Body Scan Practice

In this guided practice, Lyn will walk you through a body scan process to become more aware of your body and the messages that it has for you. This process can be beneficial for releasing pain and promoting healing, as well as improving your intuition.

Transcript

Welcome to your body scan meditation.

Begin this process by finding a quiet place where you can relax and rest undisturbed for about 15 minutes.

You can do this meditation while lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

So take a moment now to just make yourself comfortable so that you can relax and be present with this meditation.

Begin by taking some deep breaths to become even more present in your body.

You can try inhaling to a count of three or four and exhaling to that same count.

Taking about seven to ten breaths in this way.

Now that you have made yourself more fully present in your body,

We're going to begin the actual body scan process.

In this process we start at the top of our heads and we work our way down.

You'll want to notice any areas of tension,

Pain,

Or discomfort as you go along.

Also,

I find it helpful to notice any areas that feel good,

Relaxed,

Pleasant sensations.

Because we often miss out on these when we are currently experiencing pain or discomfort in our bodies.

So begin by just noticing at the top of your head and your scalp area.

Is there any tension,

Any pain,

Or discomfort?

And then just noticing as you work your way down the area of your forehead.

All of the little muscles of your face.

Is there any tension or pain in those?

Maybe around your eyes?

The jaw is another key area where we often can hold a lot of tension,

Have some pain if we've been kind of grinding or clenching our jaw.

Notice even the back of your head.

Sometimes we feel tension or we get headaches in that area.

And then just noticing again your neck,

The front and back areas.

Does that area feel relaxed or is there tension or discomfort?

Working your way down and just noticing the tops of your shoulders.

This is another area that many of us hold a lot of tension or can experience pain and discomfort.

So do you feel that in this area or does it feel very relaxed?

Feeling into your upper back,

The area between your shoulder blades.

How does that area feel today?

On the front side of your body feeling into the upper part of your chest where your lungs are,

Where your heart space is.

Is that area tense?

Have you been hunched forward with discomfort there?

Does it feel nice and spacious and open?

Working your way down to your abdomen where your stomach is and all of the digestive organs.

So just tune into kind of the upper part of the abdomen.

What do you notice in that area?

And then what do you notice lower in the abdomen?

More where your intestines are.

Coming back to the back side of the body,

Kind of feeling into the mid back,

Spine,

The lower back area.

Is there tension,

Pain or discomfort in any of those areas?

Or does it feel open and spacious and relaxed?

You can even notice the sides of your body.

I think sometimes we don't pay attention to the fact that we kind of have the front of our body and our back of our body,

But we also have our sides.

So just see if there's anything you notice in that area as well.

And then just kind of noticing your right hip,

Your pelvis on that side.

What do you feel in that area?

And what do you feel in the left hip and left side of the pelvis?

Is it relaxed and easy or is there tension or discomfort?

So we've worked through the torso.

Let's go back up and just tune into the arms.

So just start with your right arm,

Feeling into the upper portion of your arm,

Both the front and the back side of that arm.

What do you notice in that area?

Feeling into your elbow.

Sometimes we have pain in the joints.

So just see how that elbow feels today.

And then into your lower arm,

Your forearm,

Both the front side of your arm and the back.

Tuning into your right wrist and into your hand and all of your fingers.

Are there feelings of relaxation and ease,

Pleasant sensations or is there any discomfort that wants your attention?

And we're going to do the same thing with the left arm feeling into the upper portion of your left arm,

Both front and back side.

What do you notice in that area?

Your left elbow now calling for your attention.

What does it have to bring to your awareness?

Into the lower portion of your left arm,

Front and the back side.

Your left wrist and into the hand and the fingers,

Just noticing,

Being curious what you are aware of.

And then we're going to come to the lower portion of the body into the legs.

So starting this time with your left leg,

Feeling into the front side of the upper portion of your leg.

The back side,

Your hamstrings,

Sometimes those are tight.

And even into your glute,

We didn't go there,

But you can feel into your left glute.

How is your left knee?

Is there discomfort?

Is it tight or achy?

It doesn't feel really nice and relaxed.

And then the left lower leg,

Your shin and your calf muscle.

What's your awareness of that area?

How about your left ankle and your left foot and your toes on that foot?

And then coming back up to the right side,

So the front side of your upper portion of your right leg.

Check in with the back side of your right leg,

Your hamstring and even into your glute.

Feeling into your right knee.

Is that nice and comfortable and easy or is there any discomfort,

Tension?

Your right shin and calf.

Into your right ankle,

Foot and toes.

We've worked our way now,

We're working our way all the way through the whole body.

Now that we've taken the time to just scan through the body,

I'd like you to pick one area that you're going to focus on for the next few minutes.

So perhaps you noticed pain in a shoulder or a strong discomfort in your digestive system or tightness in your jaw.

Whatever area feels like it's calling most for your attention right now,

You're going to pick that one area.

And you're going to begin to get curious about its message for you.

Sometimes in this process it can be helpful to bring one of your hands to that area to just be more present and have more awareness.

So do that if you feel like it would be helpful.

And so now as you get curious about the area that you've chosen,

You're going to ask that area of your body what its message is for you right now.

And then just allow yourself to be quiet and listen to whatever comes into your mind.

Everyone experiences this process differently.

So you might hear words or thoughts in your mind.

You might see an image.

You might just have a strong knowing of something.

So just see how that information comes through for you.

And if nothing immediately comes to you,

Stay present.

And perhaps repeat the question.

Be patient.

And then after you've worked with that question,

The second question that I'd like you to ask that area is what do you need from me right now?

And again,

Just get quiet and just receive whatever information comes through.

And being patient if nothing comes through.

Asking the question or just listening and waiting.

If you've been ignoring your body for a long time or it's been feeling like the enemy,

Sometimes it can take doing this several times over the course of a number of days to really start to hear the message.

Don't feel discouraged or frustrated if today you didn't get the message.

Just treat your body with patience and kindness like you would a good friend.

So take that information now as we come to the completion of this process.

And just bring that information forward into your day.

But before you do,

Just take a moment to thank that area for whatever it shared with you.

Thank it for the wisdom and the information.

Because that is part of this process of building a new relationship with your body as well.

To just appreciate your body giving you that information.

So for this process we're just going to go through this once,

But after the recording ends if you felt like there was another area that wanted to share a message,

Feel free to go through that part of the process again.

You don't have to do the whole body scan,

But just asking those questions again.

I would encourage you to use this practice on a regular basis,

Maybe even daily,

Especially in the beginning,

To build a new relationship with your body and to start to hear what it's trying to share with you.

You can use a journal as well to record any information that you're getting when you ask those questions.

So that you're building sort of a library and a resource for yourself of what your body is trying to communicate.

I truly believe that when you listen to your body and you take this time on a regular basis,

Both you build a new relationship with your body and also you'll notice that sometimes some of those pains and other symptoms will just start to go away because you've heard their messages.

So be open to that possibility.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to listen to your body's wisdom and to be part of this process with me.

I look forward to the next time that you listen to the meditation.

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Reviews

Complete excellent body scan. Thanks for posting

Wonderful body scan. Thanks 🙏😊🌼

Gently and with soothing guiding us to mindfulness, thank you!!

This is a lovely body scan - nice pacing, good balance w unobtrusive music, nice voice, etc - however it’s a bit jarring to have it reference a technique in a video elsewhere? Unless you only want ppl who are following an explicit sequence to do this meditation you may want to edit that — some would stop there thinking they’re not going to be able to do this body scan if that kept happening. Just a little friendly advice!

Excellent! Thank you for the thorough explanation of a body scan.