Body Scan For Stress Reduction (MBSR)

This Body Scan Meditation is a practice of exploring the sensations and present moment experiences in the physical body. You are encouraged to withhold judgement or expectation of how or what you should be feeling. Once you have let go of these pre conceived ideas, you will find thar any dormant tension or stress will be released with it.

Transcript

Bell Just finding a comfortable position either sitting or lying down.

We're trying to stay awake,

Alert during this practice.

Making sure you're warm,

Your posture is dignified.

Not slumped but rather an upright spine or laying flat on your back.

Quickly closing your eyes and bringing your attention to the breath.

Noticing the inhale.

Noticing the exhale.

Just allowing your attention to stay focused on the breath.

Not sending your attention all the way down to your feet and resting it there.

Noticing the sensations in the feet,

In the soles of the feet,

The roof of the feet,

Toes,

Ankles,

Heels.

Just exploring and noticing this sense of curiosity,

Acceptance.

Seeing what's to be discovered in your feet.

Noticing any sensations,

Tension or softness,

Warmth or coolness and just allowing what's there to be there.

Directing your attention up the calf muscles.

Noticing the bones,

The flesh,

The muscles of the lower leg region.

Just even exploring one leg at a time or both legs simultaneously.

Using the breath to anchor your attention in the legs.

And if you can even using the breath to soften any tensions if that's possible.

But not wanting to change or fix anything,

It's really just about being with what's there and this allowing gentle presence.

So moving up to the upper leg region,

Exploring the muscles through the top half of the legs.

Just noticing the bones,

Flesh,

The skin,

Even the weight of gravity,

Pressure.

If you notice the mind wanders off on a different thought or idea,

Fantasy,

Ruminating on the past.

Bringing it back gently and kindly to the upper leg region.

Continuing to use the breath to anchor your attention,

Raising it up slightly now higher.

Feeling the groin,

The buttocks,

All the organs encased in the pelvic bowl.

Noticing any sensations or absence of feeling and just allowing what you're experiencing to be there without needing to judge it or change it or wanting it to be any different.

Feeling this sense of curiosity,

Of noticing.

Breathing in with the sensations on the inhale and on the exhale letting go and refocusing.

Moving towards the tummy region,

Exploring the lower back,

The abdomen,

All the muscles and digestive organs as you rest your attention in this region of the body.

You might notice any gut feelings,

Some tension or tightness.

You might be softening,

Warmth or coolness.

Not looking for anything in particular,

Just noticing what's there.

You might become aware of the changing sensations.

Noticing if the mind tends to comment on the experience and knowing this is very normal.

So rather than getting frustrated,

Just coming back to the breath,

Continuing this direct attention on the stomach region.

Using the breath following the spine upwards,

Noticing the rising and falling of the breath in the chest.

Exploring the sensations of breathing through the movement of your chest region.

Noticing the subtle beating of the heart muscle,

The texture and tone surrounding the heart muscle.

Expanding your attention outwards from the heart to the chest,

The bones of the rib cage.

Noticing the diaphragm.

Bringing your attention back if it wanders and letting it rest in this stillness,

In this awareness of the sensations of the chest,

Heart,

Lungs and back.

Breathing along your body to your hands,

Exploring the fingers and thumbs individually and one hand at a time.

Breathing into them and noticing the sensations,

The feeling tones and the fabric and flesh if you have them resting together.

And if you don't feel any sensations or there's numbness,

Just trying to be a little bit with that nothingness if you can.

Breathing into them.

Expanding your attention through the hands,

Wrists.

Expanding your attention upwards through the lower arm region,

From the hands all the way to the elbows.

Noticing what's there and being curious about it.

Using the breath as an anchor.

Keeps noticing the weight,

The lightness.

Expanding your attention upwards to the upper arm region.

Exploring the physical sensations,

The emotional tone.

Using the breath as an anchor.

Allowing what you're discovering to be there.

Not wanting to change things,

Not wanting to fix anything.

Just resting in this present moment,

Stillness,

Being aware of the changing nature of sensations in the upper arm region.

Breathing your attention through the shoulders,

All the way to the neck.

Exploring the muscles through the shoulders,

The bones.

Noticing if there's tension there,

If there's holding on,

Tightness.

Noticing if there's softening,

There's warmth or coolness.

Accepting acceptance and allowing to what you notice.

I'm trying not to judge your experience but rather just staying in that awareness of what you're noticing.

If you don't sense anything or you're not feeling anything,

Just acknowledging that and letting that be okay too.

Being curious,

Being still with the no feeling or sensation in that region.

And gently up through the neck onto the back of the scalp.

Exploring all the hair follicles,

Perhaps the neck,

The neck muscles.

Just noticing the weight of your head resting on the neck.

There might be a sense of lightness.

Feeling the hair,

The back of the scalp,

Feeling into the skull,

Perhaps even the brain.

You might notice slight movement inside your head.

Coming down onto the face and noticing the eyes flickering in their sockets,

The nose and the breath moving in and out.

The mouth,

The lips,

The tongue.

Noticing the moisture in the mouth,

There might be dryness.

Feeling the tone through the cheek muscle,

Any tension in the jaw.

Just bringing awareness to it,

Allowing the breath to soften any places where there might be tension if that's possible for you.

Just bringing this acceptance,

Acceptance to our body,

To our present moment experience.

Sitting in this full awareness of our face breathing in and out.

Noticing the quality of our attention.

Feeling our breath.

Now expanding the attention outwards to the body as a whole.

Sitting in this open awareness of just allowing your attention to be with the whole body.

Noticing what's there to be noticed.

Letting your attention go to where you notice strong sensations.

And if you don't notice any strong sensations,

That's okay too.

Just sitting in that awareness of the body as a whole organism.

Noticing how all the parts are connected to the body as a whole.

And just sitting with the body as a whole for a few more breaths.

Allowing a sense of appreciation and gratitude for your practice today.

And slowly beginning to have a little stretch.

Moving gently.

And in your own time slowly beginning to open your eyes,

Becoming aware of your surroundings.

Thank you.

You

Reviews

Perfect thank you so much

Very good body scan

Excellent grounding & revitalizing practice ! Namaste 🙏

Loved it. Consistent, rhythmic, logical. Time went very quickly and I had a feltv

Nice, simple body scan. Enjoyed it, thank you 😊