Short Body Scan

This is the Short Body Scan adapted from the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme to support becoming more connected with what's happening in the body, including our emotional responses. The body is always in the now so present moment awareness is best grounded in the body.

Transcript

The body scan.

So making yourself comfortable,

Lying on a rug,

A mat,

On the bed,

Or you can also do this practice sitting if that's more comfortable for you.

Having the eyes closed and the arms away from the body and the feet falling away from each other.

And tuning into the sense of contact with the support of the floor beneath you.

Sensing the ground supporting you and surrendering to that support,

Feeling held.

The intention in this practice is to explore what's happening in the body as we bring kindly attention to it.

So we're not looking at the ground.

We're not looking for anything in particular.

And we're letting go of judging and evaluating as best we can.

Meeting the present moment with wakefulness and kindness as you fall awake.

Bringing affectionate,

Open-hearted and interested attention to all the sensations or no sensations.

That you discover in the body as I guide you through it.

It's about being in touch with the whole of your being and your body in any way you can.

Discerning from moment to moment how things actually are.

So tuning into the sensations of the breath coming into the body and going out of the body.

Perhaps experiencing sensations of stretching,

Of expansion,

Of expansion,

Subtle movement.

And just taking a deep inhalation.

Filling up the body with the breath and as you breathe out releasing and letting go.

And then imagining that you might bring this breath with your attention down the body.

Down the legs and down to the feet and the toes.

And you can support yourself with this practice using the breath as you move around the body.

Or you can just let go of attention on the breath.

It's up to you.

So bringing your attention now to both feet.

And just seeing what's happening in the feet.

What sensations are here to be felt?

Is there tingling,

Pulsing,

Warmth,

Coolness,

Tightness,

Numbness?

Just observing whatever's here in the soles of the feet and the heels and the tops of the feet.

Experiencing whatever's here to be felt in the whole of the region of the feet.

And including the ankles.

Sensations around the skin,

The bones,

The muscles.

If they're there to be felt.

And then moving your attention now up the legs.

All the way up to the knees.

Taking in whatever's happening around the calves and the shins.

Around the knee and inside the knee.

And then further up the leg.

The thigh area.

And all the way up to the hips and the groin.

Noticing whatever sensations are arising in both legs.

And taking a deep breath in.

And as you breathe out,

Releasing the legs from your attention.

And bringing your mind's eye to the whole of the pelvic area.

Including the right and the left hips,

The groin,

The genital area,

The buttocks.

Perhaps even the organs within this part of the body.

And just sensing whatever's here to be felt.

And just sensing whatever's here to be felt.

And then moving your attention round to the lower part of the back.

To the muscles.

To the muscles vertebrae.

This part of the body where we can often carry tension.

And strain.

So just acknowledging whatever's here.

And extending a kindly attention to this part of the body.

Then moving your attention up into the middle part of the back.

Taking in all the vertebrae as you travel up the spine.

Up towards the shoulder blades.

And all the way up to the groin.

And all the way up to the base of the neck.

And then panning out so that you're seeing with your mind's eye the whole of the back.

And experiencing whatever's here to be felt.

Perhaps noticing sensations fluxing and changing as you observe them.

And you may have noticed that the mind pretty quickly wanders away from focusing on parts of the body.

And you may have got caught up in thoughts about the past or the future.

Each time this happens which is a very important part of the body.

And you may have noticed that the mind is very focused on the body.

And you may have noticed that the mind is very focused on the body.

Each time this happens which it will do over and over again.

It's absolutely okay.

Just recognising that the mind has wandered away.

And just gently inviting it back.

Now to the area of the shoulders.

What's happening here?

What's happening here?

And then travelling over the shoulders down to the front of the torso.

All the way down to the belly.

Taking in whatever's going on here.

Perhaps revisiting those sensations of the breath moving in the body.

The movement of the diaphragm.

And then including the chest area.

The lungs and the heart.

And then panning out again and observing the whole of the upper body.

Being with whatever's here to be felt as best you can.

Letting go of wanting things to be different.

Of wanting sensations to be more present or less present.

And now moving your attention down from the shoulders.

Down the arms to the hands and the fingers.

And just exploring what's happening here.

Whether there's sensations or no sensations to be felt.

Perhaps there's warmth or coolness.

Contact with the air around the hands.

And the contrast of perhaps contact with the floor or mat that you're lying on.

And then moving up from the hands.

Taking in the wrists,

The lower arms all the way up to the elbows.

The upper arms all the way up to the shoulders and the armpits.

And then taking a deeper breath in more intentionally.

And just imagining that the breath can travel down the arms all the way down to the hands and the fingers.

And then back up again.

As you release your attention from focusing on the arms.

And bring your attention now to the neck.

And inside the neck,

The throat.

And the head,

The back of the head.

The front of the head.

The whole scalp area.

Sensations around the ears and inside the ears.

And then exploring the sensations around the face.

The jaw,

The chin,

The cheeks,

The forehead.

Around the eyebrows and in between the eyebrows.

The nose,

The mouth and inside the mouth.

Seeing if you can be with the experience of being inside the face and the head.

What does it feel like?

And then for the last few moments of the practice.

Allowing your attention to expand out into the whole body breathing.

Simply lying here.

Noticing all the sensations as they come and as they go.

Being with your experience just as it is and just as you are.

Perhaps experimenting with sensations.

The breath flowing in and out of the body.

From the top of the head all the way down to the feet.

And you might imagine that there's a little hole in the crown of the head.

Where the breath can enter and travel down the body.

Nourishing and refreshing.

All the way down to the feet.

And then the breath comes in again.

Up through the feet and back out through the top of the head.

Just riding the waves of the breath sensation as you lie here or sit here.

A sense of being.

Of letting go and letting be.

Thank you for watching.

Thank you for watching.

Reviews

Excellent pacing and soothing voice.

What a perfect, simple re-set for the mind and body. Just exactly what I needed today 🙏🏼

Great body scan thank you. Namaste 🙏 🪷❤️🕊🧘‍♀️🙏

Well done. Bring but through. Just what I needed this morning.

A great start to the day - thank you!

Thank you 🙏

A wonderful experience. I love having the option of a short or extended body scan. Very skillful guidance. Thank you.

Lovely voice, lovely practice 😍

I love Zoe's Bodyscans, both the short and the long one. they are clear, precise and compassionate 🧡💚

Always my favourite voice and pace for meditation. Thank you Zoe!

Live this body scan meditation, thank you!