Get comfortable because today I’ll be walking you through a body scan and breath awareness meditation, a practice similar to the Rest & Revitalization Sleep Meditations covered in previous episodes.
A combination of techniques utilized in those R&R sleep meditations, this practice is especially useful during the healing process when your body is signaling for a rest. It’s a moment for you to slow down and optimize your system for the remaining rehabilitation journey.
So find a safe and quiet place where you can sit or lay down as I guide you, step-by-step, through this 20-minute body scan and breath awareness practice in order to down-regulate your nervous system.
If you benefited from the practice that I share in this episode and you would like to have access to a 10 Day R&R Sleep Meditation Reset, all you have to do is click here.
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Full Episode Transcript:
Male Announcer: You’re listening to From Pain to Possibility with Susi Hately. You will hear Susi’s best ideas on how to reduce or even eradicate your pain and learn how to listen to your body when it whispers so you don’t have to hear it scream. And now here’s your host, Susi Hately.
Welcome and welcome back. I’m so glad that you’re here today because today I am walking you through a body scan combined with a breath awareness. And it’s a combination of techniques that is utilized in R&R sleep meditation and it’s really useful for those times when during the healing journey or the healing process that our system, that our being, that maybe a voice inside or even just part of our thinking process is pulling or acting or nudging or asking us to come into a place of rest.
And it might feel difficult to come into a place of rest, particularly if you’re someone who has a tendency to move quickly or if there’s a lot on your plate and there’s that wired sort of state. And so this practice is really for you if you are the type who tends to go quick. I like to use the analogy of a Ferrari going fast.
And yet part of your problem, if I could call it that, is you’ve got this amazing vehicle, but it’s not being optimized and you need to park it, put it in the shop, really get to work on it so it can go out and really rev and run well. So this is for you, giving you a chance to proverbially change the oil and just work on you.
So find a comfortable place. And that comfortable place might be lying on your back. It might be lying on your front or on your side or sitting. It may be even while you’re out for a walk or while you’re washing dishes. The key is to be comfortable, to not operate any machinery or drive a car, so to speak, but to be comfortable and in a place where you can tune in.
And begin by noticing your feet, your heels, your forefoot, and each of your toes. And for a moment, simply notice your feet. Notice the sensation that is your feet. Feel your feet. And then feel up through your shins and calves. And your knees. And then into your thighs, the back of your thighs and into your hips.
And can you feel how your legs connect into your pelvis? And then how your pelvis connects down through your legs and to your feet, right to the tips of your toes? And feel where your pelvis is, either feeling it against what you’re sitting on or laying on or just what’s surrounding it in space.
And then the connection into your abdomen, the lower part of your abdomen and into your navel and then up to the ribcage. And allow yourself to feel both the front as well as the back and the sides of your abdomen. And notice how your breath is moving your abdomen, if at all. And it’s not about changing this, it’s simply noticing what currently is.
And then move into your ribcage. The front of your ribcage. The sides of your ribcage. The back of your ribcage and how your breath is moving in your ribcage. And then notice your whole torso from the pelvis, abdomen, ribcage and how your breath is moving in this whole area, pelvis, abdomen, ribcage. It’s simply noticing and feeling the sensations that exist here in your pelvis, your abdomen and your ribcage.
And then begin to move down your arms from the armpits, shoulders, elbows, forearms, palms of your hands, fingers, thumbs. Feeling the sensations here from armpits, shoulders, elbows, forearms, palms, fingers, thumbs.
Connect now between your shoulders, arms, fingers and thumbs with your abdomen, ribcage, pelvis, legs and feet. And your breath, how is your breath moving? What can you feel? Let yourself settle into the sensations that exist and then connect with your neck. Front of your neck, back of your neck, sides of your neck, swallowing and then into your mouth.
Your tongue, the sides of your mouth, the roof and the floor of your mouth, your cheeks, feeling the sensations around your eyes. The outer corners of your eyes and the inner corners of your eyes, simply noticing the sensations. Feeling through your forehead, the top of your head, the back of your head.
Connecting into the neck again, down your arms to your fingers and thumbs. Feeling the sensations to your ribcage, abdomen and pelvis and all the way down to your toes. Allowing yourself, inviting yourself, cultivating this idea of feeling the whole of your body; head, neck, face, out to your fingers, down your torso, pelvis, legs and feet.
Imagine you can zoom out and feel all of yourself at once and feel yourself breathing all at once. And then bring your awareness again to your right hand now. Your right arm. The right armpit. Right torso, leg and foot. And feel yourself breathing through the right hand, the right arm, armpit, right torso, leg and foot. And even up to the right side of your neck and head. Breathing through the whole of your right side. Inhale and exhale, feeling the sensations.
And then move to your left hand, left arm, armpit, left shoulder, ribcage, torso, leg and foot. And feel the breath through that entire left side. Left hand, arm, armpit, shoulder, left torso, leg and foot. And even up through the left neck and head. Feel yourself breathing through this left side. Inhale and exhale.
Now feel both sides of your body. Breathing through all of your body. Inhale and exhale. Feeling your breath and your body all at once.
Come now back to your feet and let the breathing go. And just feel again your feet and your legs and your pelvis. Your torso, your arms and hands. Your neck, face and head. And now notice what you feel. Notice what the scan and what this breathing has done for you. What are you now aware of? What are you now tuned into? What is now present?
There’s an incredible power to down regulating our nervous systems, to deeply resting that has such a profound impact on our abilities to move about in the world. To heal. To recuperate. To refuel. Come back to this recording at any time.
