MBSR Body Scan Meditation

This is a full body scan meditation which allows one to connect to the body and bring awareness to the body. Soothing, calming, and relaxing tones gently guide the listener in a simple meditation to cultivate peace, calm, and inner balance. This full body scan allows you to tap into the inner resources of breath and awareness throughout the day and may also be used with the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course.

Transcript

Welcome to this body scan meditation.

Finding a comfortable position,

Seated,

Lying down,

Standing,

Or even walking.

Listening to the body,

Finding comfort,

Perhaps using blankets,

Bolsters,

Supports,

Or even elevating the feet.

If seated or laying down,

Aligning the head,

Neck,

And shoulders vertically so that the breath flows most easily.

Letting the posture reflect the intention to be present in this moment.

If the need arises,

It's okay to mindfully shift the position as needed.

Gently placing the hands on the lap.

If laying on the back,

Perhaps placing the hands comfortably at the sides.

Gently closing the eyes,

If that feels comfortable,

Or keeping the eyes open and gazing softly at the floor three feet in front.

Starting to become aware of the body,

Breathing,

And simply following the breath.

Bringing curiosity to being in this body with whatever is present,

Right here,

Right now.

If at any time it becomes necessary to take a break from the body scan,

Listening to your inner guidance and doing so.

Becoming aware of the breath,

Wherever it's most prominent.

It may be the tips of the nostrils,

The rising and falling of the chest,

Or the expanding and contracting of the abdomen.

Noticing the breath moving into the body and moving out of the body.

Placing one hand on the heart and the other on the belly.

Noticing with curiosity and interest the movement of the breath moving in and out of the body.

If the breath is not accessible or not a neutral,

Safe anchor,

Then choosing a different anchor.

Perhaps a sensation in the body,

The soles of the feet,

The hand,

Places where the body is in contact with the supporting surfaces.

If using the breath,

Simply noticing the breath moving in and out of the body.

If at any time the mind wanders into thought and thinking,

Which it's likely to do,

Gently and firmly bringing the attention back to the meditation.

Back to the part of the body and back to the sound of my voice.

Knowing that this is not an error of the practice,

But actually part of the practice.

Gently,

Firmly,

Practicing bringing the attention back to this body scan meditation.

Sensing into the body,

Becoming aware of and noticing sensations.

The sensation of clothes touching the skin,

Warmth or coolness,

The movement of air,

And the pressure of the body on the surfaces beneath it.

Practicing being with the body,

Perhaps accepting it as it is in this moment,

Right here,

Right now,

Without needing anything to be different or a certain way.

Beginning to move through the body part by part,

Bringing awareness to the specific body parts and when the mind wanders,

Gently and kindly bringing it back to sensing into that particular body part.

Guiding the awareness to the feet,

Sensing into the toes of both feet and noticing what is here.

Noticing sensations or perhaps there's awareness of no sensations,

Of not feeling the toes and knowing that that is part of the practice as well.

Perhaps wiggling the toes to sense into this area,

Guiding the awareness to the top of the feet,

Up to the ankles and around the ankles.

Perhaps rotating the ankles to the left and then to the right.

Bringing the attention down to the heels and to the entire soles of the feet.

Noticing both of the feet,

From the toes,

The tops,

The ankles,

Heels and soles.

Resting the awareness on the feet and ankles.

Noticing sensations.

Perhaps noticing pleasant,

Unpleasant,

Warmth,

Coolness,

The feeling of socks on the feet.

Perhaps pressing the feet against the floor and noticing the sensation on the soles or whatever part of the foot might be in contact with the floor.

Shifting the awareness up the legs to the shins,

The area between the ankles and the knees,

Including the knees and guiding the attention around the knees.

Becoming aware of what is being felt,

What is being noticed and noticing in the shins and the knees.

And if the mind has wandered,

Simply returning the awareness to the sensations in the shins and the knees.

Now allowing the awareness to move up beyond the knees to the upper legs,

The area between the knees and the hips and sensing into this area.

Noticing sensations and simply being with what is noticed.

Perhaps the sensation of clothes touching the upper leg,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Air.

Bringing the awareness up to the hips and around to the backside,

The buttocks and down the back and sides of the upper legs,

The knees,

Behind the knees,

The calves,

Including the ankles and the feet.

Resting the awareness on the entirety of the legs,

All the way down to the feet.

Bringing the awareness up to the hips,

The pelvic bowl,

The buttocks and bringing the attention to the lower belly.

These are all areas where a lot of emotions might be experienced.

So being aware that sometimes there are thoughts,

Emotions or stories that may show up.

And if they do,

Simply acknowledging their presence and then guiding the awareness back to the sensations of the body without needing to dive into any stories.

Simply feeling into what is present right here,

Right now.

If seated,

Perhaps noticing the pressure of sitting and becoming curious and aware of what body parts are touching the chair or the cushion.

If laying down,

Noticing the parts of the body that are touching the mat.

