Body Scan For Stress & Anxiety Relief In Under 20 Minutes

Release tension, quiet the mind, and return to your body with this gentle, guided body scan meditation.

This practice supports deep relaxation while keeping you softly aware—helping your nervous system settle and your body unwind. You’ll be guided from head to toe, noticing sensations, softening areas of tension, and reconnecting with your breath.

Rather than trying to “fix” anything, this is an invitation to simply be with what’s here—allowing your body to shift naturally into a more grounded, regulated state.

Especially supportive if you’re experiencing anxiety, stress, overwhelm, or difficulty winding down.

This is for you if you’re craving:
- Relief from anxiety or racing thoughts
- A way to release physical tension
- Support for nervous system regulation
- A calming practice before rest or sleep

No experience needed—just find a comfortable position, press play, and allow yourself to be guided.

Transcript

Good day. I hope this finds you having a wonderful day today. If you're new here, My name is Tammy. Go ahead and bat down your eyes if they aren't already. And find yourself in a comfortable position. Today I'm guiding you through a yoga nidra meditation. So if you want to take this seated, You could take this with your spine upright, But not uptight. And if you want to take this with a lying meditative position, You can find yourself in shavasana. You could put a bolster or a pillow underneath your knees or thighs with a pillow under your head or not. Find your spine straight wherever you find yourself and bat down those eyelids. Bring your attention to the sensation of breathing. Allow your mind to rest on the sensation that is most easily accessible for you. You may feel a rise, Fall, Or an expansion or contraction in your torso. You may feel air coming into your airways. You may feel breath at the back of your throat, In the chest, The belly. Rest your thoughts on the sensations of breathing. We're not doing anything to the breath. We're just noticing the breath. Noticing the present moment through our breath. And today, As I guide you through this meditation, If your thoughts wander away from the present moment from noticing sensations or the present moment breathing, Label that as thinking and bring your thoughts back to the moment through the sensations in your body and in your breath. Bring your awareness to the center of your forehead, Just between your two brow centers. As you inhale, See if you can feel the sensation of filling up this area with breath. Inhaling a white light. Allow that white light to fill your whole body now. Scan your awareness down from your head to your body, Your legs, Your arms, Fingers, And toes. And allow that white light to engulf your body and fill the space around your body. We'll bring our awareness to the top of our head, The back of our head, And see what sensations that you feel here as you scan. Depending on hair, You may or may not feel air or pressure, Itching or tingling. Pulsing. Anything and nothing is all okay. Bring your awareness to the sides of your head, The ears, The neck, The sides, The back of the neck, The top of the head. Notice your forehead and your temples, The brow and the eyes. Notice the center of the face and nose. Notice the mouth and jaw. Scanning next down the front of the neck and the collarbone. Notice the top of your shoulders. Notice the front and back of the shoulders. Notice the upper back and shoulder blades. Notice the mid-back and the lower back. Notice the top of the sacrum, The top of the glutes, The glutes and the sides of your hips. The front of the hips and pelvis. Notice the lower abdomen. Notice the upper abdomen. The sides, The ribcage, Scanning through the chest. See where the breath is most noticeable as you inhale and exhale. Scan through the tops of the shoulders. We'll scan one arm at a time. So roll through the shoulder. Coming into your upper arm, The elbow, The forearm, Through wrist and hands, The palm and the back of the hand. Scanning into the thumb and fingertips. The tops of each finger. And next, Make your way back up through the arm, Noticing any areas that you didn't get on the way down. Rolling through inner, Outer elbow, Inner and outer arm and armpit. Then come back to the center of your chest. And then roll through the other arm, Doing the same pattern. Down into your fingertips and back up. When you're ready, Come back to the center of your chest. Rolling down through the ribcage, Torso, Back. Scanning through your entire torso in a 360 degree scan. As you inhale and fill that space with air, And exhale and feel the air exiting. Rolling down into the lower abdomen. Roll down into the pelvis. Notice the pressure against the sit bones. Then we're gonna roll down through hip flexors, Through into our upper thighs. Scanning our attention through the front, Back and sides. Rolling down through our legs, Our knees. Through shins and calves. Bring your attention into the heels and ankles. Feel any pressure, Pulsing, Any sensations in these areas. And notice as sensations change when you roll into the top of the foot, The footprint. Rolling down into each toe. Next we'll bring our attention back into our breath. Notice the whole back of the body. Notice the whole front of the body. Notice the whole body. If you haven't already, Bring your attention back to your breath. See if you could bring a smile across your face as you bring your attention deeper into the breath, Labeling your thoughts as thinking and redirecting attention for the remainder of our practice. If it resonates with you, You could repeat the following affirmation three times. I am me and that is enough. And I hope you have a marvelous day. The love and light in me honors and recognizes the love and light in each of you. Namaste.