30 Minute Body Scan

I'm happy to invite you to participate with me in this introduction to the Guided Body Scan as part of the MBSR Course. Using this track will allow you to observe your mental state as you explore your body and its sensations.

Transcript

This is a guided body scan as part of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program designed by Dr.

John Kabat-Zinn and here taught by Eva.

By playing this CD regularly,

You are assuming a powerful role in taking responsibility for your health and well-being.

This body scan is designed to help you enter a state of mental and physical relaxation.

By observing the unfolding of sensations and feelings in the body and the associative mental states,

You can start to see this mind-body process in a way that will allow you to come to a place of ease,

Rest,

And peace.

Even though you might become very relaxed during this time,

It is important to stay as alert and awake as possible without falling asleep.

Find a warm,

Quiet,

Safe,

And comfortable space where you will not be disturbed by anyone or the telephone.

Dress in loose and comfortable clothing that does not restrict your waist and your breathing.

See this time as a gift to yourself to rest,

Relax,

And be with yourself in a different way.

A time to allow the mind and body to heal and let go of whatever holding and tension you might carry from your daily life or from trauma of whatever kind.

See if you can relax lying here,

Not trying too hard,

As this will create tension in the body and in the mind.

What you will be doing is allowing your attention to rest in the passing moments experience,

Noticing,

Seeing what's happening in your body and mind just as it is.

Try letting go of the habit of wanting things to be different than they are,

Allowing yourself to be exactly as you are.

Follow the instructions the best you can,

Letting go of judgmental and critical thoughts,

And stay with the instructions to the best of your ability.

While doing the body scan,

We are not looking for anything special to happen.

We simply pay attention to what is happening,

Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant,

Whether we like it or dislike it.

There might be pleasant sensations like warmth or a sense of energy flow or vibrations or lightness or tinglings.

Or there might be unpleasant sensations like heaviness,

Heat,

Burning sensations,

Stinging,

Stabbing,

Chills,

Throbbing,

Tightness,

Tension,

Etc.

,

All coming and going in their own way.

See if you can notice with a kind and gentle awareness the different experiences in the body and mind as they occur.

So now lie down in a comfortable position on a mat,

On the floor,

Or on your bed,

Being aware how it feels to be lying here.

If your lower back is uncomfortable,

Please put your knees up,

Feet a bit apart on the mat,

Resting the knees against each other.

You can change the position of your legs any time during the body scan.

Also check your neck so it is in a comfortable position.

Allow the eyes to gently close and the arms to rest alongside your body,

Palms facing up if that's comfortable,

Allowing the feet to fall away from each other.

Now being aware of the contact of the body to the mat.

Maybe there is a sense of hardness or softness,

Coolness or warmth,

A general sense of comfort or discomfort.

The contact at the heels to the mat,

The calf,

The thighs,

The bum,

Back,

Shoulders,

The back of the head in contact to the pillow or the mat,

The arms and hands,

Letting the body sink a bit deeper into the mat.

Then bringing the attention to the area of the belly and becoming aware of the fact that you are breathing.

Not manipulating the breath,

But just feeling the gentle movement at the abdomen as the air moves in and out of your body.

The abdomen rises a little with the in-breath and falls a little with the out-breath.

As you connect with your body during this practice,

With curiosity and without judging yourself for whatever,

You will be moving into a deeper state of stillness and awareness.

Now shifting the focus of your attention away from the abdomen to your left foot.

How do you perceive your left foot in this moment?

The sole of the foot,

The top of the foot,

The toes,

Being aware of the big toe,

The little toe,

And the toes in between,

Being aware of the heel in contact with the mat,

Paying attention to the whole of your foot,

Just as you find it now.

And there is a possibility that you don't feel much in this foot or in some areas of it,

Or in some areas of the body as I'm guiding you through it.

So whenever you don't feel any sensations,

You can still be aware of that area of your body.

So now moving your attention to your left ankle,

Being aware of the outside of this ankle and the inside of the left ankle,

And then shifting the attention to the lower leg,

Being aware of the calf in contact with the mat,

And the shin,

The shin bone,

And anything else you might feel or be aware of in this left lower leg.

