MBSR-Style Body Scan For Beginners

The intention of the MBSR body-scan is to practice waking up from automatic pilot, learning to be intentional about how we pay attention. We'll be directing our awareness and our breath to different parts of the body, noticing when the mind has wandered and gently bringing the mind back. We'll be directly experiencing our physical sensations, checking in with the body, and noticing what it feels like to move on. We are practicing allowing things to be as they are, with curiosity and openness.

Transcript

Welcome to this 15 minute body scan.

Now the body scan can be practiced either sitting up or lying down so if you're at home or in an appropriate setting then I'd invite you to do this practice lying down on the floor or on the bed but if you prefer you can sit down on a cushion or you can sit down on a chair.

Now our mind's default is to to think,

To plan,

To worry,

Daydream,

Ruminate and body scan meditations help us realize just how often that we're stuck in our heads and often with thoughts that aren't particularly useful to us.

So noticing the constant chatter and that running commentary that's in our head is the first step to putting an end to this annoying noise but maybe not putting an end to it but at least we're going to be able to turn down the volume on that chatter a little bit.

So I'd invite you first of all to start by either sitting comfortably with a straight back or lying down on the floor or on the bed with your arms relaxed by your sides and closing the eyes or if you prefer keeping them open with a soft gaze and letting your body begin to relax and knowing that at any time during this meditation it's okay to move.

So comfort is more important than perfect posture or perfect stillness so we want to remain alert if we as best we can but comfort is most important for us over the next few minutes.

Few minutes so let's start off by taking a few deliberate deep breaths so in through the nose and out through the mouth allowing our bodies to become still and we're becoming aware of the breath as it enters the body and when it leaves the body.

So perhaps we can notice the the cool air coming in through the nostrils and as the in-breath comes in the lungs and the chest and the stomach's expanding and maybe we can feel the warm air as it leaves the nostrils and the body relaxing and softening on that out-breath.

Taking one more full breath in and a full breath out and now just allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm and we can notice that we don't actually have to do anything special or we don't have to make any effort to breathe so the body knows exactly what to do so with each out-breath we're just allowing our body to become heavier so sinking deeper into the chair or into the floor and we're breathing in and we're breathing out and sinking deeper breathing in and breathing out.

Now bringing our attention to the top of the head and the scalp and we're going to be feeling whatever's happening in this area so we might feel on the top of our head tingling or pulsing or perhaps heat or cool there might be soft vibrations or there might be strong sensations subtle sensations or maybe we can't feel anything at all so we're just letting our body feel the sensation.

So with this body scan there's no right or wrong everybody's different and we're just noticing whatever's there.

Now we're going to release our attention from the top of the head and we're going to lower our attention towards the face including the forehead and the jaw so the face is somewhere where we often hold a lot of tension and not that we're trying to change anything about the body and change anything about the how the body's feeling but sometimes simply by bringing attention to an area of tension that part of the body will naturally soften and relax so just noticing if we're bringing our awareness to the face to the forehead to the jaw just noticing whether or not that area naturally relaxes or perhaps it doesn't just just noticing.

What sensations can we notice in the face the nose is there anything going on in the lips the eyes maybe the ears the temples back of the head if there are no sensations just noticing that.

And when we're ready we're bringing our attention now to the neck and the shoulders and the area that we often carry tension so what sensations can we feel here is there any tension or strain in the neck and the shoulders and does bringing our attention to this area change the way that it feels so whatever you feel or don't feel is perfectly fine we're just observing we're just noticing.

Bringing our attention now to both arms so the right and the left arm together so we're bringing our awareness down from the shoulders down the upper arm the elbow feeling in and around the elbow into the into the elbow joint feeling into the forearms and the wrists so we're just noticing any sensations that might be there in the arms so is there any maybe coolness maybe heat or tingling can we feel pulsing in the wrists perhaps is there itching or burning or or perhaps there's no sensation.

So moving our awareness down to the hands now so we're feeling into the palms of the hands feeling into the back of the hands the fingers and the thumbs and the space between the fingers so some people the hands are a very sensitive area with lots of sensations but for others not so much so I'm just noticing where we are and who we are and noticing any sensations that might be present here for us.

And when we're ready we're releasing our attention from the hands and bringing our awareness now to the chest so we're noticing the the rising and the falling of the chest as we breathe we're we're seeing if we can feel anything inside the chest so underneath the rib cage so maybe if we pay very close attention we can feel the feel the heart beating perhaps we can feel the lungs expanding and contracting or maybe there's some other movement inside the chest or or maybe there's no sensation so just noticing whatever's there inside the chest and and then inside the rib cage.

