Body Scan Of The Hands For Pausing And Noticing

The Body Scan is a classic meditation that allows you to pause and check in with your body, tuning into physical sensations. If you don't have time for a full body scan, you can focus on one body part instead. In this guided meditation, I will lead you through scanning your hands.
It's an opportunity to notice if there is any tension or discomfort, or any pleasant feelings. Practicing body scans regularly can help you to improve your mind-body connection and to realise when your body is in need of TLC or rest. This practice is accessible and available to you any time, anywhere.
This meditation track lasts for 5 minutes. If you have more time, you could try my longer full Body Scan Meditation instead. This guided meditation has a silent background. If you prefer background music, please choose my Body Scan of the Hands (with Background Music) instead.
Photo by Sajad Fi on Unsplash

Transcript

Body scan of the hands. This is a short guided practice for when you don't have enough time for a full body scan. I invite you to settle into a posture that's comfortable for you, Whether that's standing, Sitting or lying down. I'll guide this meditation as if you're sitting. So just take a moment to settle. Let your body sink into gravity and feel the contact with the chair or the surface beneath you. Take a few deep breaths. Breathing in and breathing out to your own rhythm. Then taking your attention to your right hand, Noticing any sensations in your right hand. Perhaps you can notice the contact between your hand and your body if it's resting in your lap. Or maybe it's resting on your chair. Just feeling that contact, Noticing the weight of your hand. Allowing it to sink into the surface it's resting on. Noticing any sensations. Is there any tingling, Any warmth? Perhaps you can feel the temperature of the air on your skin. Taking your attention to the back of your hand. What do you notice there? Moving your attention to your knuckles, Focusing in. What do you feel there? If you don't feel anything, That's also fine and very normal. And then taking your attention to your fingers and your thumb. Starting with your thumb. Noticing any sensations there. Noticing any contact. Perhaps it's pressing against the finger beside it. And then gently moving your awareness to your index finger. What do you notice there? And then your middle finger. What do you feel? Moving to your third finger. Noticing any sensations drawing your attention. Then moving to your little finger. What do you feel? Noticing all your fingers and your thumb together. If your mind wanders, Just gently drawing your attention back to your hand. And then drawing your attention to the palm of your hand. What do you notice there? Maybe warmth, Coolness, Or some tingling or air passing over your hand. Now expanding your attention to your whole hand and what you're feeling there. Then gently taking your attention to your left hand. Noticing the contact of your left hand with whatever it's resting on. Maybe your knee. Maybe your chair or your table. Do you feel any pressure from the weight of your hand on the surface beneath it? Just noticing any sensations. Is there any tingling, Any warmth? Do you feel the temperature of the air on your skin? Taking your attention to the back of your hand. What do you notice there? Moving your attention to your knuckles, Focusing in. What do you feel there? Then gently taking your attention to your thumb. What do you feel there? I'm moving to your index finger. What sensations do you notice? If you don't feel anything, That's fine as well. Moving to your middle finger. Do you notice any feelings, Any sensations there? If your mind wanders, Just gently drawing your attention back to your hand. Moving to your third finger, What do you feel there? And then taking your attention to your little finger. Now noticing all your fingers and your thumbs. And then gently moving to the palm of your hand. Do you feel anything? Do you notice any sensations? And now expanding your attention, Bringing both of your hands into your awareness. Noticing the contact with the rest of your body or the surface they're resting on. And gently expanding your attention to your whole body. And its contact with the chair and the ground beneath you. Noticing any sensations. Noticing the movements of your body as you're breathing. And gently expanding your awareness to the space around your body. Feeling the air around you, Noticing any sounds, Any smells, The light on your eyelids if your eyes are closed. And if you've had your eyes closed, Just gently blinking them open. And bringing yourself back to the room as we bring this meditation to a close.