And sensing into the lower belly,

Moving up to the middle belly and the upper belly.

Noticing the movement of the breath.

Noticing sensations and the feeling of clothes touching this area.

Feeling into the inner sensations as well.

Guiding the awareness through the body,

Part by part.

Noticing the sensations present.

Pleasant,

Unpleasant,

Neutral,

Warmth,

Coolness.

Perhaps noticing unpleasant sensations like pain.

And knowing that when encountering pain,

Perhaps it's possible to meet the sensation with a little curiosity.

Perhaps only glancing at it.

Touching in briefly and then turning away and shifting the attention to an anchor of choice that feels safe or neutral.

Like the soles of the feet.

The sensations of the feet touching the floor.

Or the breath.

Or perhaps placing the hand on the heart and feeling into that.

If the eyes are open,

Perhaps gazing at an image that brings comfort.

Noticing the sensations of the upper belly and then moving up to the chest area and the heart center.

And resting the awareness here and just breathing in and out.

Now bringing the awareness to the entire torso area and guiding the attention to the sides and the back of the body.

The upper back,

The middle back,

The lower back,

And all the way down to the tailbone.

Sensing into these areas gently.

Knowing that here too there may be unpleasant sensations of tension or discomfort.

And there may be the possibility of letting go of any tension.

Releasing or simply a willingness to release the tension without the need to relax.

But more of a gentle letting go.

If this is unavailable then simply acknowledging its presence and shifting the attention to an area where there is no discomfort.

Moving or shifting the position if needed at any time to stay within comfort.

Resting the attention on the entire back.

Noticing sensations of warmth,

Coolness,

Clothes against the skin,

Contact with supporting surfaces.

Bringing the awareness to the upper back and the shoulders,

The shoulder blades.

Once again,

Visiting with the possibility of softening the shoulders.

Releasing tension.

Inviting in a letting go of any tension.

Or simply bringing in awareness to what is currently present.

Guiding the light of awareness to the upper arms.

Bringing in the sense of touch and perhaps crossing the left arm and placing it on the right shoulder.

And crossing the right arm and placing it on the left shoulder.

In a light embrace while touching the upper arms.

Using some gentle touch and gliding the hands over the upper arms.

Noticing and feeling into the sensation of touch.

The arms being touched by the hands and the hands touching the arms and perhaps any fabric covering the arms.

Noticing this movement.

Noticing the sensations and noticing any response to both of these.

Gliding the hand down and bringing the awareness to the elbows.

And down to the lower arms.

This area between the elbows and the wrists.

Feeling into what is present.

The feeling of the clothing,

The air.

Pleasant,

Unpleasant and neutral sensations.

Returning the hands to a resting position.

Perhaps on the body or next to the body.

And guiding our attention to the wrists.

And feeling into the wrists.

Perhaps gently rotating them.

Now moving on to the hands,

The palms,

The fingers,

The backs of the hand.

Once again noticing the sensations that are present.

Sensing the air on the hands.

Coolness,

Warmth,

Tingling.

Gently guiding the light of awareness to include the hands,

Wrists,

Lower arms,

Elbows,

Upper arms and shoulders.

Sensing into what is here.

Noticing,

Acknowledging and letting things be.

Tuning in further to the sensations in the shoulders.

And letting the awareness move up to the neck,

The lips.

Sensing into the mouth.

The roof of the mouth.

The insides of the lips,

Tongue,

Teeth,

Inner cheeks.

Exploring this inside area of the mouth with the tongue.

And noticing the different textures.

And moving to the outside of the mouth.

The outer lips.

The outsides of the cheeks.

The nose.

Expanding the awareness out and up.

Out to the ears.

Up to the eyes.

The eyebrows.

The forehead and the temples.

Once again perhaps allowing or letting go of any tension.

And perhaps engaging in some gentle touch.

Gliding the fingers across the brows.

Forehead,

Temples.

And gently tracing the jawline with wonder and curiosity at what is being felt.

Becoming aware of the top of the head.

The back of the head.

Tuning into where the skull meets the spine.

And now becoming aware of this entire area.

The entire head and face.

Now scanning the entire body from the top of the head.

Slowly sensing into the forehead,

Eyebrows,

Temples,

Ears,

Cheeks,

Nose,

Mouth,

Chin.

Taking in the back of the head and down around the throat.

Down to the shoulders,

The arms,

Hands and fingers.

Sensing into the chest,

The belly,

The entire front of the torso.

And then the back.

All the way down the spine to the tailbone.

Sensing into the hips and the entire pelvic area.

Guiding our attention to the legs.

The upper legs.

The knees.

The lower legs.

The feet and toes.

The entire body.

Functioning as one.

Sitting with this awareness of the entire body.

From head to toe.

Bringing the awareness to the breath.

To the body.

And simply resting the attention here.

In this moment without needing to change anything.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Bringing this body scan meditation to a close.

Gently opening the eyes.

Beginning to move the body.

Perhaps a gentle stretch.

And coming back to the rest of your day.