Body Scan From MBSR/MBCT

Allow yourself nto fiund a comfortable and quiet area in this 30-minute body scan. This practice comes from the MBSR/ MBCT evidence-based programmes.

Transcript

Allowing yourself to find a comfortable and quiet area for the next 30 minutes of this body scan.

And if lying down,

Finding a comfortable position with your legs uncrossed and arms by your side.

And if sitting in a chair or stool,

Allowing your back to be upright and dignified.

And if it feels comfortable closing your eyes.

And now feeling the pressure of the floor below you or the chair or stool below you.

And when you're ready,

Bringing your attention now to the breath at the belly and abdomen area.

Noticing how the belly rises on the in-breath and returns on the out-breath.

Noticing the in-breath and the out-breath.

And knowing that any time during this body scan you can always come back to this breath as an anchor.

And now when you're ready,

Moving your attention from the belly all the way down along the left leg down to the left toes of the left leg.

Noticing the big toe,

The little toe and the toes in between.

And exploring here with a curiosity any sensation you might notice or feel.

There may be tingling,

Tightness,

Looseness.

There may be no sensation at all and that's fine too.

We're not trying to make ourselves feel a certain way,

We're just noticing what's here already.

Now moving from the toes to the bottom of the left foot,

The ball,

The arch and the heel.

Noticing any sensation of pressure,

Touch,

Even socks or shoes against our skin or perhaps air.

Just exploring any sensation here now in the bottom of the left foot.

And now moving to the top of the left foot.

And bringing a curiosity and an openness to exploring any sensation in this area.

And when you're ready,

Widening the attention now to the whole of the left foot.

And if it feels comfortable playing with the idea of imagining you are breathing in through the top of the foot and out through the bottom of the foot.

And letting go of the left foot now moving to the left ankle,

This bony joint.

Noticing the outside of the ankle,

The inside and all around.

And if you notice your mind has been whisked away,

Thinking,

Planning,

Daydreaming,

That's fine,

That's what minds do.

Just bringing the attention back now to the ankle of the left leg.

Without giving ourselves a hard time and with some kindness,

Knowing that if we have a mind it will wander.

And now letting go of the left ankle and moving up to the shin and the calf.

Exploring any sensation here.

Faces against skin,

Bone,

Muscle,

Tendon.

And bringing the whole of the lower left leg into our awareness now.

And now moving from the lower left leg to the knee,

The kneecap,

The back of the knee and the sides of the knee.

And now when you're ready moving from the left knee to the thigh,

From the back of the thigh.

Perhaps noticing the pressure of the floor or chair below you.

Feeling the outside of the thigh and the inside.

And when you're ready now,

Widening the attention from the top of the thigh all the way down along the leg to the toes and the feet.

And if it feels okay,

Imagining you are breathing in through the bottom of the left foot all the way up along and out through the top of the left thigh.

And when you're ready now,

Letting go of the left leg and moving your attention from the top of the left thigh across the pelvis and down all the way along the right leg to the right toes.

Noticing any sensation here in the big toe,

The middle toes or the little toe of the right foot.

Perhaps even exploring any sensation in between the toes or the nails.

There may be no sensation here at all and that's fine too.

Perhaps noticing whatever is here.

And then moving from the toes to the ball of the foot,

The arch and the whole of the bottom of the right foot.

Perhaps noticing heaviness,

Lightness,

Coolness,

Warmth,

Anything at all in this area.

And then moving from the bottom of the right foot to the top of the right foot.

And now bringing the whole of the right foot into your awareness.

And if it feels comfortable,

Imagining breathing in through the top of the right foot and out through the bottom.

And when you're ready,

Letting go of the right foot and moving to the ankle and exploring this bony joint,

The outside,

The inside,

The front and the back.

And now letting go of the right ankle and moving up along to the calf and the shin of the right leg.

Exploring any sensation here.

And if the mind has wandered away,

Which it surely will,

Just bringing the attention back now to the lower right leg,

The shin and the calf.

Even if the mind wanders a hundred times during this meditation,

Bringing it back a hundred times with kindness for ourselves and no need to give ourselves a hard time.