And whenever the mind gets distracted whenever we get carried away on a on a train of thought maybe we're thinking about the day we're planning the week ahead we're checking off our to-do lists every time this happens and we get taken away from the sensations of the body and we get taken away from the body scan we just gently and we quietly come back to the body part that we were scanning without giving ourselves a hard time so we exercise patience and we simply pick up where we left off and we keep scanning.

And moving our attention now to the back so feeling into the upper back the middle back the lower back perhaps we're noticing the contact of the floor if we're lying down so just noticing those contact points or maybe if we're sitting in a chair we can we've got some contact with our middle back or our lower back so we're just noticing those areas of contact and what sensations can we feel in and around the back perhaps there's pressure perhaps there's weight perhaps there's pain or perhaps there's discomfort or tingling or or no sensation.

So I'm bringing our attention around now to the stomach area so noticing what's to be felt here in and around the stomach so the surface of the stomach and the insides of the stomach so can we feel any maybe sensations of the breath as the breath enters the body and leaves the body so the stomach rising on the in-breath and falling on the out-breath can we we feel movement inside the stomach maybe some of the digestive organs just feeling into into the stomach feeling around the stomach maybe we can feel the the touch of our touch of fabric against the stomach from our clothes so just noticing whatever's there.

Moving our awareness to the pelvis now so the pelvic area the bottom the hips so noticing whether the body's making contact with the floor or with the chair what sensations are there is there is there pressure or tingling or hardness softness again not trying to change anything we're simply observing what's there.

Now bringing our attention to the legs and the thighs the hamstrings so we're we're bringing awareness to both legs at the same time so let's feeling into the feeling into the knees our in and around the knee inside the knee joint the calves the shins so noticing if there is any sensation to be found there so perhaps the touch of the fabric of our clothes against our legs or maybe there's warmth maybe there's coolness maybe we can feel itching or tingling or again maybe there's no sensation to be felt here so we're just noticing whatever's there for us in this moment.

Moving our attention now to the to the ankles and the feet so feeling into the soles of the feet the top of the feet the toes the the space between the toes again what sensations can be felt here and when you're ready I invite you to expand your attention so that we can now go from a narrow focus so we want to include the whole body in our awareness so so noticing that our attention can have a very narrow focus while we investigate a particular body part or we can have a much wider focus where we can hold the whole of the body in awareness at the same time so bringing now the whole of the body into awareness so feeling everything from the tips of our toes to the tips of our fingers and the top of our head so we're getting a sense of the entire body and all the sensations that are present inside in and around the body right now so we're getting a sense of the whole body right now so just feeling that for a few moments just the sense of the whole body lying here or sitting here the breath entering and the breath leaving just noticing all the sensations in and around the body and as we approach the end of our meditation just taking a couple of more breaths and feeling the body once again connected to the ground or the chair and just noticing how the body is feeling right now is grounded to the floor and does it feel differently in any way perhaps we feel differently to the start of the meditation so we're just noticing and keeping our eyes closed we want to bring our attention now to sounds sounds inside the room sounds inside the room and sounds outside the room maybe sounds that might be coming from inside the body and gently wiggling our fingers and toes and perhaps having a little stretch and when we're ready just slowly opening the eyes in your own time and then congratulating yourself for having taken time out to look after yourself during this meditation so hopefully we're feeling a little bit more centered a little bit more focused perhaps a little bit more relaxed and even if we're feeling a little bit busy and distracted and maybe lots of thoughts running around the mind again we don't need to worry about that we don't want to give ourselves a hard time about that that's perfectly normal and especially at the start of our practice that's often going to be the way that we're going to feel so mindfulness takes practice and the more we practice then the better the results are going to be so have a great day and i'll speak to you guys soon

Reviews

Great voice. Speaks clearly and loud enough to hear every word. Very relaxing. Thank you!

Great! I had good focus from this recording, the teacher had a steady voice, and paced the class at a rate I could follow. Great!

Just enough guidance and just enough space

Relaxing meditation, such a calming voice, just what I needed, thank you 🙏🏼

Thanks Chibs, you have a great approach and manner about you. Your meditations always help me feel deeply relaxed and ready for the day. All the best, Matt.

Thank you! Just perfect for being in the present moment! 🙏

Thanks for helping me relax back to sleep. Soothing.

Very helpful practice, I find your voice very comforting. Thank you 🙏

Clear guidance, easy to follow which made it easy to relax into. Thank you

Thank you for this soothing meditation! I felt myself go deep into quiet. Have a good day!🙏

Excellent.

Very relaxing and grounding.

Lovely and just what I needed to check in with my body.

Wow wonderful 💖 Thank you so much. I feel so calm and relaxed. Your voice is so nice and soft.😊

You do a great job nice tempo and enough space to allow for my own growth.

Such a soothing, and mindful body scan. Thank you!!

Lovely way to begin my day 🙏☺️❤️

Nice and grounding. thank you!

A great way to start the day. Thank you!

Loved it thank you!