Mindfulness Classics: Body Scan

The body scan is a classic and fundamental mindfulness practice; it systematically trains our attentional flexibility, where we learn to focus and rest our attention on one area of the body, and then learn to let go and move our attention to the next part. The default posture is lying down flat on the back, but you may also wish to try the sitting posture with the body scan.

Transcript

Let's begin by lying down flat on the back for the body scan practice.

Looking in on your posture,

Ensuring that your arms are resting by the sides of the body.

Palms facing up,

Allowing the feet to fall away from each other.

Closing the eyes completely,

Or if you'd like to stay more wakeful,

Keeping the eyes softly open and gazing at the ceiling above you.

Becoming aware of the entire body in this lying down posture.

Noticing the back of the body.

The sides of the body.

And the front of the body.

Attending to the body in this stillness,

Breathing in and breathing out.

When you're ready,

Taking a deep breath in.

And as you exhale,

Gently guide your attention to the belly area.

Pausing here at the belly area for a few moments to follow the movements of the breath.

Rising as you breathe in.

Falling as you breathe out.

You may wish to place your palms on the belly to feel the movements of the breath.

And now returning your hands back to the sides of the body.

Gently releasing your attention from the belly,

Guiding it down the left hip,

Down the left leg,

And all the way down to the left foot.

Resting your attention on the big toe of the left foot.

Pausing the rest of the toes,

The spaces between the toes.

Moving your attention to the top of the left foot,

The sides of the left foot,

And the bottom of the left foot,

Paying attention to the ball of the foot,

The arch,

And the heel.

Widening your attention to the entire left foot and paying attention to any physical sensations present in the left foot.

When you're ready,

Gently letting go of your attention from the left foot and shifting your attention to the left ankle.

Moving your attention to the lower left leg,

Becoming aware of the shin,

Becoming aware of the calf,

The skin and muscles at the calf.

Gently directing your attention now to the left knee,

Paying attention to the kneecap,

The sides of the knee,

And the back of the knee.

Guiding your attention up the left thigh,

One part at a time,

Exploring skin,

Muscles,

And bone.

Become aware of the inner thigh and the outer thigh.

When you're ready,

Expanding your attention now to include the entire left leg.

Taking a few moments to notice any physical sensations present in the entire left leg.

There is no need to imagine any sensations or make anything happen.

Gently notice the left leg just the way it is.

And now gently releasing your attention from the left leg.

Moving your attention from the left hip across to the right hip.

Moving down the right leg and all the way down to the right foot.

Resting your attention on the big toe of the right foot.

Noticing the rest of the toes on the right foot.

The spaces between the toes.

Moving your attention to the top of the foot,

The sides of the foot,

And the bottom of the right foot.

Tracing the sole from the ball to the arch to the heel.

Moving your attention now to hold the entire right foot in awareness.

Resting with the presence of any physical sensations in the entire right foot.

When you're ready,

Allowing your attention to circle the right ankle.

Gently moving your attention up to the lower right leg and becoming aware of the right shin.

Shifting your attention to the right calf.

Paying attention to the skin and muscles at the right calf.

Directing your attention now to the right knee.

Paying attention to the kneecap.

The sides of the knee.

The back of the knee.

Guiding your attention up to the right thigh.

And one part at a time,

Exploring the skin,

Muscles,

And bone of the right thigh.

Moving to the inner thigh and the outer thigh.

Widening your awareness now to the entire right leg.

And one moment at a time,

Paying attention to any physical sensations present in the right leg.

From moment to moment,

Attending to the right leg just the way it is,

Without the need to change anything in this experience.

And now when you're ready,

Letting go of your attention from the right leg and becoming aware of the hips.

Paying attention to the pelvis area and the bum area.

Directing your attention to the tailbone at the base of the spine.

Gently and slowly allowing your attention to travel up the spine to meet the lower back area.

Becoming aware of the muscles at the lower back area.

Moving your attention up to the middle back area.

Paying attention to the muscles here.

Having a sense of the waist.

Moving your attention up the spine to the upper back area.

Noticing the muscles and the shoulder blades.

And then widening your attention to the entire back area.

Becoming aware of the length and width of the entire back.

When you're ready,

Gently shifting your attention to the front of the body.

Standing at the abdomen area.

Pausing at the belly.

And once again attending to the movements of the breath at the belly.

Becoming aware of the organs encased in the belly area.

Gently moving your attention up to the ribcage area.

And resting your attention here for a few moments.

And then shifting your attention to the upper chest area.

Paying attention to the movements of the breath at the chest.

Becoming aware of the lungs and maybe even the heart.

When you're ready,

Guiding your attention past the shoulders.

Moving down both the arms.

And meeting the hands.

Becoming aware of the ten fingers.

The spaces between the fingers.

Shifting your attention to the back of the hands.

Using physical sensations at the palms.

Directing your attention to the wrists.

Allowing your attention to travel up the lower arms.

And meeting the elbows.

Bringing your attention up the upper arms one part at a time.

Becoming aware of the underarms.

And then resting your attention at the shoulders.

Moving your attention now to the neck area.

Starting at the back of the neck.

And shifting to the throat area.

Becoming aware of the inside of the throat.

Shifting your attention now to the chin.

Gently tracing your attention up the jaw line.

And becoming aware of the cheeks.

Noticing the cheekbones.

Shifting your attention to the mouth area.

Taking attention to the lips.

The inside of the mouth.

Noticing the tongue.

The teeth.

The gums.

Moving your attention now to the nose area.

Becoming aware of the sides of the nose.

The nose bridge.

The tip of the nose.

Moving the sensations of breathing as the air flows in and out through the nostrils.

Moving your attention to the eyes.

Becoming aware of the muscles around the eyes.

The eyelids.

And the eyeballs.

Directing your attention to the eyebrows.

Having any tension at the space between the eyebrows.

Becoming aware of the forehead.

And sliding your attention across to meet the temples.

Bringing awareness to the ears.

And becoming aware of the sides of the head.

Shifting your attention to the back of the head.

And finally,

Moving your attention to the top of the head.

When you're ready,

Expanding your attention to once again become aware of the entire body in this lying down posture.

Resting in this stillness for a few moments.

Attending to the body,

Breathing in and breathing out.

Following the movements and sensations of the breath.

As this practice comes to an end,

Allowing the sound of the bell to let you know when to open or widen your eyes.

Take a few deep breaths if needed.

And taking time to transition out of your posture.

Reviews

Simple and direct; just the way I like it. Thank you.

Thank you. I like that this body scan is different from many others.

Thank you Erin for this enlightening, relaxing yet energizing guided journey through the body.