Lying Down Body Scan (MBSR)

The invitation during the BodyScan is to be aware of the sensations in different parts of the body during the guided exercise, to observe when the mind has wandered off, and to bring the attention back. This meditation is an essential part of the 8-week Mindfulness training also called MBSR as well as for MBCT. You will come across this exercise in weeks 1 and 2 as home practice.

Transcript

Welcome to this body scan.

For this exercise I'm inviting you to come lay on your back with your legs stretched out.

You can do it seated as well,

But the instructions will be for lying down meditation.

So lying down on your back,

Stretching your legs out,

Legs slightly apart,

And feet falling sideways,

A bit like an open book.

Placing your hands on the belly or on the floor,

A little bit away from the body,

Palms up or down,

However you prefer.

And if it's comfortable and possible for you,

I'm inviting you to close your eyes.

Or if you prefer,

You can focus your eyes somewhere on the ceiling above you,

And seeing if you can bring your focus inward,

So relaxing your eyes if you keep them open.

And check for yourself if you're lying comfortably.

And if you're not,

If there's something like a watch or a belt in the way,

Then change your posture in such a way that you are comfortable and that it's possible and easy for you to keep your posture as it is.

The way you're lying down now is the official basic posture,

You could say,

Of this body scan.

And if it's in any way not comfortable for you to lie down in this way,

Then any other position,

Posture,

Is also perfectly fine.

So you can allow yourself to sit down if you'd like to,

Or even do this body scan standing up.

However you prefer,

It's all perfectly okay.

What I would like to invite you to is that if you notice that you'd like to change your posture because of discomfort,

Then before you change your posture,

Before you move,

First observing with a mindful attitude whether this discomfort is coming from a part of the meditation,

Or if it's something like an old injury.

If it's an injury,

Of course it's understandable that at some point it might hurt you,

You might feel discomfort,

And you would like to listen to this.

But if it's a discomfort coming from the meditation itself,

Then see for yourself if you can simply observe the discomfort for a while and then see if you can let it be.

And if that's truly not possible for you,

Then the invitation is to change your posture,

But do so with consciousness,

With awareness and attention.

And then following the movement with your full attention,

And also perhaps a sense of relief that arises once you have shifted your posture.

What I'd like to start with now is to stop whatever we're doing in this very moment.

So I'm asking you to stop with whatever is going on in your awareness.

And you'll quickly notice that when you stop,

Things around you don't stop straight away.

It just continues.

You'll hear my voice,

Maybe sounds within or outside of the space you're in.

And it doesn't mean that things within you stop straight away.

Your mind probably chatters on,

Perhaps happy chatter or restless chatter.

And maybe you'll also notice the sound of your stomach working,

The digestion of a meal,

You sense the trembling or a muscle or the beating of your heart.

Everything else just actually continues the way it was.

The only difference is that for the length of this exercise,

With stopping,

I mean,

Allowing things to just be as they are.

And just being present with a mild and open attention in this moment without doing something.

See if you can let yourself be carried by the place that you've chosen,

The surface that you're on.

And maybe you can feel how your heels touch the mat or the mattress.

The sit bones,

The shoulders,

In touch with the surface you're lying on.

Maybe it feels hard or soft.

Maybe you can sense the pressure of the arms and the hands and how the back of your head touches the mat or mattress or whatever you're lying on.

And see if you can let all of that be just the way it is as well.

Now seeing if you can bring your attention to the breath in the belly.

Feeling your in-breath and feeling your out-breath.

Noticing how with each inhalation the belly rises up and with each exhalation the belly falls back.

This is not a breath or breathing exercise so you don't have to change anything about the breath.

Simply just paying a mild,

Open,

Non-judgmental attention to the way the breath is in this moment.

Maybe you find that your breath is regular or perhaps irregular.

Maybe your breath is calm or maybe there's a sense of restlessness in the breath.

And without intervention,

Without judgment,

Just bringing your attention to the breath and seeing this happen.

Perhaps you'll notice that your breath becomes calmer when you bring your attention to it.

Or that this close focus on the breath gives you a sense of discomfort.

The invitation is not to change that.

To just be with those sensations,

Those reactions perhaps with an open attention.

Without action,

Without doing,

Without trying to change anything.

Without needing to do anything.

Just see what happens automatically.

And then with the next inhalation,

Bringing your attention through the left leg down towards the left foot.

And observing any sensations that you might find in the left foot.

There isn't anything you should feel,

There's just the open question.

What is present in the foot right now?

It's even possible you don't feel anything at all.

And then that's what's present for you right now.

And that's an observation as well.

Perhaps you'll notice something pleasant,

Unpleasant or neutral.

Tingling perhaps or pinching.

Maybe the foot is itchy,

Maybe warm,

Maybe cool.

Then leaving the left foot and placing your attention to the left lower leg.

The area between the ankle and the knee.

And seeing if you can bring a real sense of curiosity and look around as it were.

Perhaps with a smile.

Beginning the outside of the lower leg and then slowly bringing your attention further inwards.

Perhaps sensing temperature,

Tension,

Relaxation or neutral sensations.

And that's okay too.

And then from your lower leg bringing your attention up past the knee to the upper leg.

Your left upper leg,

Your left thigh.

