Body Scan

A 45-minute body scan in the style of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

Transcript

Welcome to the Bodyscan practice.

Think of this time as an opportunity to be with yourself fully,

To give yourself space to experience the truth of how you are in each moment.

During this time there is nothing else to do but to rest in the felt sense of your body,

However it is,

And to acknowledge whatever thoughts or emotions make themselves known.

This practice is often done in a lying down posture,

Lying on your back,

On a mat or blanket,

Or on your bed,

But you can do it in a variety of postures,

Including sitting down or even standing,

If lying down doesn't work for you.

And now just taking a few moments to arrive in whatever posture you've chosen.

If lying down,

Just noticing the places where your body makes contact,

And being aware of any sensations in your body that are making themselves known,

And also any thoughts or emotions that might be present,

Just noticing what's here.

You don't need to get rid of anything,

Just noticing how things are.

And now we'll shift the focus to some mindful breathing,

Just being aware of the breath in the abdomen as it comes and goes,

Feeling the belly rising on an in-breath and feeling it descending on an out-breath.

Breathing in with awareness,

And breathing out with awareness.

There's no need to control the breath or count it.

Or analyze it in any way.

Just the simple knowing awareness of the breath coming in and going out.

And in the quiet,

The stillness,

You may notice the mind wandering from the breath,

And this isn't a problem at all.

Simply acknowledge whenever you've found that the mind has wandered from the breath,

And then coming back to the breath again and again.

Even if you lose the breath a hundred times in five minutes,

Simply come back a hundred times.

And now let's shift the focus to the body scan meditation.

We'll move the attention through the body part by part,

And as we do that,

Just being aware of what's being felt in each part of the body.

This may include feelings of numbness or blankness or no sensation,

And that's perfectly okay.

And as we anchor our attention in each part of the body,

We also want to acknowledge whatever else is arising in the field of awareness,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Acknowledging whatever is being felt,

Whatever is being experienced,

And letting it be.

So now direct your attention to your left foot,

And a good way of starting this is to feel the place where your left foot makes contact with the surface that it's resting on,

And just being aware of whatever can be felt at this spot where the foot makes contact.

Maybe there's a feeling of pressure,

Pulsing,

Heat,

Or perhaps no sensation.

So just acknowledging whatever your experience is as you sense the place where your left foot makes contact.

And shifting your attention into the toes of your left foot,

Sensing the large toe,

Noticing whatever you can feel in the large toe,

Sensing into the small toe of the left foot,

And the toes in between,

Just being aware of all the toes of the left foot,

Noticing whatever can be felt or not felt.

And bringing your attention into the bottom of the left foot,

Sensing into the ball,

The arch,

And the heel of the left foot,

Just opening to whatever can be felt in this part of the foot.

And sensing into the top of the left foot,

Feeling into the bones and the tendons and muscles,

Perhaps noticing the difference in sensation between this part of the foot and the bottom of the foot,

Letting yourself be curious,

And sensing into the Achilles tendon and the left ankle,

Sensing into the bone,

The joint of the left ankle,

And just experiencing your entire left foot,

Toes,

And ankle,

Being with things as they are,

And seeing if you can let go of the tendency to want things to be a certain way,

And just allowing things to be as they are.

And we'll bring the attention up the left leg into the lower left leg,

Sensing into the calf muscle and the shin bone,

Not just sensing them on the surface,

But sensing inside them,

Noticing whatever can be felt in the lower left leg,

The calf,

The shin,

And bringing your attention into the left knee,

Sensing into the kneecap,

The sides of the knee,

And back of the knee,

And sensing inside the knee joint itself,

Experiencing your left knee,

Exactly as it is.

Maybe there's a sensation of tingling or vibration.

Maybe there's no sensation,

Just being present and aware of whatever you are actually experiencing.

And bringing your awareness into the upper left leg,

Sensing into the large muscles and bones of the upper left leg,

The inner thigh,

The outer thigh,

The large bones of the upper left leg,

Including the connection with the left hip,

Just experiencing whatever is being felt in the upper left leg and hip,

Being with things as they are.