Then shifting the attention to the left knee,

Being aware of the back of the knee,

The knee cap,

Maybe you find sensations inside the left knee,

Then shifting the attention again to the upper leg,

Being aware of the back of this left upper leg in contact with the mat,

Aware of the top of the leg,

The outside of the thigh,

And the inside.

And see if you find any specific sensations in this left thigh.

And then shifting the attention to the left hip,

And now being aware of the whole of the left leg from the hip all the way down into the foot.

And kind of breathing with this left leg and foot in mind.

And then letting go of the left leg and shifting your attention to the right foot,

Being aware of the sole of the right foot,

The top of the foot,

The toes,

The big toe,

The little toe,

The toes in between,

Being aware of the heel in contact with the mat,

And anything you find in this right foot.

And then shifting the attention to the right ankle,

Aware of the inside of the ankle and the outside,

And moving the awareness to the right lower leg,

Aware of the calf in contact with the mat,

Aware of the shin,

The shin bone.

Maybe you find any particular sensations in this right lower leg.

And maybe there are no sensations.

That's fine too.

You can still be aware of the area of this right lower leg.

Shifting the focus to the right knee,

Being aware of the back of the knee,

The kneecap,

And the inside of the right knee,

And then focusing on the right thigh,

The back of the thigh,

The top of the thigh,

The outside,

And the inside,

Again being aware of any particular sensations maybe,

Tinglings,

Some stinging here or there,

Whatever you might find,

Without making any judgments.

And then being aware of the right hip,

And bringing to mind the whole of the right leg from the hip all the way down into the foot,

Breathing with this right leg and foot in mind,

Relaxing.

And then letting go of this right leg and bringing the attention to the pelvis area,

Being aware of the hip bones,

The buttocks,

The pubic bone,

To have a sense of the bony structure of the pelvis,

Paying attention to the bum,

And then being aware of the genitals,

And paying attention to the lower abdomen.

Maybe you can feel how it moves with your breathing,

And then paying attention to the whole of the abdomen,

The belly as it moves with your breath,

Rising a little with your in-breath,

And falling a little with the out-breath.

We could also say inflating a little with the in-breath,

And deflating a little with the out-breath.

And for a moment now paying attention to the whole of the lower torso,

And just gently breathing with whatever you find as you put your awareness into this area,

Softening,

Relaxing.

If there are any tension,

Or if you find any tightness or any discomfort,

Just gently breathing with it.

And now shifting the attention away from the lower torso to the lower back,

Being aware of any sensations in the lower back.

Sensations can be pleasant,

Little tinglings,

Or a sense of warmth maybe.

Sensations in the lower back can of course also be unpleasant.

Can be pain or discomfort,

Stinging,

Sense of stabbing or heat,

Tension.

So just gently breathing with whatever you find.

And then shifting your focus up the spine,

Being aware of the spine all the way from the tailbone up to where it connects with the head.

Being aware of the ribs in the back,

The shoulder blades.

And then kind of scanning your back to see what sensations you find.

Not ignoring any discomfort,

Just being aware of it with kind attention.

And then breathing with the whole of your back in mind.

And now shifting the focus away from the back to the stomach area,

Being aware of the movement at the stomach area and how it feels right now.

Maybe there's a sense of lightness or heaviness.

Breathing with this area in mind.

Softening.

And now becoming aware of the lower rib cage.

Abs moving as you breathe,

The whole of the rib cage expanding a little with the in-breath and contracting a little with the out-breath.

Following that movement for a moment.

And being aware of the whole of the chest area.

Also paying attention to the breasts and to the upper chest.

Gently breathing with whatever you find.

Maybe it is possible to feel the pumping of the heart,

The physical heart,

As it pumps blood through the circulatory system moment by moment.

Maybe you can feel the movement of your lungs as they expand and contract with each breath.

For a moment putting your attention to the middle of the chest.

Gently breathing with this area in mind,

Aware of how you're feeling right now.

And breathing with the whole of the chest in mind.

And then shifting the attention away from the chest to the shoulders.

Being aware of the back of the shoulders,

The top of the shoulders,

The front of the shoulders.

Gently breathing with your shoulders in mind.

Relaxing.

And then shifting the attention to the armpits.

And now being aware of both upper arms,

The outside of the upper arms,

The inside of the upper arms.

