~Adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn

[audio:MM-Body-Scan-Audio.mp3]

Introduction and Guidelines– In this meditation, we are still going to use our breath as an anchor, but we are going to expand our field of awareness and attention to include a body scan. This particular meditation exercise typically requires at least 45 minutes of uninterrupted time, and it’s a great practice to help you develop concentration and calmness of attention. It’s an exercise that helps us to reconnect the conscious mind to the feeling states of the body- proprioception, a felt sense of the body… a place to enter and to dwell in very deep physical and mental relaxation.

Here and now you are simply tuning into and feeling whatever sensations are apparent in the present moment… accepting what is. If you don’t feel anything when doing the body scan, then this is your experience at this particular time. Again, and as always, we are non-judgmental in our moment to moment awareness- allowing whatever is happening in each region of the body to simply open up into our field of awareness. We are non-striving- as we are not trying to change what is happening or trying too hard to relax as this will just create tension- but to just be with it- however we are moment to moment.

This meditation practice is especially powerful with a particular part of one’s body that’s problematic or painful. It’s an exercise that will help you see yourself as larger than your problems and your pain… a healing meditation. When we breathe out of a particular region in the body, we let it go… we accept it for what it is. In the out-breath, we will also allow ourselves to sink deeper into our relaxation and stillness.

When scanning, if you have a particular region that’s intensely painful or problematic making it difficult for you to concentrate on other parts of your body- then just breathe into and out from this area. Try to imagine the in-breath penetrating the tissue until its completely absorbed- then imagine the out-breath as a channel allowing the region to discharge to outside whatever pain, toxic elements or dis-ease it is willing to or capable of surrendering. As far as posture, this practice lends itself to the “Corpse Pose” or Shavasana. However, if you have a problem lying on your back, then sit. It’s your sensitivity and sense of attention, which are most important. If you find yourself having trouble staying awake in this position, then keep your eyes open. Your clothing should be loose fitting especially around the abdomen area.

The Practice– When ready, let’s assume the posture, with arms loose and relaxed at our sides and palms turned up. Let your feet fall out to the sides… just relaxing and noticing the rhythm of your breath… the rise and fall of your belly or abdomen. Just witnessing through the mind’s eye the flow of the breath in and out of the belly. Breathe in energy, vitality and relaxation into this region and each region to follow with the in-breath. Also, take notice of any images, thoughts or feelings that may be associated with sensations in each region to follow.

When ready, let’s move our mind’s eye from the belly or the abdomen slowly down the left leg into the toes of the left foot. Breathing down into the toes and out from the toes. Allow yourself to feel any and all sensations from this region- just allowing the breath to dwell here and to note any sensations (i.e. tingling, itching, warmth, or nothing at all, etc.)- just feeling your toes as they are. Let’s take a few breaths here just breathing with the sensations, and when you’re ready on the out-breath- just letting go of the toes with your mind’s eye and moving your attention slowly, rhythmically down to the bottom of the left foot.

Breathe into the bottom of your left foot and your heel, and out from your foot and heel. Allow yourself to become aware and feel any and all sensations from this region. Let’s take a few breaths here just breathing with the sensations of your left foot & heel, and then expanding our awareness to include the left ankle- feeling your own left ankle and breathing with it. When you’re ready, on the out-breath just letting go of the ankle and the entirety of the left foot. Deep in stillness, allow your breath and your attention to move slowly, rhythmically up to the lower left leg feeling the shin and calf muscles- deep into the bones. Breathe into your lower left leg and out from your leg. Allow yourself to feel any and all sensations from this region as they are. Let’s take a few breaths here just breathing with the sensations, then allowing the breath and attention to let go of the lower left leg on the out-breath, and move your focus slowly, rhythmically up to the left knee- feeling the knee, the knee cap, the sides and back of the knee- and deep into the knee joint. Just experiencing your left knee- breathing with it- and on an out-breath just letting it dissolve as well… and moving now into the region of the thigh above the left knee- on the surface and deep and all the way up to the groin- on the inside and outside of the hip- just experiencing your left thigh letting it be as soft and relaxed as possible- breathing with your thigh. When you’re ready taking a deeper breath down into the thigh, and as you breath out just letting it dissolve, relax and soften as you let go.

Then, when you’re ready, let’s move our focus to the right leg and the toes on the right foot- just breathing into your toes on your right foot and out from your toes- allowing yourself to feel any and all sensations from this region as they are. Let’s take a few breaths here just breathing with the sensations, and then when you are ready, taking a deeper breath in down to the toes- and on the out breath just allowing your toes to dissolve in your field of awareness- and then letting your attention shift to the bottom of your right foot and your heel. Breathe into your right foot & heel and out from your foot & heel. Allow yourself to feel any and all sensations from this region Let’s take a few breaths here just breathing with the sensations, and then when you are ready on the out breath- just letting go of the bottom of your right foot & heel- and let your attention & your breath move gently to the top of the foot & the ankle- breathing in and out- just experiencing this region of your body- and when you’re ready, just letting it go- letting it relax & soften, and dissolve in your mind’s eye as you become aware of the lower right leg. Allow yourself to feel any and all sensations from this region- just breathing and accepting it as it is. When you are ready, breathing into the lower right leg, and as you are breathing out – just letting it go- and become aware of your right knee. Breathing down into the knee, and on the out breath letting go of the knee as well… and now the right thigh and the entire region of the upper leg between the hip & pelvis & groin, and all the way to the knee. Feeling your right thigh, and any sensations at all there… and being as precise as ]you can about seeing and feeling these sensations whether they be of warmth, tingling, heaviness or lightness, etc. Just, sensing & feeling your thigh as it is- and when you’re ready breathing into the thigh, and as you breathe out just letting go of this region too.

