Body Scan For Wisdom & Insight

This is a 30-minute body scan to support Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction practice. A body scan can assist in cultivating body awareness which is the ability to monitor the body's sensations. It is also thought to foster emotional awareness, regulation, and empathic response.

Transcript

Welcome to a 30 minute body scan meditation.

Let's begin by finding a comfortable position,

Taking a moment to consider what feels right for you today.

If you're in a chair,

Perhaps feeling the sitting bones in the seat and spine growing tall.

And if you've chosen to lie on the floor,

Feeling the back making contact with the floor,

Stretching the arms and legs out to a point of comfort.

Perhaps closing the eyes or simply lowering them to a soft gaze.

Making a choice to allow yourself to be exactly as you are in this moment.

The intention of the body scan is to befriend the body.

Practicing waking up from automatic pilot.

Practicing gently turning towards the sensations of the body.

Lingering a while before moving away.

With an attitude of curiosity,

Openness,

Acceptance and kindness.

Letting go of any need for our experience to be anything other than it is.

Paying particular attention to the sensations of the body,

Thoughts and emotions.

Without wanting and without retracting.

Simply being in the present moment.

And as we practice this body scan,

Knowing that if at any time sensations become too uncomfortable,

Or thoughts and emotions too difficult.

Remembering that it is always possible to use the anchor of the breath or the body contact with the seat or floor as a safe haven before returning to my voice once again.

Broadening the attention to include the whole body,

Lying or sitting,

Breathing,

Thinking,

Feeling.

Practicing awareness of the whole body.

Perhaps sensing the rising and falling of the tummy and if we care to,

Placing our hands on the tummy as we feel the rhythm of our breath rolling in and rolling out.

Simply riding the waves of the breath from moment to moment.

And when the mind wanders,

Just noticing and without judging.

Gently but firmly bringing awareness back to the sensations of the body.

Lying or sitting,

Feeling the chair or floor beneath you,

The breath rolling in and the breath rolling out.

Starting with the feet,

Taking our awareness down the left leg,

Down into the left foot and into the toes of the left foot.

What do we feel there?

Perhaps tingling or pressure,

Warmth or coolness.

Feeling the spaces between the toes or where one touches another.

Broadening out into the whole left foot,

Feeling into the area where the foot is touching the ground.

The arch of the foot,

The skin and the bones.

Now moving the attention to the ankle and lower legs.

What is here to feel if anything at all?

Perhaps noticing any pressure in the calves against the mat or the back of the chair or the sensation of clothes on the skin.

Maybe noticing if the attention has drifted off.

And just gently,

Without judging,

Returning to the awareness of the legs.

And now when we are ready,

Gently shifting the focus into the upper legs and the thighs.

Being aware of gravity's work.

The pressing against the floor or the chair.

The touch of clothing against the skin.

Are the muscles tight or loose?

Just gently inhabiting the body.

Broadening out now into both legs.

Maybe noticing any difference between the two legs or maybe not.

Not judging.

No particular sensation to feel.

Just bringing a broad awareness to the moment.

And when we are ready,

Moving into the right leg,

Down to the right foot,

Into the toes of the right foot.

Maybe feeling the toes but perhaps not.

Maybe feeling tingling or pressure,

Warmth or coolness.

The spaces between the toes or where one touches another.

Broadening out into the whole right foot.

Feeling into the area where the foot is touching the ground.

The arch of the foot,

The skin and the bones.

Moving onto the leg,

To the whole of the right leg,

The breath in the right leg.

Breathing in and breathing out.

The weight of the leg or the lightness.

What part of the leg does the attention want to sit with?

Letting go of any resistance and just softening,

Allowing.

Broadening out now into both legs.

The weight of both legs.

Sensations or the absence of sensation.

A broad awareness.

Just exploring the moment with curiosity.

And when it feels right,

Moving the attention up into the pelvic region.

From hip to hip,

Aware of the effects of gravity.

The weight of the lower body and the buttocks pressed into the floor or chair.

Sensation in the hip joints,

The groin,

The tummy.

Tuning into the sense of breath.

The breath rolling in and the breath rolling out.

And noticing thoughts or feelings that may arise.

Awareness of any judging.

And if possible,

Letting them go.

Returning to the rhythm of the breath and the sound of my voice guiding you on a journey through the body.

Just practicing being with the body.

Bringing attention to the lower back,

To the sense of contact or lack of contact with the floor or chair.

A sense of yielding to gravity or of any resistance.

Any tightness or softness.

Noticing any tendency to move away from or towards any sensations,

Thoughts or feelings that may arise.

Remembering that this is simply how it is in the lower back at this moment.

Now extending attention into the tummy,

The inside of our tummy.

The place where we have our gut feelings.