With mindfulness,

We can start again and again with this moment and the next moment.

So bringing the attention now to the right lower leg,

The shin,

The calf and all around.

And when you're ready,

Letting go of this area and moving to the right knee,

The front of the knee,

The bony kneecap,

The back of the knee and the sides.

And if at any point you notice strong sensation or aching or strong emotions and patience,

Confusion,

Fatigue,

That's all fine,

Allowing all of this and coming back then to the direct sensations in the right knee.

And knowing that we can always come back to the anchor of the breath,

The in-breath and the out-breath,

If emotion or sensation is very strong.

Or we can play with breathing out in and out of the strong sensation and softening around it.

And now moving from the right knee up along to the right thigh and the back of the thigh,

The outside and the inside.

Perhaps noticing the sensation of pressure of the floor or chair beneath you,

Weight,

Heaviness,

Lightness,

Any sensation here at all.

And now widening the attention to the whole of the right leg from the toes all the way up along the leg to the top of the right thigh.

And if it feels comfortable,

Imagine breathing in through the toes or the bottom of the right foot all the way up along and out through the top of the right thigh.

And when you're ready now,

Letting go of the right leg,

And focusing our attention now on the pelvis area,

The right hip and the left hip.

And noticing,

Feeling all of the organs held here in this region.

And bringing the attention now to the bum and the lower back and exploring any sensation here,

Any tightness,

Looseness,

Warmth,

Coolness.

There may be aching or tension.

And if this is the case,

Just exploring or imagining breathing in and breathing out in this area.

And if the aching or intensity of sensation becomes too much,

Knowing we can always come back to the breath as an anchor.

And now moving from the lower back up along to the middle of the back,

The shoulder blades up to the shoulders.

And the shoulders can be another area that can be tight or tense.

And again,

Exploring the sensation here.

And if we notice we're thinking about the sensation,

Seeing if we can come back to exploring and experiencing the direct sensations in this area.

And now bringing the attention to the whole of the back.

And when you're ready now,

Moving from the back to the front of the torso,

To the belly and abdomen region.

And noticing how the belly rises on the in-breath and falls away on the out-breath.

The abdomen wall expands on the in-breath and deflates on the out-breath.

And exploring the physical sensation here.

And when you're ready,

Moving now from the belly up along to the rib cage.

Perhaps even noticing as the lungs expand on the in-breath and deflate on the out-breath.

And noticing any sensation in the chest area,

Heat,

Coolness,

Tightness,

Looseness,

Aching,

Relaxation.

Just noticing what is here,

Not needing to change anything.

And when you're ready,

Widening your awareness to the whole of the front of the torso.

And now widening to the back of the torso as well.

And if it feels okay,

Imagining you are breathing in through the front and out through the back.

Breathing in within you and letting go with the old.

And when you're ready now,

Moving from the torso to the left shoulder.

And moving down along the outside of the left arm and the inside of the left arm down to the elbow.

And exploring the bony outside of the elbow and the soft inside.

And then moving down along from the elbow to the forearm and the opposite side down to the wrist.

And then from the wrist to the hands and the fingers.

And if the mind has been taken away with thinking,

Planning,

Judging,

Or if there are feelings of impatience or boredom or anything distracting you or taking your attention away,

Just bringing the attention back now to the sensations in the left hand.

And if there are any emotions of impatience or boredom or tiredness,

Knowing that this is fine,

Just allowing this and coming back now to exploring the sensations in the left hand.

Perhaps there's tingling or numbness,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Claminess or dryness.

And when you're ready now,

Bringing the whole of the left arm into your awareness from the fingers all the way up along the wrist,

Elbow and left shoulder.

And when you're ready,

Moving from the left shoulder across the chest to the right shoulder.

And now moving from the right shoulder along the right arm,

The inside and the edge to the right elbow.

Exploring the bony outside and the soft inside.

And then moving from the elbow down along to the wrist.

And from the wrist to the hand and fingers.

Perhaps even exploring in between the fingers and the nails on the fingers.