Bringing the same sense of curiosity.

Maybe the leg is also cold or warm here.

Maybe you can sense a rushing of the blood or some throbbing sensation.

A piercing sensation,

A shooting sensation,

Whatever it is.

Maybe your legs have carried you for part of the day and you feel tiredness in the leg or maybe restlessness and tendency or wanting to move because you've been sitting.

And then letting your attention on the left upper leg go.

And then placing your attention down the right leg to your right foot.

Now what do you notice in this part of the body?

Are the sensations the same as in the left foot?

Or maybe different?

Maybe there's a cramp in the foot.

Maybe a pleasant sensation,

Unpleasant.

And then letting your attention on the right foot go and placing your attention in the right lower leg.

Can you possibly feel the fabric of your clothing around the leg or the weight of the leg on the surface you're lying on?

Can you feel the muscles within?

Tingling or throbbing.

And then moving your attention up past the right knee to the right upper leg,

The right thigh.

And also noticing here what sensations are present for you in this moment.

Or perhaps you'll notice that by now the mind is completely wandered off into thoughts or emotions.

Maybe there's a shopping list in your mind or a conversation you've had with a relative or colleague that's repeating itself in the mind.

Or maybe you're occupied with vacation or something else.

Whatever it is,

It's perfectly normal.

The mind has wandered off.

That's just how the mind works.

And as soon as you notice this wandering off,

You can practice bringing your attention back with kindness and friendliness and focus again on the body.

In this instance,

On the right thigh.

Then letting go of the attention on the right thigh and bringing your attention up to the pelvic area.

Seeing if you can connect with the area between the upper part of the thighs and the navel.

So perhaps noticing the muscles in the bum,

The sit bones,

And aware of a number of organs in this area,

Such as the bladder,

The genitals,

Part of the intestines placed in this area,

The anus,

The whole area.

And noticing perhaps whether it's quiet and soft in this area,

Or whether it's restless,

Hard for example.

And seeing if the area is able to allow itself to be carried.

Or maybe there's tension.

Maybe you notice temperature sensation.

And again,

If you notice that the mind wandered off,

It's not a problem.

And as soon as you notice this,

Bringing your attention back with friendliness.

Then bringing your attention further up to the lower part of the torso.

The whole part between the diaphragm,

Just below the ribs,

And the pelvic area.

Placing your attention on both the belly and the lower back.

And bringing the same sense of curiosity and perhaps an inner or even outer smile.

Looking around,

Researching as it were,

What kind of sensations am I noticing in this moment?

Perhaps noticing that there's something digesting in the belly,

Or in part of the intestines and the bowels.

Perhaps a sense of tingling or even pain,

Unpleasant sensations in the lower back.

Whatever it is,

It's all okay.

And moving your attention up a bit further to the chest area and the upper back.

Placing your attention in this area.

A place where you can find the heart as well.

And perhaps you can sense the heart beating.

Perhaps you can sense the lungs filling with oxygen.

When you breathe in,

When you breathe out,

How does that actually feel?

Perhaps sensing when you breathe in that your chest doesn't only rise but also move sideways.

Perhaps when you breathe you can sense that the clothing becomes tighter around the body and more loose again when you breathe out.

And then calmly letting this area be and bringing your attention to the shoulders,

Through the arms,

Down into the hands,

Both left hand and right hand.

And exploring this area with curiosity.

Thinking as it were,

What is going on in the hands right in this moment?

What can I notice?

What is present for me right now?

And how is the quality of your attention?

Are you distracted or is your attention still with the sensations in the hands?

Then letting go of your attention on the hands,

Bringing your attention into the forearms,

Noticing the sensations in this area.

Tingling,

Itching,

Twitching,

Temperature.

And up into the upper arms.

Tension of the muscles perhaps.

Restlessness or relaxation.

And then moving your attention further up through the shoulders,

Up the neck,

Perhaps noticing what it feels like to swallow or to breathe,

What sensations are present in the throat when you do that.

And then further up into the head,

Starting with the face and bringing curiosity to exploring sensations in the face.

Perhaps noticing tension around the jaw,

Behind the eyes,

The brow.

Perhaps a breeze moving past your skin.

Bringing your attention to the back of the head.

Perhaps noticing the weight of the head being held by the surface you are lying on.

And then up to the crown of the head.

Perhaps noticing a sensation there or multiple or registering a blank,

No sensations.

And then from the crown of the head,

Bringing your attention back into the whole body.

Perhaps noticing the contours of the body and any and all sensations present in this moment.

And then the invitation is to get in touch with the body's ability to move.

So maybe you'd like to move the fingers,

Wiggle the toes,

Perhaps turning the wrists and the ankles.

And if you choose to do so and find it pleasant,

Then perhaps stretching yourself fully for a bit.

And in case you've experienced a sense of peace and quiet and stability in this meditation,

Then realize that there's always a possibility to bring this feeling into the rest of your day.

And also to tap into it at any time of the day.

And then slowly at the sound of the bell,

Opening your eyes and regaining your focus.

And ending this meditation in whatever way is most suitable for you right in this moment.

Reviews

Perfect

Great set up, often overlooked in guided meditations. I began my day with this body scan and feel energised and ready for my Monday!