And acknowledging whatever else is arising in the field of awareness,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Sounds,

Acknowledging whatever is being known and letting it be,

Sensing into the upper left leg and hip,

And bringing the attention down the leg into the left knee,

Into the lower left leg,

The calf,

The shin,

And into the left foot,

The ankle,

The toes.

And we'll gently shift the focus into the right foot,

Again pinpointing that place of contact where the foot is being supported.

And just noticing whatever can be felt at this spot.

Maybe noticing any differences between the right foot and the left at this spot.

You don't need to think about that,

Just noticing,

Being curious,

And sensing into the toes of the right foot,

Sensing into the large toe,

And the small toe,

And the toes in between,

Just being aware of whatever is being felt in the toes of the right foot.

And bringing your attention into the bottom of the right foot,

Sensing the ball of the foot,

The arch,

The heel,

Just opening to whatever is being felt in the bottom of the right foot.

And bringing your awareness into the top of the right foot,

Sensing into the bones and the tendons,

The muscles of the top of the right foot,

Moving through these parts of the body that we often take for granted.

We don't even notice them most of the time unless we're having a problem with them.

And sensing into the Achilles tendon and the right ankle.

Just being aware of the right foot,

Toes,

And ankle.

And bringing your attention into the lower right leg,

Sensing the calf muscle and the shin bone,

Noticing whatever is being felt in the lower right leg,

The calf,

The shin,

Just opening to the way things are.

And we'll shift the focus now to the right knee,

Sensing into the knee cap,

The sides of the knee,

The back of the knee,

And inside the knee joint itself.

Just being with your right knee exactly as it is,

However it's showing up in this moment.

And bringing your attention into the upper right leg,

Sensing into the large muscles and bones of the upper right leg,

The thigh muscles,

The inner,

The outer thigh,

The large bones in the upper right leg,

Including the connection with the hip.

Just noticing whatever is being felt in the upper right leg and hip.

Letting yourself be curious about what's being known in this moment.

And we'll shift the attention now and begin to sense into the area of the pelvis,

The pelvic girdle,

Including the bones of the hips and the pelvis.

Sensing into the home of our reproductive system,

Sensing into the genitals and the buttocks and the anal region.

Just noticing whatever is being felt in the pelvic girdle.

And we'll bring the attention into the abdominal area,

The belly,

The home of our digestive system,

Sensing into the intestines,

Up around into the stomach and the diaphragm.

Being aware of the entire abdominal cavity.

Just noticing whatever is being felt in this part of the body.

And many people experience tightness or tension in this part of the body or emotions.

So just acknowledging whatever is true for you as you sense into the abdomen,

The belly.

Feeling with things as they are.

And now we'll shift the focus to the back of the body and beginning by sensing into the lower back and spine.

The hinge of the body.

For many people,

This is also an area of some tightness or tension,

Achiness.

So just acknowledging whatever is true for you as you sense into the lower back and spine.

Noticing whatever is being felt.

Letting things be.

Bringing the attention into the middle back and spine.

Noticing whatever is being felt here.

And sensing into the upper back and spine.

And noticing whatever is being felt in this region of the body.

Being aware of the entire length of the back and spine.

And we'll shift the focus and come back to the front of the body as we sense into the chest.

Sensing into the bones of the chest,

The sternum,

The rib cage.

Whatever is being felt in the chest.

Also acknowledging whatever is true for you as you become aware of your chest,

Exactly as it is.

Being with things as they are.

And now we'll gently shift the awareness to the left hand.

Sensing the place where the left hand makes contact.

Sensing the thumb and the pinky and the fingers in between.

Sensing the back of the hand,

The palm of the hand,

And the wrist.

Just being aware of the left hand,

Fingers and wrist.

And sensing into the left forearm and including the connection with the left elbow.

Noticing whatever is being felt in the left forearm and elbow.

Once again,

Another part of the body that we often take for granted,

Unless it's giving us a problem.

Just being aware of what's being known.

And sensing into the upper left arm,

Including the connection with the shoulder above and the armpit below.

Just noticing whatever is being felt in the upper left arm,

Shoulder and armpit.

Letting things be as they are.

