Body Scan 15-Min (The Mindful Christian)

This MBSR-based Body Scan practice incorporates Scripture and an awareness of God's presence, guiding the practitioner in observing physical sensations as a way of connecting with the body as a divine gift.

Transcript

Welcome to this 15 minute body scan.

You'll be invited in this practice to pay attention to physical sensations as much as is comfortable for you.

As a way of getting in touch with this wonderful creation of gods that is your body.

You can lay down on a firm surface with your back straight,

Hands at your sides,

And toes falling away from one another.

If you tend to experience lower back discomfort,

You might put a rolled blanket under your knees or bend your knees and lean them against one another with feet apart and flat on the floor.

It's always fine to choose another position that's most supportive of your practice such as sitting or standing.

You might also want a blanket on hand in case your body temperature drops while meditating.

You'll be guided through each part of the body in turn,

Noticing sensations and you have choice throughout regarding where to put your attention.

See if you can be gentle and friendly towards whatever is there for you in each moment,

Whether or not you find it pleasant.

The goal of the practice is not to achieve any particular experience,

But simply to be with whatever is here,

To notice and observe things just as they are in this moment.

So as you settle into whatever position you have chosen,

You might close your eyes or keep them halfway open with a soft gaze and then take a couple of slow,

Deep breaths here before allowing your breath to return to its normal rhythm.

Bringing attention now,

If you choose,

To the physical sensations of breath entering and leaving your body.

Centering your awareness on the sensations of breathing in and breathing out,

Noticing that there is nothing you need to do for the breath to happen.

It's simply provided without any conscious effort on your part.

And as you settle,

Receiving these words from the beginning of creation recorded in Genesis 1,

God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good.

Taking a moment here to rest in this body made by God and proclaimed good.

Noticing any urges to judge or change what you find here,

Seeing if it's possible to instead accept what you find with gentleness and kindness toward yourself as you rest here in God's presence.

And so aware of the sensations of breath in the body and beginning to sense the whole body as it's lying here,

You can sense the length all the way from the head down to the feet,

The back of the body,

The front of the body,

The sides of the body.

Notice where the body is bearing weight,

Perhaps noticing at the heels,

The buttocks,

The back,

The head.

Where is the body lighter?

Where is it heavier?

Simply observing your body as you find it to be right now.

And then if you choose,

Moving your attention from your lungs down through the abdomen,

Through the pelvis,

Through the legs,

And down into the feet,

Directly exploring sensations here in both feet,

Both inside and outside.

Seeing if it's possible to have a direct observation of experience outside the filter of labels,

Thoughts,

And judgments,

Simply being present to your feet as they are in this moment.

The toes,

The soles of the feet,

The sides of the feet,

The tops of the feet,

And also the ankles.

Aware of sensations of contact with any surfaces here and experiencing sensations down into the bones and joints of the feet and ankles.

Being curious about what you find here,

Perhaps temperature,

Pressure,

Pulsing,

Tingling,

Or perhaps no sensations at all.

Noticing,

Can you feel your big toes,

Your little toes,

The toes in between,

Seeing whether it's possible to feel the toes without wiggling them.

Letting go of the feet now and moving your attention,

If you choose,

Into the lower legs,

The shins and the calves.

Becoming aware of any sensations here of blood flow,

Temperature,

Contact,

Pressure,

Noticing places where the lower legs make contact with clothing,

Air,

Or surfaces.

Aware of muscle,

Bone,

Skin,

And then moving attention from the lower legs to the knees,

The kneecaps,

The sides of the knees,

The backs of the knees.

Noticing whether your knees are bent or straight and how it is you know that they are bent or straight.

Aware of sensations in the knees and noticing whatever is there to be felt without judgment.

Moving attention now from the knees into the upper legs,

If you choose.

The thigh area between the knees and the hip joints.

Noticing contact with surfaces,

Temperature,

Pulsation,

Heaviness,

Or lightness.

Being as precise as you can about your experience of sensation inside and outside.

Tuning into the variety of sensations here.

Watching them coming and going moment to moment.

Noticing any thoughts or feelings that might arise as you notice the thighs in this way.

And remembering that as we go through this body scan to remain active in your choice.

Shifting your attention at any time if it's helpful for your practice.

Just being aware of what you are doing with your mind when you do it.

It's always an option to open your eyes or to shift to another anchor of attention such as sounds or colors or sensations on the bottoms of your feet or even to stop the practice altogether.

You can always come back whenever you're ready.

And so if you choose,

Noticing sensations in the thighs and then expanding that attention to include all of the legs and the feet together.

