BODY SCAN VISUALISATION

Hello and welcome to this body scan visualization. Sit in a chair or lie down, make yourself comfortable, and if you feel chilly, cover yourself with a cozy blanket. Just choose a place where you will be warm and And undisturbed. And just become aware of making sure that your legs are uncrossed, your arms are uncrossed, and follow your breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. And when you're ready, just allow yourself to close your eyes. Take a few moments to get in touch with the movement of your breath and the sensations in the body, and bring your awareness especially to the sensations of touch or pressure on where your body makes contact with the chair that you're sitting in or the place where you're laying down. And breathe in through your nose, and on each out-breath out your mouth, allow yourself to let go, to sink a little deeper wherever you're sitting Or laying down. Now, the intention of this practice is not to feel any different, relaxed, or calm. This may happen or it may not. The intention of this practice is, as best as you can, to bring awareness any sensations you detect as you focus your attention on each part of the body in turn. So bring your awareness now to the physical sensations in the lower abdomen, becoming aware of the changing patterns of sensations in the abdominal wall as you breathe in and as you breathe out. So bringing your awareness to the physical sensations in the abdominal wall as you take that oxygen in through your nose and And as you breathe out the carbon dioxide out of your mouth, just feel the sensations as you breathe in and as you breathe out. And having connected With the sensations in the abdomen, bring the focus or spotlight of your awareness down the left leg, into the left foot, and out to the toes of the left foot. Focus on each of the toes and Of the left foot in turn, bringing a gentle curiosity to investigate the quality of the sensations you find, perhaps noticing the sense of contact between the toes, a sense of tingling, warmth, or no particular sensation. When you're ready, or on your next in-breath, feel or imagine the breath entering the lungs and then passing down into the abdomen, into the left leg, the left foot, and out to the toes of the left foot. Then as you breathe out, feel or imagine the breath coming all the way back up, out of the foot, into the leg, up through the abdomen, the chest, and out through the mouth. As best as you can, continue this For a few breaths, breathing down into the toes and back out from the toes. Now it might be a challenge to get the hang of this, so just practice this breathing into as best as you can and just approach it playfully. Now when you're ready, on an out-breath, let go of the awareness of the toes and bring your awareness to the sensations on the bottom of your left foot, bringing a gentle investigative awareness to the sole of the foot. The instep, the heel, noticing the sensations where the heel makes contact with whatever it's touching. And experiment with breathing with the sensations, being aware of the breath in the background as in the foreground you're exploring the sensations of Of the lower foot. Now allow the awareness to expand into the rest of the foot. To the ankle, the top of the foot, and right into the bones and joints. Then taking a slightly deeper breath, directing it down into the whole of the left foot, and as the breath lets go on the out-breath, let go of the left foot. Completely allowing the focus of awareness to move into the lower left leg, the calf, shin, knee, and so on in turn. Continue to bring awareness and a gentle curiosity to the physical sensations in each part of the rest of the body in turn. To the upper left leg. The right toes. The right foot. The right leg. The pelvic area. Your back. Your abdomen. Your chest. Your fingers. Your hands, your arms. Your shoulders. Your neck. Your head. Your face. Bringing the same detailed level of awareness and gentle curiosity to the bodily sensations that are present, breathing into it as you breathe in and letting go of each area on your out-breath. When you become aware of tension or of other intense sensations in a particular part of the body, you can breathe into them using the in-breath gently to bring awareness right into the sensations and as best as you can have a sense of their letting go or releasing On the out-breath. Now, the mind will inevitably wander away from the breath and the body from time to time, and that is entirely normal. It's what minds do. When you notice it, gently acknowledge it, noticing where the mind has gone off to, and then gently return your attention to the part of the body You intended to focus on. After you have scanned the whole body in this way, spend a few minutes being aware of a sense of the body as a whole and of the breath flowing freely in and out of the body. And if you find yourself falling asleep you might find it helpful to prop your head up with a pillow, open your eyes, or do the practice sitting up rather than lying down. And you can adjust the time spent in this practice by using larger chunks of your body to become aware of, or spending a shorter or longer time with each part. There is No right, there is no wrong. It's what feels best for you. And now, as you complete this body scan visualization, take a nice deep breath in and breathe out. You can stretch your arms up if you wish to, and when you're ready, you can open your eyes. Have a drink of water after all of that mindful breathing, and this exercise can be repeated as often as necessary.