Body Scan Practice

Body scan suitable for week 1 of 8-week MBCT or MBSR mindfulness course. For first steps to connect to sensations in the body. Find a comfortable, undisturbed space, place a cushion behind your head, under your knees, and maybe your heels too. There is no right or wrong, just notice your experience as it happens, from moment to moment, breath to breath.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Marissa and this is a body scan practice which can be done lying on your back,

On the floor or on a bed or sitting on a chair,

Feeling free to use cushions and a blanket in order to be comfortable and warm.

If you're lying on your back,

Letting your arms be on the floor alongside the body,

A little way away from the body,

With the palms of the hands either facing up towards the ceiling or in towards the body,

If that's comfortable.

The legs can be stretched out with the feet falling away from each other and allowing the eyes to gently close,

But knowing they can be opened at any time,

Especially if you find yourself getting a bit sleepy.

So in this practice we're not trying to achieve a special state or quiet in the mind.

We're not even trying to relax,

Perhaps seeing if it's possible to let go of our usual habit of monitoring our experience and comparing it to how we think it should be.

Instead,

As best you can,

Bringing openness to your experience and allowing it to be whatever it is from moment to moment.

So now having a sense of the body as a whole as it lies here,

Noticing the space that the body takes up and noticing the contact points between the body and the floor or the bed or the chair.

Notice all the contact points.

Noticing that the body is breathing,

Bringing awareness to the sensations of breathing in different parts of the body.

Perhaps feeling the air move in the nostrils and perhaps in the back of the throat and the movements of the chest as you breathe.

And sensations in the abdomen,

The belly,

As it rises on the in-breath and falls away on the out-breath.

Allowing the body to breathe naturally,

Not trying to change it in any way.

Just tuning into the breath,

Gently rising and falling.

The body gently expanding and contracting.

When you're ready,

Moving the focus of your attention down the left leg and all the way down to the toes of the left foot.

Bringing awareness to any feelings in the toes.

Perhaps noticing any tingling or numbness.

Noticing any feelings of warmth or coolness.

There's no need to create any sensations,

Just tuning in to what's already here.

Allowing the feelings to be just as they are.

And as you explore the sensations in the toes,

You might want to see if it's possible to be aware of the toes and also be aware of the breath in the background.

As you breathe in and breathe out.

So that you're breathing with the sensations in the toes.

And if there's nothing to feel,

No sensations,

Then just being with that experience of neutrality and breathing with that experience.

And now when you're ready,

Perhaps on an out-breath,

Shifting the focus of attention away from the toes and moving it to the other parts of the left foot.

The sole of the foot.

The heel of the foot.

And the top of the foot.

And perhaps breathing again with any feelings that you find.

Sensations from the surface of the foot.

And from inside the foot.

Investigating all parts of the foot with interest,

Curiosity.

And at a certain point,

Perhaps again on an out-breath,

Letting go of the foot and moving the attention to the ankle.

What sensations are here in the ankle right now?

A part of the body we often take for granted until something goes wrong.

Maybe feelings from the skin and from the joint.

Sensing the ankle.

Noticing what's here.

Or noticing an absence of sensations.

And if you notice that the mind has wandered off,

Just registering where it's gone to and then patiently escorting it back to the ankle.

When you're ready,

Letting go of the ankle and moving the focus of your attention to the region between the ankle and the knee,

The lower leg.

So feeling into the calf and the shin.

So perhaps noticing contact with clothing.

Maybe contact with the floor.

And noticing any sensations from the inside of the lower leg.

Being really curious here,

Not just thinking about this part of the body but experiencing it directly.

Feeling it.

Sensing it.

And when you're ready,

Again letting go and moving the focus of your awareness to the left knee.

Opening to what is here.

There's no need to make it any different from how you find it.

Just sensing into the front of the knee,

The back of the knee and the sides of the knee.

And perhaps bringing a sense of appreciation to this complex joint that serves us so well.