When you are ready to move, do take another five breaths before transitioning on with the rest of your day, enabling and allowing for the insights gained to feed into and weave into how the rest of your day unfolds. Have a really terrific time exploring, tuning in and experiencing your body and your breath.
Thanks for practicing. See you next time.
If this episode has resonated and you’re looking to deepen this idea of getting your body back on board, of listening deeply to your symptoms, of listening to the whispers so you don’t have to hear the screams, and you’re looking for one to one support or professional training, then reach out to us at [email protected] where we can customize your learning path. That’s [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Welcome and welcome back. I’m so glad that you’re here today because today I am walking you through a body scan combined with a breath awareness. And it’s a combination of techniques that is utilized in R&R sleep meditation and it’s really useful for those times when during the healing journey or the healing process that our system, that our being, that maybe a voice inside or even just part of our thinking process is pulling or acting or nudging or asking us to come into a place of rest.
And it might feel difficult to come into a place of rest, particularly if you’re someone who has a tendency to move quickly or if there’s a lot on your plate and there’s that wired sort of state. And so this practice is really for you if you are the type who tends to go quick. I like to use the analogy of a Ferrari going fast.
And yet part of your problem, if I could call it that, is you’ve got this amazing vehicle, but it’s not being optimized and you need to park it, put it in the shop, really get to work on it so it can go out and really rev and run well. So this is for you, giving you a chance to proverbially change the oil and just work on you.
So find a comfortable place. And that comfortable place might be lying on your back. It might be lying on your front or on your side or sitting. It may be even while you’re out for a walk or while you’re washing dishes. The key is to be comfortable, to not operate any machinery or drive a car, so to speak, but to be comfortable and in a place where you can tune in.
And begin by noticing your feet, your heels, your forefoot, and each of your toes. And for a moment, simply notice your feet. Notice the sensation that is your feet. Feel your feet. And then feel up through your shins and calves. And your knees. And then into your thighs, the back of your thighs and into your hips.
And can you feel how your legs connect into your pelvis? And then how your pelvis connects down through your legs and to your feet, right to the tips of your toes? And feel where your pelvis is, either feeling it against what you’re sitting on or laying on or just what’s surrounding it in space.
And then the connection into your abdomen, the lower part of your abdomen and into your navel and then up to the ribcage. And allow yourself to feel both the front as well as the back and the sides of your abdomen. And notice how your breath is moving your abdomen, if at all. And it’s not about changing this, it’s simply noticing what currently is.
And then move into your ribcage. The front of your ribcage. The sides of your ribcage. The back of your ribcage and how your breath is moving in your ribcage. And then notice your whole torso from the pelvis, abdomen, ribcage and how your breath is moving in this whole area, pelvis, abdomen, ribcage. It’s simply noticing and feeling the sensations that exist here in your pelvis, your abdomen and your ribcage.
And then begin to move down your arms from the armpits, shoulders, elbows, forearms, palms of your hands, fingers, thumbs. Feeling the sensations here from armpits, shoulders, elbows, forearms, palms, fingers, thumbs.
Connect now between your shoulders, arms, fingers and thumbs with your abdomen, ribcage, pelvis, legs and feet. And your breath, how is your breath moving? What can you feel? Let yourself settle into the sensations that exist and then connect with your neck. Front of your neck, back of your neck, sides of your neck, swallowing and then into your mouth.
Your tongue, the sides of your mouth, the roof and the floor of your mouth, your cheeks, feeling the sensations around your eyes. The outer corners of your eyes and the inner corners of your eyes, simply noticing the sensations. Feeling through your forehead, the top of your head, the back of your head.
Connecting into the neck again, down your arms to your fingers and thumbs. Feeling the sensations to your ribcage, abdomen and pelvis and all the way down to your toes. Allowing yourself, inviting yourself, cultivating this idea of feeling the whole of your body; head, neck, face, out to your fingers, down your torso, pelvis, legs and feet.
Imagine you can zoom out and feel all of yourself at once and feel yourself breathing all at once. And then bring your awareness again to your right hand now. Your right arm. The right armpit. Right torso, leg and foot. And feel yourself breathing through the right hand, the right arm, armpit, right torso, leg and foot. And even up to the right side of your neck and head. Breathing through the whole of your right side. Inhale and exhale, feeling the sensations.
And then move to your left hand, left arm, armpit, left shoulder, ribcage, torso, leg and foot. And feel the breath through that entire left side. Left hand, arm, armpit, shoulder, left torso, leg and foot. And even up through the left neck and head. Feel yourself breathing through this left side. Inhale and exhale.
Now feel both sides of your body. Breathing through all of your body. Inhale and exhale. Feeling your breath and your body all at once.
Come now back to your feet and let the breathing go. And just feel again your feet and your legs and your pelvis. Your torso, your arms and hands. Your neck, face and head. And now notice what you feel. Notice what the scan and what this breathing has done for you. What are you now aware of? What are you now tuned into? What is now present?
There’s an incredible power to down regulating our nervous systems, to deeply resting that has such a profound impact on our abilities to move about in the world. To heal. To recuperate. To refuel. Come back to this recording at any time.
When you are ready to move, do take another five breaths before transitioning on with the rest of your day, enabling and allowing for the insights gained to feed into and weave into how the rest of your day unfolds. Have a really terrific time exploring, tuning in and experiencing your body and your breath.
Thanks for practicing. See you next time.
If this episode has resonated and you’re looking to deepen this idea of getting your body back on board, of listening deeply to your symptoms, of listening to the whispers so you don’t have to hear the screams, and you’re looking for one to one support or professional training, then reach out to us at [email protected] where we can customize your learning path. That’s [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you.