Because we spend a lot of time in our heads,
Thinking,
Planning,
Remembering,
We sometimes forget that we have a body and that it follows us wherever we go.
Practicing the body scan reminds us not only that we have a body,
But also what it actually feels like to have this body.
During the body scan,
The idea is to bring full awareness to different areas of the body,
Some that we rarely take the time to feel.
During this exercise,
As you scan throughout the different areas of the body,
Rather than thinking about the body part,
See if you can tune into the direct subtle sensations that are in that area without having a concept or image about them.
For example,
If I were to ask you to tell me how you know that you have a right hand without looking at it or moving it,
How would you be certain that you have one?
You will notice that if you are careful,
You can bring awareness to the subtle sensations that emerge from that area of the hand and feel it directly.
Maybe there is tingling,
Pulsating,
Warmth,
Or some other sensation.
Bringing awareness to these types of sensations is the kind of thing that we will do in this exercise.
When practicing the body scan,
It can be tempting to try to relax the body parts that we are aware of or change the way that we are feeling.
However,
The idea while practicing the body scan is to be open to whatever sensations show up in our experience,
Whether they are pleasant,
Neutral,
Or unpleasant.
It's an exercise of observation and not of control.
It's about sitting back and seeing what is there for no other reason than seeing what is there.
What you'll notice is that your awareness will start to wander to other things.
You may begin to daydream,
To remember things that happened in the past or will happen in the future,
Or to judge your experience.
Not only is this normal,
But it's also part of training mindfulness.
When your mind goes off and wanders or starts saying things like,
Am I doing this right?
This is boring.
What do I have to do tomorrow?
Just notice where the mind has wandered to and then notice that while this is happening,
Sensations are still present in the body.
And then the idea is to bring these sensations back to the forefront of your awareness by becoming curious about what these sensations feel like and how they change over time.
What you may also find is that you're hard on yourself when your mind wanders or when you can't feel anything or when you seem to be doing it wrong.
It's important to recognize that there's no right or wrong way of practicing the body scan.
It's just about letting things be as they already are.
There's nothing to achieve,
No particular thing to do or to feel,
But simply be open to what sensations you notice in your body from moment to moment.
In terms of posture,
You can lie down on the floor,
Resting your arms along the sides of your body and your legs stretched out with your feet falling to the sides.
If that's not comfortable,
You can sit or stand up.
What's important is the quality of your awareness.
You want to find a posture in which you're comfortable and at the same time you're alert.
Remember that this is time set aside for you to be with yourself and by yourself.
There's nothing to be changed,
No reason for things to be different than how they are right now.
Your job is simply to notice what is presented to you in your experience from moment to moment.
We can begin by closing our eyes and becoming aware of the breath.
Noticing breathing without trying to control it or change it in any way.
Just letting breathing happen naturally.
Bringing attention to the rise and fall of the abdomen.
Noticing the rhythmic movements of the breath at the belly region.
As you inhale,
The belly expands and as you exhale,
The belly gently contracts.
Just being fully aware of the rising and falling of the abdomen.
And noticing all the subtleties of this movement.
And when you're ready,
Shifting your awareness to the bottom of your feet.
Feeling what sensations are present at the bottom of the feet right this moment.
Perhaps tingling,
Moisture or warmth.
Being aware of the toes.
Shifting to the top of the feet.
Moving to the ankles.
Noticing what's there.
Allowing the sensations to become clear.
Feeling how sensations change from moment to moment.
Now just getting a sense of the feet as a whole.
What do the feet feel like right now?
And now letting the feet dissolve from your awareness and letting your awareness spread up to the shins.
And moving back to the calves.
Letting the sensations in the shins and the calves dominate awareness.
If you're not feeling any sensations right now,
That's okay.
Just noticing what that experience is like.
And now letting go of the lower legs and moving up to the knee.
Feeling what's there.
Becoming really curious about all the subtle sensations around the knee.
So the sides of the knee,
The kneecap,
The joint inside,
The skin,
The feet.
The skin outside the knee.
And now letting go of the knee and spreading your awareness up to feel the thighs.
Feeling the sensations there.
Just letting them be as they are and at the same time watching these sensations closely.
And now letting go completely of the legs and moving to the hips and the pelvic region.
Sitting with the sensations in that area.
And bringing awareness now to the abdominal region.
Noticing the organs in that area.
What sensations do you find there?
Not thinking about them but feeling them directly.
And now spreading your awareness up to the chest.
Noticing the sensations around the heart and the lungs.
And now allowing the sensations of the whole front of the body to become clear.
Just seeing them as they are from moment to moment.
When you get distracted and catch yourself wandering somewhere else.
Just noticing that your mind has wandered off and gently letting go for now.
You can revisit those thoughts after the exercise.
And noticing that while your mind wandered,
Sensations were still going on in your body.
And are in fact still going on now.
What sensations are going on now in the front of your body?
And now bringing your awareness to the back of your body.
Noticing where your body makes contact with the surface you're laying on.
Feeling the sensations in the lower back.
The middle of the back.
Where does the middle of the back begin and end?
And now moving up to the upper back.
Noticing the subtle push of gravity on your body against the floor.
And just savoring this feeling.
And now letting the sensations in the whole back become clear.
Not trying to change these sensations,
But just noticing what they're like.
And now letting the back dissolve from your awareness and shifting your awareness to the shoulders and seeing what's there.
Noticing how the breath affects the shoulders.
Letting awareness spread down the arms through the upper arms.
And down the forearms to the wrists.
And letting awareness dominate the hands,
Starting with the back of the hands.
To the palms.
And spreading to each finger,
All the way to the tips of the fingers.
Feeling vividly what sensations there are in the very tips of the fingers.
If you get distracted,
Thoughts wander,
Simply coming back to the sensations in the hands.
Feeling what's there.
And now letting go of the hands and shifting to the face,
Starting with the chin.
Spreading up to the bottom lip.
The top lip.
The area between the top lip and the nose.
To the nostrils.
The cheeks.
The eyes.
And all the muscles surrounding the eyeballs.
The eyeballs themselves.
Do you notice them moving?
Do you see colors in the inside of your eyelids or is it black?
Noticing the feel of the eyelids.
The eyebrows.
Moving up to the forehead and noticing the thin layers of muscle there.
And spreading your attention to the skull and to the weight of the brain in your skull.
And the feelings at the top of the skull.
Just noticing what sensations you can feel there.
And now be aware of the face as a whole.
And now keeping the face in awareness,
Include the front of the body.
And now adding to that the back of the body.
The arms.
The legs.
And the feet.
Just feeling the whole body here.
Now.
And connecting it with the breath.
Feeling the whole body connected.
Breathing.
Alive.
Take a moment to really savor the sensations in the body.
Appreciating your body just as it is right here,
Right now.
And notice that the state of awareness you're in right now is something that you made happen by yourself and that you can come back to time and time again.
Just sitting with this feeling.
And now broadening your awareness to the surface that you're in contact with.
To the room that you're currently in.
And to others or other things around you.
And as this exercise comes to an end,
Gently moving your body.
Perhaps gently rocking from side to side.
Wiggling your toes.
Fingers.
Moving your neck.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes and stretching mindfully.