That enables us to do so much.

And when you're ready,

Perhaps on an out breath,

Letting go of the knee and bringing the attention and interest into the left thigh.

This large muscle and the heavy bone.

Sensing the weight of the thigh.

Again what feelings are here,

If any.

There's no right way for the thigh to feel.

And perhaps with the sensations from the thigh in the foreground and the feeling of the breath in the background,

Holding both in your awareness.

And again when you're ready,

Perhaps this time taking a slightly deeper in breath and on the out breath letting go of the thigh.

And moving your awareness now to the right leg.

Travelling all the way down the leg and out to the toes of the right foot.

Opening to sensations here.

The toes and the right foot.

Not thinking about what your toes should feel like but noticing what's actually here right now.

Perhaps noticing any feelings of warmth or coolness or clothing.

Just tuning in to what's already here.

Allowing the feelings to be just as they are.

And letting go of the toes now,

Shifting the focus of attention to the other parts of the right foot.

The sole of the foot.

The arch of the foot.

The heel.

The top of the foot.

And perhaps breathing with any feelings that you find.

Any sensations from the surface of the foot and from inside the foot.

Investigating all parts.

And at a certain point perhaps on an out breath,

Letting go of the foot and moving the attention into the ankle.

What sensations are here in the ankle right now?

Any sense of temperature or aching?

Breathing with whatever your experience is right now.

Noticing what's here.

Noticing if that mind has wandered maybe for the hundredth time already.

Just patiently guiding it back to the practice.

And when you're ready letting go of the ankle.

And moving the focus of your attention to the area between the ankle and the knee,

The lower leg.

Feeling into the calf and the shin.

Perhaps noticing any contact with clothing or any contact with the floor.

Noticing any sensations from the inside.

Really experiencing this part of the body directly.

And when you're ready letting go,

Moving the focus of your attention to the right knee.

Opening to what is here now.

Sensing into the front of the knee,

The back of the knee and the sides of the knee.

You may all have different sensations.

And when you're ready letting go of the knee and bringing the attention and interest into the right thigh.

This large bone,

This strong muscle.

Sensing the shape and the weight of the thigh.

Sensing any feelings,

The edges,

The outer edges of the thigh.

And when you're ready letting go of the thigh and bringing your attention now into the whole region of the pelvis.

So coming up into the pelvis,

The hips,

The buttocks,

The genital area.

Experiencing what's here on the surface and within.

Breathing with any sensations.

Trying to change anything.

Just allowing the sensations to be just as they are.

And of course whenever you notice that the mind has wandered just gently guiding it back.

Coming back to feeling some sensations in this moment.

When you're ready on the next out breath,

Letting go of this area and moving the awareness to the lower back.

This part of the body is a place where tension and stress can store.

So as best you can allowing the lower back to open and soften.

Maybe with your breath,

With your exhale inviting any tension to leave the body if it will.

When you're ready taking a deeper breath and on the out breath letting go and moving up into the abdomen,

Front of the body.

Tuning in to the patterns of sensations that arise as you breathe.

The rising of the belly on the in breath and the falling away on the out breath.

Breathing into and out from the abdomen.

Just being with this gentle rise and fall.

Perhaps giving particular attention to any sensations in this part of the body that feel pleasant or smooth or comfortable at the moment.

And if you wish to moving in closer to those sensations,

Focusing in.

Breathing with them,

Feeling them fully,

Savouring these pleasant sensations.

And now letting go and moving to the chest.

Holding the chest in a gentle awareness.

Feeling the movements of the chest wall as you breathe.

Perhaps sensing the beating of the heart inside the chest.

And at any time during the practice a variety of feelings or emotions may arise,

Pleasant or unpleasant.

And when this happens as best you can simply notice the feelings and allow them to be as they are.

And just continue with the practice.

There's no need to chase away difficult feelings or hold on to pleasant feelings.

Just letting them come and letting them go.

