If you've struggled with traditional secular mindfulness practices,
You may have had particular difficulty with the body scan.
That's because,
If you have a trauma history,
The body might be complicated for you in all sorts of ways.
This is a trauma-sensitive practice designed to overcome some of those obstacles and make it available for you,
With the understanding that,
Just because something's tricky for us,
It doesn't mean we should avoid it altogether.
Instead,
It's more helpful to problem-solve any difficulties and make this highly effective practice available as part of your repertoire of mindfulness-honing practices.
Start by taking a big stretch,
Moving your body in any way that feels natural and comfortable for you.
Then choose whether to sit or lie down.
The body scan is traditionally done lying down,
But can also involve sitting in a chair or cross-legged on a cushion.
Just find a posture that's comfortable for you.
You can also choose whether to close your eyes or keep them open.
If you find that closing them makes you feel a bit claustrophobic or that you feel a little spacey,
By all means keep your eyes open with a soft,
Unfocused gaze.
There are a number of ways we can modify this practice so it's more comfortable for you,
But in this body scan we'll keep it short and focus on two entirely neutral parts of the body,
Your right hand and left foot.
Starting with your right hand,
Just bring a gentle,
Curious awareness to this part of the body.
Sweep that awareness through your right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
Then move your focus into the back of your hand and gently round the palm of your hand.
Then the whole of your right hand,
Including thumb,
Fingers,
Back and palm of your hand.
What do you notice?
As we focus on a neutral body part like this,
We can notice all sorts of things,
Like warmth,
Coolness,
Itchiness,
Tingling,
A sense of pressure or weight,
Sensations that may be pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
Or you might not notice anything at all,
Which is completely fine.
You can't get this practice right or wrong,
Succeed or fail,
It's all feedback.
If there's no sensation in your hand,
You could try moving it a little,
Maybe gently wiggling your thumb and fingers or making small circles with the whole hand.
What do you notice now?
You could also try gently touching or kneading your right hand with your left,
Or rubbing the hands together gently.
Now what do you notice?
Now let go of paying attention to your right hand,
Then gently move that beam of awareness to focus on your left foot.
Sweeping that awareness through the foot,
Let's start with the sole of the foot,
Where it makes contact with the ground.
Then into the toes,
Starting with your big toe and moving slowly to each toe in turn,
Until you get to the little toe.
Then sweep your awareness over the top of your foot,
Stopping at the ankle.
What do you notice?
There may be heat or coolness,
Tingling,
Twitching,
Fidgeting,
Itchiness,
The sensations of your sock in contact with the foot,
Or there might be no sensation at all,
Which is perfectly okay.
Focus on the whole foot now.
Would you describe the sensations you feel there as pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral?
Just notice that information and any thoughts or feelings that might go with it.
Now you can let go of paying attention to any particular part of the body.
Take a moment to register how that exercise was for you.
Was it easy or hard?
Comfortable or uncomfortable in any way?
Also know that this practice can be expanded slowly,
So you include more and more neutral parts of the body,
Like knees,
Calves,
Elbows and shoulders.
If any part of the body feels a little hot or uncomfortable,
Simply move your attention to a neutral area.
And now if your eyes were closed,
Start to blink them open.
Notice the weight of your body resting on whatever is supporting you,
The sounds coming to you right now.
Bring your attention back to the outside world and continue on with your day.
