Body Scan MBSR

The settling and healing practice of bringing curious, kind awareness to all parts of the body in turn. Getting attuned to body sensations as a portal to self-compassionate awareness shifts the mind from doing, solving and fixing to simply being.

Transcript

The body scan is normally done lying down,

But you can also sit in a chair or assume any posture that's comfortable for you.

This is a time to be with yourself,

So selecting a time when you won't be interrupted.

Begin with the intention for this practice.

It's not to become relaxed or calmed or to result in an improved mood.

These might happen or they might not.

The intention is that as best you can to bring a kind,

Curious,

Non-judgmental awareness to any sensation found in any and all of the various parts of the body.

To tune in to the body,

Becoming attuned to this gift that so often goes unnoticed or is seen as an enemy or a disappointment.

In this practice,

We let go of judgment about any aspect of the body and instead bring a gentle,

Kind curiosity to whatever sensations are present.

We're tuning in to the body sensation radio as an analogy.

Becoming aware of the points of contact of your body with whatever is supporting your body,

Sensing into the heels of the feet where they make contact,

Feeling the pressure of the back of the legs where they are resting on the support,

Attending to the backside,

The back,

And the back of the head as a whole,

The entire body,

All sensations of the weight of your body and the contact points of support on this mat or bed or chair or floor which is holding you up.

Turning your attention now to the breath,

Feeling sensations of air coming into and out of the body,

The nose,

The throat,

The chest,

And the abdomen.

Tuning in with awake awareness to a few conscious breaths,

Feeling the sensations caused by breathing as best you can.

Continuing to ride the waves of breath entering the body,

As this breath enters,

Imagine it going through the entire body all the way down to the feet and then imagine exhaling from the feet all the way back out,

Inviting the symbol of life to come all the way through the chambers of the heart,

The lungs,

The trunk,

The legs,

And all the way down to the toes and then to release it from the same entire body path.

And then choosing a body part of your own and imagine breathing into and out of this part,

Perhaps the heart or the hand or the knee for example,

And breathing into and out of this chosen part for a few more breaths,

Noticing feelings or effects from breathing into and out of a particular place in the body.

And now moving your attention to the left foot all the way down to the toes,

Sensing into the big toe of the left foot,

Feeling it from the inside out.

And with the next out breath,

Letting go of sensations there and moving attention to the pinky toe of the left foot,

Becoming aware of all five toes of the left foot as a whole,

Inviting those sensations into awareness with a kind,

Gentle curiosity.

Now noticing the right foot,

Attending to any sensations in that foot as a whole.

And then bringing attention to the right and left foot together as the entirety of both feet,

Attuning to any tingling or vibrating,

Coolness or pressure,

Muscles and bones inside the feet.

If nothing can be felt and there's a sense of numbness,

That's okay too.

Just being aware of numbness,

Curiously wondering,

Hmm,

What is that like to feel numb?

Checking back in with the feet,

Appreciating all that the feet do for you on a moment to moment basis.

Then on the next out breath,

Letting attention to the feet go,

Moving the spotlight of awareness to the ankles,

Feeling the skin around the circumference,

The muscles and bones on the interior right down into the joint.

Seeing what is there on the inside,

Moving from the ankles to sensations of the calves,

Attending to the feelings of contact with the surface where you're resting,

Backside of the calves,

Top side of the calves,

The length and interior of the calves.

And then to the knees,

Allowing awareness to go the entire circumference around the front,

The back and the interior of both knees.

Any pain or discomfort is encountered during this practice with any part of the body,

Just bringing a compassionate awareness that that is there and there's discomfort there.

Not trying to make it stop or to change anything,

But allowing kind attention to be with this sensation for the moment.

If your mind wanders away,

This is not a problem,

Just make a mental note of where it went,

Hearing,

Thinking,

Planning or imagining or something else.

And then return without judgment to the sensations of your point of attention for right now,

Back to the knees.

