Body Scan – MBSR Practice

This MBSR body scan begins with settling into posture and reconnecting with the breath. Attention is then guided through different regions of the body, noticing sensations and areas where tension may be present. The invitation is to “fall awake,” cultivating embodied awareness and allowing experience to be just as it is.
Guidance & Silence: Frequent guidance, little silence.

Transcript

Often a body scan is done lying down on our backs, It can be on a mat, On a comfortable surface, But if it is preferable it can also be done seated on a cushion or on a chair. In our own time, Closing the eyes or keeping a gaze which does not focus on anything in particular. And remembering that we are trying to fall awake rather than asleep, If possible. Feeling the contact of our body to the ground, Feeling this pressure, And gathering the attention upon the breath, And just noticing how is this breath right now. Our body breathes itself, There's nothing to do, Just to notice with curiosity, If possible without altering it. Is it deep or shallow? Does it bring movements in the whole body or in certain parts? And paying attention to the breath in the area of the heart, The movement and any other sensation there. Maybe feeling something or maybe nothing particular. And maybe dropping the question, What brings me here to this meditation today? What is my deepest intention? And taking a deeper in-breath and out-breath, And bringing center stage the region of the eyes, Which often holds various tensions, The eyebrows, Around the eyes, Behind the eyes, And maybe feeling some slight movements, Just noticing them. Getting interested in this life, And bringing the attention on the structure of the nose, Maybe feeling this bony structure, And the region of the cheeks, The jaws, Are they tight? And maybe even feeling the teeth, The saliva maybe. And if we are brought to swallow it, Noticing the swallowing, And feeling the tongue all the way to its root. What it's touching, Maybe noticing the air going through the mouth or the nose, Feeling the whole region of the face. Are we holding a mask and do we need to? Feeling the whole scalp in the back of the head, The region of the neck and shoulders. Holding any tensions there in kind awareness. Can I be okay with what is here? And now bringing to awareness the arms, Their length and volume. Maybe feeling up to the muscles and the bones maybe. And navigating with our attention to the area of the hands. Maybe feeling there too, The bones, The muscles and the skin area. Feeling the air on the hands maybe. And seeing if we can stay with the hands, Breathing with the hands, Maybe softening the hands. And maybe feeling the breath in that area, Like a small movement. Or maybe nothing at all, Which is also an experience, The experience. And if the mind travels somewhere else to comment on this experience, Maybe thoughts of boredom or thoughts of the past or projections. Seeing if it is possible to enlarge our awareness. We do not need to be in the thought. We can choose to step out and see and take note of where the thought brought us. And if it feels right to bring our attention back to this body here, To this life. And bringing to the awareness, Center stage, The chest area and the belly. And the thoughts may still be there. Is it possible to leave them slightly in the wings? And center stage, This breath coming in and this breath coming out. And maybe feeling how the breath also touches the back and the lower back, The whole torso. Now bringing to our awareness the region of the buttocks, Of the hips, Of the genitals. And noticing any sensations there, Maybe of heat or of cold. Maybe of numbness or the pressure with the ground. And paying attention now to the region of the legs, Maybe feeling the clothes. And the region of the feet, The top of the foot, Bottom, The toes. Can we feel our toes? Can we feel them also individually or more all together? And now expanding the awareness to the whole of the body. This body we are wearing today and for years, How does it feel right now? How does it feel to be in this body? And maybe a thought carries us away, That's also part of our experience. And by noticing the thought we are aware again and broader than the thought. And if it feels right, We have the possibility of noting it and of opening back to the body. Maybe feeling various sensations of temperature in the body. Maybe feeling heaviness or tiredness in some places. Or on the contrary, Energy, Lightness, Or both, Or other sensations. Taking a deeper in-breath and out-breath. And feeling the gentle or maybe harsh light coming through our closed or partially closed eyelids. Noting sensations of touch with the ground or with our clothes or parts of our body. And noticing sounds around us. Gently inviting movement in our body, Whatever feels right. Opening the eyes and bringing awareness back to the sense of seeing. And gently coming to an upright posture. As we move from a mode of being to resume a mode which is more of doing. We can maybe have the intention of bringing some of the awareness that we were cultivating to the rest of our day.