Sleep Meditation - Curiosity Body Scan

So, welcome back for another guided sleep meditation.
Taking some time to prepare your body and your mind for sleep.
In this guided practice today we’ll be doing another body scan meditation.

So, for this one you’ll want to find a position laying on your back, arms at your side or on your belly or chest.
And you can have your eyes open or closed.
If they’re open, just having a soft gaze towards the ceiling.
Or closing your eyes.

And for today’s body scan meditation it will be similar to the previous body scan but this time really focusing on developing curiosity.
So, really getting curious about what you’re feeling in each different part of the body.

And if there’s no feeling, then just allowing space for there to be no feeling.

And starting as we usually do with a few deep breaths.
So, breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly.
Releasing all tension from the body.
One more deep breath in and a deep breath out.

Relaxing and sinking.
Allowing yourself to come to a place of stillness.
Feeling the weight of gravity pull you down.

So, we can start this body scan at the top of the head.
So, bringing your attention to the crown of the head.
The area on top of the scalp and just rest it there for a while.

Noticing what sensations, you feel or experience.

Can you feel that area?
And what do you notice?
Is there any tingling or vibration?

If you feel nothing there, just making space for that as well.
There’s no need to force any feeling.

And slowly letting your awareness drip down the top of the forehead.
Feeling your way as you go down towards the eyebrows.
And moving with curiosity towards the eye sockets.

And resting your attention in the eyes.
If there’s tension, you can soften, or you can just make space for the tension.
There’s no need to change it.
But just to get curious about what does it feel like.

What do the eyes feel like in this moment?

And moving your awareness down the nose and the cheeks.
Feeling the outside of the cheeks and then the inside of the cheeks.

Becoming aware of your teeth.
And your tongue.
Becoming aware of your jaw.
There’s nothing you need to do with this awareness but just feeling into the body.

Cultivating and strengthening this body awareness.
Slowly moving the attention down as if it were honey dripping down your body.
So, moving down the neck, feeling the upper neck and then the lower neck.

Down towards the right shoulder.
Feeling the muscles of the deltoid on the right shoulder.
As your awareness slowly moves into the right arm, feeling the right bicep and the right tricep.

Moving your awareness through the right elbow.
The right wrists and resting your attention in your right hand.
Perhaps feeling the palm, any warmth and vibration.

And perhaps feeling each finger one by one.
The thumb, and then all the other fingers.
And then slowly withdrawing that awareness from the right hand and the right arm as you travel up and over to the left side.

Feeling the left shoulder.
The muscles of the left shoulder.
Moving down into the left bicep and the left tricep.
To the left elbow.
The left forearm and left wrists.

And then bringing that full complete attention into the left hand.
What is the experience of feeling into your left hand?
Feeling the fingers of the left hand.
Letting go of words and just experiencing directly the physical sensations.

And slowly withdrawing your attention from the hands and the left arm.
Moving slowly back up to the center of your chest.
Feeling the area of the solar plexus and the sternum.

Noticing any subtle rising and falling.
The expansion and contraction of the ribcage.
And moving down, feeling the abdomen.
Noticing how your belly moves.
Feeling the breath softening.

And moving down through the pelvis.
Feeling both thighs at the same time.
The quadriceps.
Feeling the hamstrings and the hips.
Moving down through the kneecaps.

Again, just staying curious.
Connected to your own body.

Moving down the tops of the shins.
And feeling the calves.
Feeling into both ankles.
And then resting your attention in the soles of the feet.
And again, being curious about a direct experience.

Bringing your mind into your body down to the soles of the feet.
And resting your attention there.

And moving your attention from the soles of the feet and traveling back up towards the center of the body.
Becoming aware of the solar plexus.
And allowing your attention to stay there.
With the gentle rising and falling.
As you slowly drift off into sleep.