Moving up from the knees to the thighs,

Inhabiting this physical body with awareness and the sensations perceived,

Bringing an awake perception,

Quality of presence of being right here,

Sensing the entire circumference of the thighs,

Keeping attention on sensations within the thighs,

Letting go of any judgment,

Attending to pressure points of contact with the thighs and whatever is holding you up.

Noticing the interior of the thighs,

Including the muscles and bones here,

Then focusing on the hips,

Sensing into the place where the leg joins the hip region,

Experiencing sensations there,

All held in awareness.

Moving through the pelvic region with intention and attention,

Exploring what is felt here.

Noticing any effects on the pelvic region from breath moving in and out of the body.

Tuning in to the lower back,

The vertebrae,

The spine and the interior of the back and all the work it performs daily.

Continuing to how the movement of breath feels in the lower back region,

Allowing a sense of appreciation for the abilities and labors undertaken by the entirety of the back.

Bringing attention around to the front of the abdomen,

To the internal digestive organs,

Sensing the stomach,

The intestines and all the digestive organs,

Sensing into the very play of life that manifests here,

Happening all on its own.

Experiencing the inner workings of the body as a gift with which to experience life and presence.

Switching from our normal mode of doing and solving to easily experiencing sensation and simply being.

Turning now to the upper torso and the chest,

Feeling the changing play of sensations initiated with breathing.

Knowing that we don't have to control the breath,

The body breathes itself.

Feeling the diaphragm,

The lungs,

The rib cage,

All rise and fall with each breath.

And bringing attention to the heart region as the heart is nestled between the lungs,

Tuning into any sensations of beating or pulsing.

Appreciating the life-giving work of the heart and lungs.

Noticing the shoulders,

Seeing if there's any tension or tightness here.

Often,

Much of our stress is manifest in the shoulders,

Allowing sensations here to be just as it is,

Breathing into it,

Perhaps mentally soothing it.

Bringing attention to what's here and allowing it to let go as it will.

Radiating attention down both arms to the elbows,

Feeling the roughness of the skin on the outside of the elbow and then the softer skin on the inside.

Welcoming all sensations of the arms and the elbows.

Attending to the wrists,

Swirling awareness around the entire exterior of the wrist and then moving inward to receive all sensations from the inside.

Feeling the hands,

Perhaps softening them a little,

Feeling any tingling,

Vibrating,

Pulsing,

The play of sensation at the ends of the fingertips.

Extending gratitude for the work and the gift of the hands.

Coming back up to the base of the neck,

Where the vertebrae of the neck,

The muscles and the skin all connect to the shoulders.

Attending to all that is present in the neck.

Feeling how it bears the head with dignity and flexibility.

Moving up to the chin and then to the jaw,

The hinges of the jaw connecting to the face.

Feeling what's there and perhaps relaxing around it.

Tuning into the mouth,

The lips on the outside,

Sensing the air touching the skin of the outside of the lips and then moving inward to the inside of the lips and then bringing attention to the tongue.

How does it feel at the root of the tongue connecting to the mouth?

Sensing into the teeth,

The gums and the roof of the mouth.

Feeling the exterior of the face as a whole.

And then to the cheeks,

The outside of the cheek and then the inside.

Feeling the nose receiving and letting go of air at the nostrils.

Feeling the eyes cradled in their liquid vessels,

Allowing smoothness at the brow.

Feeling the entire forehead and then the scalp.

Being aware of the magnificent brain inside the protection of the skull.

Feeling the back of the head all the way down to the neck once again.

As this body scan comes to a close,

Perhaps acknowledging yourself for spending this time to nourish your mind by attending to messages from the majestic gift of this body.

Sensing into and receiving sensations as a practice of awareness.

Becoming a conduit and a portal to this moment.

Allowing yourself to savor your ability to intentionally bring a quality of not just awareness but curious kind awareness toward whatever you're experiencing in that moment.

Letting go of judgment,

Nurturing and strengthening the connection of body and mind together as a unified whole.

And bringing this quality of presence into the rest of your day.

Reviews

Well paced body scan and appreciated the messaging. 🙏🏼

Lovely body scan, thank you! Namaste 🙏 💖

Excellent, thank you!