Scan Your Body

In 15 minutes, you are guided to deliberately bring your focused attention to your body and scan it. The practice will help you to relax, to become aware of the present moment, and to be attentive of the amazing vehicle that is your body.

Transcript

Welcome to this short body scan.

Sit comfortably or lie down on your bed or on the yoga mat.

Allow the body to sink into the chair,

On the mattress or the ground.

And feel fully supported.

Notice any discomfort and shift to make yourself more comfortable.

Close your eyes.

Inhale normally.

And exhale naturally.

We'll continue breathing normally,

Not changing the breath.

Just letting it come as it is and flow naturally.

Now,

Be aware of the sensation of air flowing into your body.

The rise and fall of your belly as the air moves in and back out.

Maybe slightly warmer air exiting the nostrils or mouth on the exhale.

Don't try to breathe in any particular way,

Simply being aware of the process of breathing itself.

Our attention is normally like a bright floodlight encompassing the entire body.

Shift the attention to a very small spotlight that moves very deliberately down the body.

So down the left leg,

All the way down to the left foot,

To the left toes.

So that we're resting our awareness on the toes of the left foot.

Just noticing sensations in the toes of the left foot.

Might be coolness,

Might be tension,

Might be numbness,

Maybe no sensation at all.

Now extend the attention to the rest of the left foot.

The ball of the foot,

The arch,

The heel,

Side step.

Feel the muscles,

Tendons and tissues inside the foot.

Just taking it as it is in this moment.

You may find along the way that your attention drifts and you find yourself thinking of other things.

Other times,

Having memories,

Desires,

Emotions.

And that's okay.

It's completely natural,

Normal.

The moment you notice it,

You bring the tension back again to the place in the body where you were.

That's now the left foot.

Allow the intention to focus upon the left ankle.

And see if you can simply be aware of it as it is,

To the exclusion of the foot below.

Simply be aware of the left ankle.

You may be aware of the sensation of your ankle resting against the mat.

Or you might feel your clothes against your skin.

Now bring the spotlight of your awareness to the calf of the left leg.

Completely keeping your attention there,

As it is.

Resisting nothing.

Aware of the calf in isolation.

Now bring your awareness to the left thigh.

And each time that you notice that your attention is wandered,

And that you have found yourself lost in thoughts,

Return to the left leg once again to see if you can be aware of it in isolation from the rest of your body.

Just the left leg.

Now become aware of the toes of your right foot.

Extend the attention to the rest of the right foot,

The ball,

The arch,

Heel,

Side step,

Muscles and tendons.

Just taking it as it is in this moment.

And move the attention to the right ankle.

Just the right ankle,

Just as it is in this moment.

Just allowing yourself to be aware and to tune in to the right ankle and see what's there.

It might be useful to adopt an attitude of playful curiosity about the body during this body scan.

What will you find here,

Exploring this body?

Now bring your attention to the right lower leg.

The calf.

The shin.

Noticing any sensation that's there.

Coolness or warmth.

Your clothes touching the surface.

Become aware of your knee.

And feel the twist of the right leg outward.

Go to the right thigh.

And every time your mind wanders,

Simply usher it back to the place in the body where you are.

In this case the right thigh.

Patiently.

Calmly.

But firmly.

Bring awareness to the pelvis.

The groin.

The buttocks.

If there is sensation there then it's fine too,

Just as it is.

And as you move your attention to the lower back,

Many people may feel discomfort there.

What you are interested in is what is happening right now in this moment.

And if you label sensation as pain,

Then be more specific.

Be aware of whatever sensation is there.

Bring attention to the front part of the torso.

The abdomen.

The skin of the abdomen and the organs inside.

And be more aware of the breath here,

As the belly rises and folds.

Moving up the torso to the ribcage.

Lungs and heart.

Upper back.

Breathing.

Expansion and contraction of the ribs.

Become aware of your shoulders.

The rocking motion of breathing on the shoulders.

Now bring that narrow spotlight of awareness to the left arm.

Down,

Making a journey down into the fingers of the left hand.

Slowly tracing a line up against,

Through the elbows and shoulders.

Become aware of your left arm as a whole.

Now allow the attention to move across the chest to the right shoulder.

The right arm extending down into the fingers of the right hand.

And tune in to what you feel.

Aware of subtle temperature differences from the palm to the back of the hand.

Bring awareness all the way up to the shoulder.

And experience the right arm as a whole.

Now become aware of the neck with all the muscles and bones and the breath passing through it.

Seeing if in this moment you can be aware of all that's going on there.

Allowing it to just be there.

Because it is.

Now move your attention up into the head,

Your jaw,

Chin,

Teeth,

Lips.

And bring your attention to the sensations in your face,

Your skin,

Your eyes,

Your nose.

And if you feel tension in the face you can either relax it or you can just notice it for what it is.

Now expand that spotlight of your awareness so that it includes the entire body again.

Expanding from the head down,

All the way down the neck,

The back,

Shoulders and arms,

Hips and thighs,

Right down to the tip of your toes.

And while you feel your whole body in this bright,

Floodlight,

Become aware of this amazing vehicle in which you live.

This whole body that is breathing and functioning in this moment.

Which cells are just doing their jobs without you having to interfere.

How the body is thinking and feeling,

Imagining,

Yet still present,

Being here.

And with this feeling of amazement about this body,

This awareness about your body,

You are going to wake it up.

So wiggle your fingers and toes.

You have now greater awareness of all the sensations that are present within your body while you are waking it up.

Maybe shift your body or move it,

You can stretch it.

And whenever you are ready,

But take your time,

You can slowly open your eyes.

It was good,

It was easy,

This is how you can practice a short body scan.

You move the awareness like a spotlight on the sensations in the body.

And now you are aware and you are ready to move back into activity with this expanded awareness.

Thank you and Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you Femke for the relaxing body scan. I was right into following your gentle voice along the left leg and I woke up 30 minutes later. What a great way to restore energy in the second meditation of the day. Pro tip for afternoon meditators. If you have a commitment falling shortly after you start a session like this one Femke created I would set an alarm she takes you deep down to such a relaxed state it is easy to fall asleep. What a wonderful restful journey.

Very calming. Such a great way to start my day! Thank you. Namaste 🙏🏼

Very relaxing and exactly what I needed. Thank you and Namaste 🙏🏼💕

Lovely body scan! Femke, you have such a soothing voice and gentle presence. Thank you! 🙏🏻

Just what I needed to decompress from work stress! Thank you.

Femke has such a calming voice…a great short body scan! Thank you

Thank you. Excellent guidance. Lovely voice. Just what I needed this morning

Thank you for this wonderful yet simple practice🙏

Nice and relaxing. Thank you for the meditation 🧘‍♂️

This was beautiful 🙏🏼 thank you!

Love the prompts! I find it helpful when I'm told where to bring my awareness, it felt like I actually fell asleep sitting up for a few moments there! Thank you for your time

Excellent

As always, wonderful. Very relaxing and great in reducing tension. 🙏

What a beautiful way to start the day thank you so much

A wonderful start to my day. 🙏

Good one, many thanks!

Enjoyed a body scan without music. Very simple and easy to follow. Thank you! 🙏

Really enjoyed and got a lot out of this body scan today. Thank you.