And when you're ready now,

Widening the attention from the fingers all the way up along to the wrist,

The elbow up to the right shoulder.

And when you're ready now,

Moving from the right shoulder to the neck,

The front of the neck and the back of the neck.

And moving from the front of the neck to the jawline and the chin.

Noticing if the mouth and teeth are clenched or open.

Moving then to the lips and mouth and tongue.

Now moving to the nostrils and the nose,

Perhaps noticing the faint air coming in and out of the nostrils.

And moving to the eyes,

The eyelids and the eyebrows.

Moving from the eyebrows to the forehead.

Bringing the whole of the face into awareness to include the sides of the face,

The cheek bones,

And the sides of the head,

The ears,

The right ear and the left ear.

And moving from the sides of the head to the back of the head and the top of the head.

Perhaps feeling the pressure of the ground below you.

Feeling of heaviness or lightness,

Warmth or coolness,

Tingling or numbness.

And now bringing the whole of the head into your awareness,

The front,

The back,

The sides,

The top.

And if it feels comfortable,

Imagine breathing in through the face and out through the back of the head.

And when you're ready now,

Widening your attention from the head all the way down along the body,

Down along the torso,

The legs,

Down to the feet and the toes.

With an awareness of the whole body lying here or sitting here.

And if it feels okay,

Imagine breathing in through the feet all the way up along the legs,

The torso,

The arms and the head.

And breathing out through the top of the head.

And if this feels awkward or difficult,

Just staying with the sensation of the whole body lying or sitting here.

And now when you're ready,

Bringing the attention back now to the breath at the belly.

Noticing the physical sensations of the in-breath and the out-breath.

Noticing the belly rising on the in-breath and deflating on the out-breath.

And if the mind has wandered away,

Just bringing the attention back now for the last few minutes to the belly and the breath.

This in-breath and this out-breath.

And knowing that this breath is always here during the day and night as an anchor to bring us into the present moment.

And when you're ready now,

Start moving your toes and fingers and taking some time to widen your awareness.

And when you're ready,

Starting to opening your eyes and move onto your side.

And staying here for a few moments before moving into the next phase,

The next part of your day.

And congratulating yourself for making the time to nourish yourself in this way.

With kindness for your experience,

Whatever that is.

Reviews

A beautiful bodyscan, thank you 🙏

Perfect pacing, and you don’t waste a lot of time with introductions and explanations. Those of us who use these practices regularly like to get right into it. Thank you.

Well paced, warm gentle tone and clear audio. . A very helpful body scan. I know I fell asleep a few times and guess I needed it. Would recommend. Thank you 🙏

Very complete. I rather like the idea of going from the feet to the head. I've usually done body scans from the head to the foot. Decided different flavor to it

Very soothing voice. By the end my watch registered a zero stress recording, which I don't think I've seen it ever do before. Thank you.

Excellent 🙏🏻🦋

Lovely soft Irish voice.

Wonderful body scan. Gentle kindness

Fabulously balanced across all body parts in a slow and steady pace. Perfectly done

Brilliant! Great timing and pace. Very soothing voice. Thank you and namaste.

Gentle, calming, just voice. Perfect for me. Thank you 🙏

She has the most gentle voice, and I love her accent. This is my new favourite body scan. She leaves lots of spaces and doesn’t feel the entire meditation with words.

Fiona has an absolutely beautiful, soft and calming voice. She guides you gently through this very beneficial practice. Also, her light & gorgeous Irish accent improves the wonderful sounds of the English language no end. 200% recommended.

Wonderful experience. I am glad to have found it. Hoping it meets my purpose. Thankyou Fiona.

Excellently paced with a lovely y embodied presence.

Thank you Fiona for your gentle, spacious kind guidance. Lovely, loving. Sending good wishes.

Lovely meditation. I drifted into a peaceful state where I let go of all the ruminating. An incredible treat these days! Thank you for guiding us and opening the door to this experience. Your voice is so soothing. I felt safe.

An amazing practice and your soothing voice was wonderful! Thank you.

This is my favorite body scan, such a lovely, gentle voice, saying just the right things at the right time. Thank you Fiona! ✨💛✨