In the blog category “Guided Meditations”, I will provide detailed explanations for all the guided meditation tracks that I will place in the Resources section of this website. These blog posts will be hyperlinked from the “Guided Meditations” page under “Resources” menu option where these meditation tracks in mp3 format will be placed for streaming or for downloading.
The body scan meditation has proven to be an extremely powerful and healing form of mindfulness meditation. It involves systematically sweeping through the body with the mind; bringing a gentle, kind and openhearted attention to its various regions in order to observe any sensations that are present. One of the core insights underlying this practice is that the body is always in the present moment. It is the mind that is constantly flitting back and forth between the past and the future. Therefore; by anchoring our attention to the body, we find ourselves in the present moment. We also realize that none of the sensations in our body are permanent. Rather, they arise and fall away constantly. It is our minds that create stories and projections based on these sensations. Depending on the nature of these sensations, we react by craving or aversion and try to either prolong pleasant sensations or to shut unpleasant sensations down. Body scan meditation practice gives us a choice to simply be one with whatever is arising instead of reacting to them.
In this guided meditation that lasts for 15:15 minutes, you will be guided to do scan your body, part by part, from head to feet and then back up to the head. You start by moving awareness to the forehead, eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, jaw, tongue. Then move down to the neck, shoulders, biceps, forearms, hands. Move awareness down to the upper back, chest, middle back, lower back, abdomen. Finally, move down to the hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves and feet. You will then be guided to move back up from the feet to the head. Focus your awareness on the body part and feel any sensations that might be present there. Feel and acknowledge physical sensations like tingling, burning, pounding, tightness, looseness, softness, roughness, burning, numbness, dryness, vibrating, cool, warm, aching, dense, itchy, pulsing, etc.
Towards the beginning of this meditation, as I do in all my guided meditations, I request that we intentionally cultivate an attitude of patience, gentleness and kindness towards ourselves before we begin these exercises. It is very important that mindfulness meditations be accompanied by a sense of openness otherwise their effectiveness may be diminished. Towards the ending, I request that we dedicate the merits of this practice to ourselves as well as to all others by affirming these statements:
“May I be happy, may I be peaceful, may I live with ease.
May all beings be happy, may all beings be peaceful, may all beings live with ease”
At the end of the day, we are practicing mindfulness meditation not just for ourselves but also for all others.
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