Beginner Series: Body Scan

Your breath shapes your body and your body shapes your mind. In this body scan you will learn how to bring a loving kindness to all parts of your body and increase your awareness on your bodily sensations. Body scans are relaxing, generate a more keen awareness of the body and can help manage pain.

Transcript

Let's move into a body scan meditation.

Checking in with yourself,

Noticing your level of fatigue and choosing either a dignified sitting position or an alert lying position.

Start to settle in relaxing around the eyes resting the tongue on the roof of the mouth to relax the jaw.

Letting your hands relax and fall to your sides or in your lap.

And begin by bringing your attention to that spot where you found it's easiest to follow the breath and begin to feel the air coming in and the air going out.

Sangle of everything you were doing before this and settling into the present moment.

And now let's take that focus of attention and drop it down to our toes.

Noticing any sensations in the right toes and the right foot.

Maybe you notice some tingling sensations or a sense of heat.

And to the best of your ability try not to judge any sensations that you feel.

Rather non-judgingly just note that there's a sensation of tingling or itching.

Seeing how in tune you can become with your right foot.

And begin to make your way into the right ankle.

You may be able to feel some sensations and you may not.

If you cannot feel anything that's okay.

Just know that the ankle is there connecting the foot to the lower right leg.

As you move into the lower right calf and shin.

Noticing the points of contact that that makes with the floor or the chair.

Maybe you notice your clothing on your skin.

And observing the entire shin and the entire calf before moving into the right knee.

Noticing the kneecap and the back of the knee.

Like we said before if you can't feel the knee that's okay.

Just know that it's there connecting your lower leg to your upper right leg as you move into the thigh.

Again noticing the points of contact that your upper right leg makes with the floor or the chair.

Maybe your hands are resting on your thigh and see if you can sense the weight of the hand from the vantage point of the thigh.

Moving into the left foot seeing if you can feel all five toes.

Maybe the spaces between the toes.

Seeing if you're in tune enough to feel the sensation of your sock and the points of contact your foot makes with the floor or your shoe.

Moving into your left ankle noticing any sensations.

Moving into your left lower leg.

Maybe you notice the air on your skin.

Maybe you notice a restlessness.

And if at any time during this meditation your mind wanders into thought or into judging an injury or judging a body part for not being how you want it to be.

Just notice that.

Remind yourself you're exactly who you're supposed to be and how you're supposed to be.

And then gently escort your attention back to the body part in which we're attending to.

Beginning to move into the left knee.

Maybe you notice your pant on your kneecap or the sensation of the air on the skin again.

As you move into the left thigh noticing its point of contact with the floor.

Maybe there's a throbbing sensation.

Just note that.

Moving into the pelvis seeing if you can get in touch with your hip bones.

Maybe you feel the band of your pants around your waist.

Moving to the other side noticing your sit bones and the points of contact that they make with the floor or the chair.

And moving up to the low back.

Maybe letting go of some tension that you may find there.

Noticing if it touches the floor or rises above the floor.

As you move into your mid back between your shoulder blades and the top of your back.

Maybe you notice a temperature shift.

And then going around the other side back to the abdomen wall and your stomach.

Maybe you notice some internal sensations in the stomach and you may think to yourself my meditation would be better if my stomach stopped rumbling.

But this is a judgment.

So just simply lovingly notice the sensation without any judgment.

And continue on to the rising and falling of your chest.

Noticing the air coming in and out.

Seeing if you can get in touch with the heartbeat.

Moving up to the collarbone and the shoulders.

And noting any tension that you feel or discomfort.

And like we've said before if you need to reposition see if you can attend to the sensation and then slowly,

Mindfully make a movement to relieve the discomfort.

Start to focus on your right shoulder and move down into your upper right arm.

Bringing a sense of curiosity and investigating any sensations that you feel.

Maybe you feel your arm touching your side.

As you move into the right elbow and if you can't feel your elbow just knowing that it's there connecting the upper arm to the lower arm.

The forearm.

And then down into the right wrist.

And into the hand.

Seeing if you can feel all five fingers.

Seeing if you can get in touch with the palm of your hand and the back of your hand.

Feeling any restlessness.

And moving over to our left shoulder.

And down into the left upper arm.

Maybe noticing where our clothing ends and our skin begins.

Feeling the left elbow.

Moving into the left forearm.

Feeling the point of contact that it may make with the floor or your lap.

As you move into your left hand noticing the wrist,

The palm,

The back of your hand and each of your five fingers.

And just noticing how you're now aware and in tune with your whole body from the neck down.

Then begin to move into the neck.

Noticing the back of the neck.

Feeling any sensations in the throat.

And then moving into the face.

Seeing if you can bring some extra careful attention to the face as we tend to hold micro tensions in our facial muscles.

And bringing your awareness to the jaw,

The curves of your lips,

The bottom curves of your nostrils,

Beneath your eyes,

The sides of your eyes,

Your eyebrows,

Your forehead,

Your temples,

The back of your head,

Around your ears,

And lastly the crown of your head.

And let's see now if your attention is flexible enough to hold the whole body in its awareness.

Noticing your whole body sitting or lying here in this room.

Seeing if you can put a gentle curve around your lips into a smile.

Knowing in this moment that you are enough.

Taking a moment to thank your body for all that it does for you,

For getting you to this point today,

Allowing you to breathe,

Walk,

Run,

Feel the nature,

Feel the hug of a loved one.

Putting your left hand over your heart,

Your right hand on your stomach.

Feeling your heart and feeling your breath beating rhythmically without you even asking.

And just know that you have everything you need under your two hands.

Begin to wiggle your toes and wiggle your fingers.

Bring your hands together and start to rub them to generate heat.

While still lying or sitting,

Cup them over your eyes and gently return to the room.

And if you are lying,

Take a moment to start to wake up the rest of your body and then slowly sit up.

Reviews

Thanks! I found the guidance very pleasant, and also as mindfulness teacher very inspiring

Gentle and well paced. A relaxed and compassionate body scan. Many thanks 💕🙏

Excellent, well-paced body scan. Good for any level of experience. Very relaxing & soothing voice. Highly recommend!

Really enjoyed this! Could feel pulsating in my body

Amazing! Best body scan, I have tried. She really connects with the listener.

This was a true body scan that didn't focus too heavily on the breath but rather walking you through noticing each part of your body. Wonderful calming voice and pace. I was never jarred or left wondering if the meditation was over or just silent.

Lovely calming voice and enjoyed it even though I was so relaxed I fell asleep!

Thank you, this is a wonderful body scan meditation.

Exactly what I was looking for

Brilliant. Really easy to listen to and enjoy. Thank you

Great for bringing awareness to the body and breath. Kept me in the present moment.

Beautiful. Thankyou

Beautifully guided meditation! Especially helpful before falling asleep. Thanks a lot! 🧡🙏🏼

Very well done🙏!

Absolutely wonderful and so healing. Thank you for reminding us that everything we need is within. Namaste

This was wonderful. Thank you.

Highly effective body scan meditation 🧘‍♀️

great, i loved it