Trying as best you can to observe them as they come and go.

And on an out breath.

Shifting awareness to the upper part of the back,

The shoulder blades and the shoulders.

This is another region of the body where tension is often stored.

A part of the body that often reacts to stress by tightening,

Bracing.

So as best you can simply opening to whatever sensations are there.

Maybe opening that awareness to the breath as well.

So being with the sensations of the shoulders,

The shoulder blades and noticing the breath in the body.

Being with them both.

And when you're ready as you breathe out letting go of this part of the body.

And moving the focus of awareness now down to the hands.

Both hands at the same time.

Tuning in to any sensations at the tips of your fingers and thumbs.

Right at the tips.

What's here right now.

Very sensitive part of the body.

There may be tingling,

Pulsing,

Warmth or coolness.

And simply tuning in to what's present in this moment in the fingertips.

And then letting the awareness expand to the rest of your fingers and thumbs.

Taking in the whole of the fingers and thumbs.

And then into the palms of the hands.

And the backs of the hands.

These hands that are often busy,

Often serving us so well.

Giving them some time,

Some quality attention.

Now letting the field of awareness expand to the wrists.

Taking in the wrists.

And coming up into the lower arms.

The fronts of the arms,

The backs of the arms.

Bringing a friendly and curious attention to whatever is here.

And expanding again to bring awareness to the elbows.

Tuning in to both sides of the elbows.

The outside and the insides.

Coming up into the upper arms.

The strong muscles in the biceps.

The triceps.

The feeling of the clothes against your skin.

Maybe the backs of the arms against the floor.

And continuing to expand into the shoulders.

So coming now to the neck.

The front and the back and the sides.

So the muscles at the back of the neck.

Maybe softening,

Opening to whatever is here.

Pressing the air,

Passing through the throat as you breathe.

And on an out breath letting go of the neck.

Moving into the face and the head.

Beginning with the chin and the jaw.

What sensations are here in this part of the face?

And now also the cheeks.

The lips,

Top lip,

Bottom lip.

Inside the mouth,

The teeth.

The gums.

The tongue.

The roof of the mouth.

And where the mouth meets the throat.

Now expanding awareness to the surface of the nose.

The nostrils.

Inside the nose.

Where the nose meets the throat.

Noticing what's changing from moment to moment.

What's staying the same.

And now also the temples.

And the eyelids.

The eyeballs.

And the eyebrows.

And sensing the forehead.

And sensing any tightness in the forehead.

All the tiny muscles across the forehead.

Softening that area if you choose to.

Now expanding the field of awareness again to the sides of the head and the ears.

Notice what sensations are here.

Just opening to them,

Being with them.

The back of the head.

That contact between the back of the head and the floor if you're lying down.

Noticing any intensity here between the back of the head and the floor.

And coming right up to the top of the head.

And when you're ready,

Taking a slightly deeper breath and letting go.

And now seeing if it's possible to hold the whole of the body in awareness.

From the top of the head out to the fingertips and down to the toes.

Opening to sensations from any and all parts of the body.

Aware of the whole body,

The landscape of sensations.

And if you choose to,

Bringing awareness to a part of the body that feels particularly comfortable,

Pleasant,

At ease.

Breathing with these pleasant sensations for a few moments.

Savouring them.

And then coming back to a sense of the body as a whole.

The whole body all together.

The whole body just lying here breathing.

And returning now to feel all the contact points of the body and the bed or the floor.

Noticing all those contact points between the back of the body and the bed or the floor.

And beginning now to return some movement to the body by wiggling fingers and toes.

And gently stretching out the arms and legs.

Maybe bringing the knees up towards the ceiling,

Feet on the floor.

Just gently moving the spine into a slightly different position.

And when you're ready,

Opening the eyes,

Allowing yourself some time just to adjust and transition back into your space.

And continue with the rest of your evening or your day.

Reviews

A lovely, gentle, well paced practice. Thankyou 😊 😊😊