because you'll feel the tension in your buttocks,

On the chair or cushion.

And also,

If you're laying down,

You'll feel tension there.

You're just noticing what feelings are there.

If there's any tightness or tension,

Soothing and relaxing this part of your body.

And if there are any emotional feelings associated with it,

Perhaps not accepting this part of your body.

It not being exactly as you'd like it to be,

Which I think is probably all of us.

Just having compassion for the fact that we're imperfect humans.

Just accepting that with an open heart.

So let's move back up to our arms and we'll do them each individually.

So start with your right arm,

The top,

The shoulder blade,

The top of your arm,

The upper bicep.

And what does your upper arm on the right side feel like right now?

We have big muscles there that often get strained,

Lifting and holding things.

So soothing any tension or discomfort,

Relaxing,

Caressing with our awareness kindly.

Now your lower right arm,

Just gently noticing what you feel there.

Now your right wrist and fingers and your hand.

We have an amazing number of bones in this part of our body,

Especially with the increasing use of computers.

These get worked over and over and over again.

Just notice,

Do you have any tension there?

Any feeling of discomfort?

And if so,

Again,

Just soothe and comfort yourself.

Have compassion for any pain you might be feeling.

And if there's no discomfort,

Just rest in the peacefulness of being free of pain.

Now shifting your attention to focus on your left upper arm and shoulder,

Noticing how your muscles feel.

Any tension that's there kindly stroking your arm with your awareness,

Comforting yourself.

And dropping down into your lower arm now,

Allowing the sensations to be just as they are.

And your left hand and wrist,

Relaxing your muscles,

Appreciating how hard your fingers work for you,

The freedom it gives you.

Now shift your focus to your right upper leg.

Every big muscles here are thigh muscle.

What do you feel right now in this area of your body?

See if you can relax the muscle.

If you notice any discomfort or tension,

Kindly soothing and comforting this part of your body.

Then moving down to your right calf and shin,

The lower part of your leg,

Feeling the muscles softening around any tension,

And then finally focusing on your right foot.

A surprising amount of tension and stress gets stored in our feet.

A lot of pressure gets put on them.

Take a moment to appreciate your right foot.

It allows you to walk,

Run,

Dance.

So relaxing and soothing any feelings of pain that arise,

Giving yourself a mental foot massage.

Now move your awareness to your left leg,

The upper half,

The thigh muscle,

Softening around any tension.

As always,

If any emotional reactions come up of non-acceptance for a certain part of your body,

Giving yourself compassion for that,

Recognizing how hard it is to be in our competitive culture,

And dropping down to your left lower leg now,

Your calf muscles,

Your shin,

Relaxing and soothing,

And then focusing on your left foot,

Ankle,

The sole of your foot,

And your toes.

Just be aware of any sensations that are there,

Tingling,

Burning,

Pressure,

And soothe and comfort any feelings of discomfort or pain that might be there.

Now,

Widen your focus so that you're aware of both feet,

Moving up to both calves,

Both upper legs,

Up to your stomach,

Your chest,

Your neck,

And your head.

Just imagine the energy flowing out the top of your head,

Feeling the energy of life flowing through you,

Resting in awareness of this magnificent body we have,

Of compassion for its pains and appreciation for its wonder.

Good.

You've done very well in this body scan.

Find compassion for yourself every day.

Try to listen to this multiple times.

Good work,

And namaste.