Now focusing on the elbows,

Aware of the bony outside of the elbows and the soft inside of the elbows.

And shifting the focus to the forearms and to the wrists.

Maybe you can be aware of the pulse at the wrists.

And then bringing the attention to your hands.

Being aware of the palms of the hands.

Any sensations you might feel,

Warmth,

Tingling,

Coolness,

Whatever.

Being aware of the back of the hands and the fingers.

Focusing on the thumbs,

The pointing fingers,

The middle fingers,

The ring fingers,

And the little fingers.

And now bringing the attention back to the shoulders.

And from there moving the attention down the arms into the hands.

And breathing with both your arms and hands in mind.

And now shifting the focus away from the arms and hands to the neck area.

Being aware of the outside of the neck and the inside of the neck.

Maybe you can feel the gentle movement in the windpipe as your breath moves up and down through the windpipe.

And now shifting the focus to the back of the head.

Being aware of the heaviness maybe,

Or pressure,

Warmth.

And then focusing on the left side of the head.

And being aware of the left ear.

Focusing on the right side of the head.

Being aware of the right ear.

And then bringing your attention to the top of the head.

And becoming aware of the skin of the head.

And the bony structure underneath the skin,

The skull.

And maybe you find sensations inside the head.

Really breathing with whatever you find.

And paying attention now to the forehead.

What do you feel in your forehead right now?

Being aware of tightness maybe.

Paying special attention to the middle of the forehead.

The area between the brows where we tend to frown.

Really breathing with this area in mind.

Breathing with the whole of the forehead in mind.

Then shifting the attention to the temples.

And being aware of the eyes,

The eyeballs,

The eyelids in touch with the eyes.

The whole area around both eyes.

Breathing with your eyes in mind.

Relaxing.

And now paying attention to the nose.

Being aware of the bridge of the nose,

The tip of the nose,

The nostrils.

Maybe noticing the cooler air entering the nostrils and warmer air exiting.

And then paying attention to the cheekbones and the cheek.

Focusing on the joints of the jaws.

Loosening the joints of the jaws.

Being aware of the jaws down to the chin.

And paying attention to the area around the mouth.

Softening.

Being aware of sensations in the lips,

In the lower lip,

In the upper lip.

And see if you can find sensations inside the mouth maybe.

Being aware of the tongue,

The roof of the mouth,

Gums and teeth.

And then gently breathing with the whole of the face in mind.

Softening.

And now bringing the attention to the whole of the face and head.

And then being aware of the whole of the head and body.

Anything you find between the top of the head,

The soles of the feet and the tips of your fingers.

Breathing with the whole of body and head in mind.

And now bringing the focus gently back to the abdomen.

Aware of the movement at the abdomen.

Shifting the focus to the middle of the forehead.

And now to the middle of the chest.

And now opening the attention to sound.

Sounds from your own body maybe,

From your breathing,

Sounds in the room or from the outside of the room.

And allowing yourself to experience a moment of just being.

Open to all that arises in your experience.

Moment by moment,

Present and alert.

Lying in a state of stillness and deep relaxation as you open to the feeling of being whole and complete just as you are.

Know that giving yourself this time to be is not just relaxing,

But healing.

Connecting with yourself free from the constraints of the world.

Free from the past and the future.

From judgments of how you should be.

Maybe there is a sense of gratitude for taking this time to be with yourself.

Aware that this is an act of compassion towards yourself that can heal you in whatever way is needed.

At the sound of the bell,

Slowly come back to the room.

Moving your fingers and toes,

Hands and feet.

Opening the eyes,

Aware of the light entering.

Stretching the body in whatever way it feels good.

And getting up in your own time.

And maybe moving a little slower to your next activity.

Reviews

That was wonderful! A nice soothing voice and good tempo throughout the whole body. I was exhausted beforehand and am now able to finish work. Thank you Eva.

What a calm, gentle and soothing voice! Perfect body scan

Wonderful bodyscan

Beautiful and relaxing. Thank you for this session.

Absolutely beautiful, thank you so much Eva
✨💛✨

Well done! A slightly different take on MBSR body scan than I have done before. I love the focus on feeling the sensation in the different body parts - what a delightful engagement!

great guidance into and out of meditation.