There are nerves here that sense and know.

Feeling into the motion of the diaphragm,

The sense of the breath in the tummy.

Moving the attention into feeling the upper trunk,

The chest.

Perhaps feeling the sensations of the breath here.

With each inhalation and exhalation,

Feeling the breath rolling in and rolling out.

Without needing to do anything,

Perhaps noticing the heartbeat,

The rhythm of the heart and the breath together.

Feeling the contact with the floor or seat and the touch of clothing.

And experiencing the whole back now.

From the shoulders to the base of the spine.

Aware of the subtle and not too subtle motions of the back as you breathe.

Dwelling in the sensations of the back.

Moving now to the shoulders.

Noticing any tightness or softness.

Recognising that this is how they are right now.

And as best we can,

Opening and accepting it.

Knowing that it does not need to be any other way.

And knowing that things change.

Now travelling into the arms.

First to the upper arms.

Aware of the pull of gravity and the weight of the arms.

Feeling the muscles and joints.

The touch and texture of clothing.

Before moving the attention to the elbows.

Noticing any sensations here.

And if you notice the mind wandering,

Just gently but kindly bringing it back to wherever we are.

Just taking a breath and starting again without judging.

Expanding the attention now to include the wrists and hands.

Sensations of warmth or coolness.

Tingling,

Moisture or dryness.

How does the breath affect the arms and hands?

Is it possible to feel the pulse here?

Just being with whatever the experience is.

And what do the fingers feel like?

Are they relaxed or curled into the palm?

Perhaps noticing the spaces between the fingers.

Feeling the position of the hands.

What is here to feel?

Touch,

Pressure,

Warmth.

Perhaps something or perhaps nothing.

Moving the attention back to the shoulders.

What is there to feel in the muscles here?

Maybe tightness or looseness.

Can you feel your shoulders on the floor or the back of the chair?

Shifting the attention to the neck.

Noticing how it is right now in the big muscles in the back of the neck.

From the base of the skull to the shoulders.

The throat.

Being present in this experience.

Does the throat feel tight or relaxed?

As we move through the body scan,

There is no need to make sensations happen.

If the sensation is subtle,

That's what is there to be noticed.

Even the absence of sensation is something to be noticed.

Gathering information from our senses.

Feeling how it is to be sitting or lying down.

What can be perceived right now?

And then into the head.

Does the head feel heavy or light?

Feeling into the scalp,

The forehead,

The cheeks,

The eyes.

What does the face feel like?

Bringing awareness to the entire face.

And when we are ready,

Moving attention to the forehead.

Observing any sensations.

Perhaps furrows of attention or tingling or a sense of relaxation.

Allowing yourself to feel whatever it is you feel in this moment.

Now moving the attention to the eyes and eyelids.

How much or little pressure does it take to keep them closed?

Experiencing the eyes from the inside.

From behind the eyelids.

Are the eyeballs moving or still?

Is there darkness,

Light or colour?

How does the breath affect this area?

And when it feels right,

Beginning to pay attention to the cheeks.

Sensing the bones,

The muscles,

The skin of the cheeks.

Sensations of coolness or warmth.

Noting that some sensations linger while others pass quickly.

And how the intensity may change as we bring our attention to them.

And attending now to the nose,

From the bridge to the edges of the nostrils.

Perhaps feeling the breath in the nostrils as it enters and leaves.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Noticing any temperature,

Moisture or sensations on the upper lip.

Moving the attention to the jaw.

Being aware of any tightness or softness.

Expanding the focus of attention to include the mouth and lips.

Inside the mouth.

The tongue against the teeth.

Against the roof of the mouth.

Feeling the breath come in through the nose and out through the nose or lips.

Just allowing the air to play on its way out.

Now expanding the attention to include the entire body from the soles of the feet to the top of the head.

Being present to the totality of the experience of sitting or lying here in this moment.

Perhaps imagining a wave of breath flowing from the tips of the toes to the top of the head.

And all the way back down again.

Feeling the back of the body or the feet on the floor.

A sense of being grounded here in this present moment.

And taking a few moments now to reflect on your experience without judging it as good or bad.

Just allowing it to be what it is.

Perhaps you've learned some new things along the way.

Areas of the body to nurture and be kind to.

Or perhaps sensations were not as you expected.

And now just starting to bring some movement back into the body.

Whatever feels good to you.

Perhaps wriggling your fingers and toes.

Stretching the body in whatever way feels needed.

And when you are ready,

Turning your awareness to sounds in the room.

The sounds outside of the room.

And gently opening the eyes and coming back into the room.

The body scan is now complete.

Reviews

Very helpful. Thank you

Thank you 🙏🏾! This was slightly different, and I found it helpful.