Perhaps appreciating your feet and legs as they are.

Noticing them as one cohesive whole.

And then if you choose,

Moving your attention into the pelvis and hip region.

Aware of sensations moving from one hip to the other.

Sensations coming and going.

If you choose,

Noticing internal sensations in this region as well as external sensations.

Temperature,

Contact,

And noticing with kindness any thoughts or feelings that might arise as you bring awareness to this area of the body.

Remembering that you have choice as you practice and giving yourself permission to intentionally move your awareness elsewhere if needed.

As much as you're able,

Noticing your experiences in the hip and pelvic region with curious non-judgmental observation.

And then letting go of the pelvis in your awareness as you sink into a deeper awareness of physical sensations in the body.

Nowhere to go,

Nothing else to do except being here.

Now.

If you choose now,

Moving your attention up into the abdomen region.

Noticing sensations in the region of the stomach and the internal organs here.

Aware of the physical sensations in the abdomen associated with the diaphragm moving up and down.

Noticing that there are no thoughts here in the belly.

And directing your attention now to the back.

The lower and upper back.

And perhaps even the ribs moving with the back as you breathe.

This is a region that can sometimes experience strong sensations.

And if that's the case here,

You have options.

You might experience your back just as it is,

Doing your best not to move or shift if that's possible for you.

You might practice breathing into it,

Using the in-breath gently to bring awareness right into the sensation.

And as best you can,

Having a sense of letting go or releasing on the out-breath.

Or you might choose to move in order to relieve the tension.

Moving with intentionality and focus.

And noticing any changes in sensation as a result of the movement.

And so in whatever way you choose to respond to sensations,

Noticing what you are doing as you are doing it.

And bringing your awareness to shifting sensations in the back and in the ribcage as you breathe.

Perhaps feeling the breath move into and penetrate every area of the back.

Expanding now this awareness from the back and the ribcage into the chest region if you choose.

Seeing if it's possible to tune into the beating of your heart.

Or to feel the movement of the breath in the lungs on either side of your heart.

When thoughts arise during this practice,

Gently noticing where the mind is drawn to.

Being curious about thoughts coming and going.

Smiling at them even.

And then gently returning attention to wherever you intended it to be in the moment.

Such distractions are not an interruption of the practice.

They are the practice.

Over and over we return our awareness to the body,

Practicing a gentleness and lightness of attention.

And so now aware of physical sensations in the chest region.

And then moving attention from the chest into the arms.

Both arms.

Beginning with the fingertips.

Aware of the fingers,

The palms of the hands,

The tops of the hands,

And the wrists.

Seeing if it's possible to detect blood flow moving from the hands through the wrists,

Back and forth into the arms.

Aware now of the lower arms,

The elbows,

And the upper arms.

Holding all of the arms in awareness.

And then moving attention into the shoulders,

An area of the body where we often store accumulated tension.

Noticing if there's tightness or stiffness or anything else to be felt here in the shoulders.

Breathing into the shoulders and aware of any movement that might occur in this region with the breath.

Tuning now into sensations in the neck region.

Noticing the air moving through this region of the body,

Through the throat.

Aware of the muscles in the neck,

Connecting with the head and the shoulders.

And moving attention into the face region.

Aware of sensations in the mouth and the jaw,

Both inside and outside of the mouth,

Including the chin and the jaw bones.

Aware of the nose and the sensations of air moving through this region.

Cool air below the nose as air comes in.

And warmth as air leaves the body,

Warmed by the lungs.

Moving attention into the cheeks,

Both lower and upper cheeks.

And now into the eye region.

The eyes,

Eyebrows,

Forehead and then the ears.

Noticing any tension,

Any emotion associated with the face.

Aware now of the back of the head and the top of the head.

Perhaps aware of the weight of the skull in the brain.

Noticing any sensations of air that might be present at the top of the skull.

Feeling the whole head.

And then moving your attention once again to the whole body.

The whole body lying here,

Pronounced good by your loving creator.

Aware of the skin wrapping around your body as one cohesive whole.

Aware of sensations throughout the body.

Moving from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet.

Resting here in God's presence in this moment,

In this experience of the body.

Resting in the stillness that you've cultivated.

And preparing to bring this attentiveness with you as you take a deep breath.

Receiving the goodness of God's creation as you gently open your eyes if they're closed.

Taking in colors and shapes around you if that's available to you.

And taking your time as you broaden your attention to the space around you and prepare to move on to your next activity.

Go in peace.

Reviews

This was so healing and grounding for me. Thank you for your kingdom work! 💝