Now becoming aware of the pelvis- the entire region of your pelvis from one hip to the other- aware of the buttocks in contact with your mat or the floor… and the sensations of contact and of weight & heaviness, or whatever you are feeling… becoming aware of the region of the genitals, and whatever sensations or lack of sensations you are experiencing in this region… becoming aware of the hips themselves… and just breathing with the entirety of your pelvis… and when you are ready, directing the breath on the in breath down into your pelvis and as you breathe out just letting the pelvis soften and release and any tension go with the breath as you sink even deeper into a relaxed awareness and stillness… content to just be as you are right now…

… and let’s direct our attention now to the lower back- to that region that connects with the pelvis- that comes out of the pelvis, and just experiencing whatever sensations are here. For many of us, this is a region that may give us problems. There may be some sensations of intensity- and just experiencing your lower back as it is- letting your breath really penetrate into your lower back on the in breath, and on the out breath letting any tension, tightness or intensity just flow out with the out breath to the extent that it will… and as you breathe out just letting go of the lower back… and now moving up into the region of your upper back… and just feeling the sensations in this region- breathing with them. You may even feel your rib cage in back and front expand on the in breath… and any tension, tightness, fatigue, or discomfort in the upper or central back regions… just letting them dissolve and move out with the out breath as you let go and sink even deeper into stillness and relaxation.

… now allowing your attention to shift to the belly again, and experiencing the rising and falling of your belly as you breathe… and just allowing the awareness to expand from the belly and the front of the body to the chest as well…  feeling the movements of your diaphragm… just experiencing the chest as it expands for a moment on the in breath and as it contracts somewhat on the out breath… and if you can, tuning into the rhythmic beating of your heart within your chest- feeling it if you can… as well as the lungs expanding on either side of your heart… just experiencing your chest- your belly as we lie here… and when you are ready on an out breath, just letting this region dissolve into relaxation as well.

…  and allow your attention to move to your finger tips on both hands… just becoming aware of the sensations now in the tips of your fingers and thumbs…  just feeling your fingers- the insides of them and the backs of your fingers right out to the tips… and letting the field of your awareness include the palms of your hands and the backs of your hands… and the wrists… becoming aware of the forearms and the elbows- any & all sensations- just experiencing your body as it is, and in particular now your arms… allowing the field of your awareness to include your upper arms right up to the arm pits and the shoulders.

… at the moment, just experiencing your shoulders, and if there is any tension just on the in breath breathing into your shoulders and into your arms, and then the out breath just letting that tension dissolve as you breathe out- letting go of the tension and letting go of your arms all the way from the finger tips up to the shoulders themselves as you sink even deeper into a state of relaxed observation & awareness.

… and now let’s let the focus of our attention move on to the neck- to the back of the neck and the spine in the neck region, and to the throat- and feeling the entirety of this region of your body… perhaps experiencing what it feels like when you swallow and when you breathe as the air goes from the head to the chest through the neck region.. breathing in down into the neck intentionally, and on the out breath just letting go of the neck as well… letting it relax & dissolve in your mind’s eye.

… and becoming aware of your face… and let’s first focus on the jaw and the chin- just experiencing it as it is… any sensations right up into the hinge region of the jaw- breathing with this region, and on the out breath when you’re ready just letting it dissolve… becoming aware of your cheeks, the lips, the mouth, your teeth and gums- your tongue &  the roof of your mouth, as well as the back of your mouth and your throat- just breathing with this region & feeling any and all sensations here… and on an out breath, just letting this region dissolve as well.

… and becoming aware of your nose, and now feeling the breath as it moves in and of the nostrils… just being aware as the breathing goes on… and becoming aware of your eyes, the eyebrows, the space around the eyes, and the eyelids… allowing any tension in this region to just move on with the out breath… allowing your temples to relax & dissolve as you experience the sensations on the side of your head… and breathing to your ears and out from your ears, and letting them go as well.

… and now the forehead- just breathing with your forehead- letting it soften and relax into stillness… and now just coming up on the entirety of your face including your forehead- breathing with the entirety of your face as if you were coming up from underneath- from inside… and just letting the entirety of your face including the forehead dissolve into relaxation & stillness.

… and now becoming aware of the back of the head & the top of the head- the entire region of the cranium and the upper regions of the skull and breathing now into this whole region- breathing out from this region… and now just imagining through the mind’s eye for there to be a spot on top of your head- the crown of your head where it opens up like the blowhole of a whale for you to breathe out of… so breathing in and out of the top of your head- and letting the air and energy flow out and back in…so you are imaging breathing from the top of the head right through the body and out the bottoms of the feet… and so now breathing in through the bottoms of your feet through the top of your head.. and just watching and allowing your breath to move fin this way the entire length of your body… all of your muscles in a deep state of relaxation… and the mind just aware of this flow of energy- of this flow of breath- experiencing your entire body breathing.

… and when your ready, just feeling the body as a whole from the top of your head to the bottoms of your feet… lying here still and in a state of deep relaxation… and sinking deeper and deeper into a state of well-being… as we come in touch with feeling whole- feeling completeness- feeling peace & open to things just as they are in each moment.. and seeing that this attitude and this stillness itself is healing… that we are complete, full, whole, and perfect just the way we are right now.

… and as this exercise ends gradually bringing your awareness back to your body again and feeling it as a whole.. and now you might want to wiggle your toes & fingers and allowing this calmness & centeredness to remain with you as you move and as you resume the activities of your life.

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