Sensing into the upper left arm,

Shoulder and armpit,

Sensing down into the elbow,

The forearm,

The left hand,

Wrist,

Fingers.

And we'll shift the focus to the right hand.

Again,

Pinpointing that place of contact.

And sensing the thumb,

The pinky,

The fingers in between,

The back of the hand,

The palm of the hand,

And the connection with the wrist.

Just being aware of the right hand,

Fingers and wrist.

Noticing whatever is being felt.

And sensing into the right forearm,

Including the connection with the elbow.

Just being aware of the right forearm and elbow.

Sensing into the upper right arm,

Including the connection with the shoulder above and the armpit below.

And just opening to whatever is being felt in the upper right arm,

Shoulder and armpit.

And bringing your attention along the tops of the shoulders,

Spanning the distance between the right shoulder and the left shoulder,

Sensing into the collarbones,

The back of the neck and the throat.

Feeling the connection of the neck with the shoulders and how it supports the head.

And we'll bring the attention into the jaw,

Sensing into the hinges of the jaw,

Down to the chin,

Sensing into the inside of the mouth,

The roof of the mouth,

The sides of the mouth,

The back of the mouth,

Sensing into the tongue,

Sensing into the teeth and the gums.

Being aware of the lips and the cheeks.

Sensing into the nose and the sinus passages that go deep inside the head.

Sensing into the eyes and the muscles around the eyes.

Sensing into the eyebrows and the space between the eyebrows.

Sensing into the forehead.

Just being aware of your entire face.

Perhaps noticing if your face is in some sort of expression.

You can soften that if you like or not.

Just noticing how the face is.

And sensing into the skull,

The top of the skull,

The scalp,

The back of the skull.

Sensing into the sides of the skull,

The temples,

And into the ears that hear these words.

And sensing inside the skull,

Into the brain.

Sensing the entire head,

The connection of the head to the neck,

The neck to the shoulders,

Shoulders to the arms,

To the torso,

The back,

The chest,

The waist,

Down each of the legs as we expand the field of awareness to include the whole body organism.

Sensing your whole body from the top of your head to the bottoms of your feet.

Sensing the breath energy throughout your whole body.

Awake,

Alive,

Complete in itself.

Just being with your whole body.

And now taking a moment to congratulate yourself for giving yourself the space to feel what you are feeling and to be with things as they are.

What a special opportunity.

And realizing that at any time in your life you can remember to tune into the body and mind and land in the present moment as you did during this body scan practice.

May you be at peace.

May all beings be at peace.

May all beings be at peace.

Reviews

I keep returning to this full body scan!

First body scan of my life. Accepting all that it was. Found out about it in Full Catastrophe MBSR.

I am a big fan of body scans and am always searching for a good one and I think I just found my new favorite. Thank you for you effort in making this track.

Very relaxed needs quiet relaxing music in the background.

By far the best meditation practice. Also it stretches for 45 straight minutes which is good :)

This was perfect 👌🏾! Thank you very much 🙏🏾 !

Thank you so much this was the best body scan I’ve done so far. I enjoyed the slow and meaningful scan. Thank you so much

love it. nice voice and just enough silence between the words.

Gratefulness filled my heart Thank you so much

Very nice! Simple, basic, and thorough. I liked the calm voice and pace. Thank you.

Excellently thorough. I felt how my body felt though. It was cool to hear my body. Thank you.

One of the most complete body scans. Well done. Did not fell rushed. Good voice. And pace

Very nice thank you

So great. I've listened to it many times.

Very good. Perfect pace with friendly 'feel' to the publisher's voice. Thank you. 🌞

Thank you. I am a teacher and am learning to take care of myself better so I can take care of the little ones better. After this medidation, for the first time in 8 weeks, my body is happy, my breath is calm, my brain is focused. I can lie down without the feeling of "I have to be doing something" because now it is "when I am ready, I will do it. But not a moment before." So again, thank you.

I felt my whole body connecting as each part was brought to my focus. The end was a deep sensation of wholeness and satisfying awareness. Thank you for the joyful experience.

Made nice and relaxed :)

Well paced. Nice, even voice.

Excellent balance of guidance and periods of silence. Thank you.