Body Scan

The Body Scan is a mindfulness practice to cultivate awareness of the different regions of your body and allowing yourself to experience how each part feels, without trying to change anything. Practicing this meditation may help you cope with anxiety, stress, and depression.

Transcript

So take a few moments to settle in.

Lying on your back,

Arms at your sides,

Feet falling away from one another.

Closing your eyes if that feels okay.

If you are sitting on a chair or on a cushion,

Taking an alert and dignified posture,

Your hands at rest on your knees or thighs,

Or settled in your lap.

We will begin by bringing awareness to the experience of breathing.

Seeing if you can be aware of where the sensations of breathing are,

Most prominent for you.

This may be at the level of the nostrils,

The mouth,

The tongue,

The throat,

The windpipe,

Or in the rising and falling of the chest,

Or at the abdomen,

Or at the abdomen,

As the belly is rising and falling.

Allowing the breath to do what it naturally does,

Without changing it or getting in the way.

Allowing the breath to breathe itself,

Being with the physical sensations of the breath,

As they are in this moment.

Not with the breath you would like to be breathing,

But the breath as it is,

Right here,

Right now.

Allowing your body to settle into its natural state with each out-breath,

As the chair or floor takes on the work of holding you up,

And letting yourself be where you are,

Right here,

Right now,

In this moment.

Now on the next out-breath,

Releasing your attention from your chosen place of breathing,

And with the next in-breath,

Bringing your awareness,

Focusing your attention on the lower belly,

Abiding here,

As you breathe in and out,

Noticing the sensations of breathing in the lower belly with the inhalation,

And the sensations arising on the exhalation,

Perhaps noticing the pause at the top of the inhalation,

And the pause in the respiration at the bottom of the exhalation,

As you notice,

Breathing in and out,

The sensations arising and passing in the lower belly.

And now on the next out-breath,

Releasing your attention from breathing,

And with the inhalation,

Bringing your attention to awareness of the body,

Examining the general state of the body in this moment.

Perhaps there is a sensation of relaxation,

Or tension,

Restlessness,

Or maybe even the feeling of agitation,

And your task is to simply notice,

And with the next exhalation,

Releasing your attention on the entire body,

And binding your awareness to the back body,

Becoming aware of where the body is in contact with the mat,

Or the chair if you are sitting,

Or in space if you are sitting on a cushion,

And noticing the sensations presenting themselves in the back body,

Noting that a sensation may be pressure,

Touch,

Warmth,

Tension,

And attending to whatever is arising in the back body in this moment.

And with the out-breath,

Releasing your attention on the back body,

And with the in-breath,

Bringing your attention to the entire front body,

From the top of the head to the tips of the toes,

And becoming aware of sensations arising here,

Perhaps becoming aware of the feeling of your clothing on your skin,

Or the circulation of air around the front body,

And noting that,

Or you may be noticing sensations related to tightness,

Or your hair upon your face,

Or the movement of the body as you are breathing in and out,

Without needing to change anything,

Or manipulating anything in any way.

Now on the next out-breath,

Releasing your awareness from the front body,

And with the in-breath,

Shifting your awareness to the back,

Top,

And sides of the head,

Allowing your awareness to freely float in this area,

Seeing if you can detect any physical sensations that present themselves in the head,

Trying not to interfere with sensation,

But rather letting it do whatever it wants to do as you are attending to the head,

Keeping in mind that sensations may involve tingling,

Moisture,

Temperature,

Tension,

Pressure.

If you are experiencing no sensation or numbness,

Seeing if you can be fully present,

And noticing that,

As you are exploring the back,

Sides,

And top of the head.

On the next out-breath,

Releasing your awareness of the head,

And on the in-breath,

Establishing awareness on the face,

Bringing your attention from forehead to chin,

And from ear to ear,

Allowing your awareness to move freely around the face,

Experiencing any sensations that arise,

And bringing your attention to that area as best you can,

Becoming aware of the chin,

The lips,

The inside of the mouth,

The tongue,

The cheeks,

The eyes,

The eyebrows,

And the forehead,

Letting whatever sensation arises,

And noticing it as it comes and goes,

Letting your attention linger long enough so that you are becoming aware of sensation as it changes.

Some people find it helpful to softly label the area of the face to which they are attending from moment to moment,

Perhaps quietly naming the areas.

This may be helpful to both focus on the area and to attract sensation,

In this case,

To nose,

Cheek,

Lips,

Chin,

Eye,

Ear,

Or forehead.

If you are finding this useful,

Feel free to use it.

If not,

Letting the labeling technique go and staying with your moment-to-moment awareness as you are looking for sensations that crop up on the face,

Allowing your awareness to penetrate the area in detail,

Noticing the sensation where it is beginning and ending,

Noticing its edges,

Movements,

If there are any within the sensation.

Is it restricted to the skin?

Or does the sensation move deeper into the body?

So really bringing curiosity about each sensation,

Curious about whatever is arising in this moment as you are examining the face.

And now in the next out-breath,

Releasing your attention from the face,

And with the in-breath,

Moving your attention to the neck and the throat,

Softening and releasing as best you can,

Allowing your awareness to hover in this region of the body,

Noticing any sensations that well up and giving them your full and undivided attention as you are becoming aware of the front of the neck,

The sides of the neck,

The back of the neck,

And the throat.

And you will be noticing that from time to time your attention will be pulled away by thoughts arising in your mind.

Attention may also be hijacked by other sensations arising elsewhere in the body.

And if this happens,

Gently escorting your wandering attention back to the area of focus in the body,

Which in this moment involves the neck and the throat.

Now on the next out-breath,

Releasing your awareness from the neck,

And on the in-breath,

Guiding your attention to the shoulders,

The tops of the shoulders,

The sides,

The backs of the shoulders,

And the fronts,

Noticing also the shoulder joints and bringing your attention to these,

Penetrating deeply,

Noticing any sensations,

Large or small,

That are arising,

Letting your awareness soak into them,

Examining their parameters,

Depth,

Edges.

And when you have finished investigating one sensation,

Waiting for another and exploring that.

If you are noticing more intense sensations,

Seeing if you can attend to them in this same curious or neutral way,

Exploring or opening up to them,

Rather than resisting,

Bracing or fighting them,

As you are attending to the shoulders.

The shoulders may be a place of tension for some people,

Making sensations more intense than perhaps in other areas of the body.

And if this is the case for you,

Noting that,

And being with the sensation as it is.

Again,

The instruction is always the same.

No need to do anything,

No need to fix anything,

Simply being with the sensation as it is,

As long as it captures your attention,

And then waiting for another to emerge.

Now with the next out-breath,

Releasing your awareness from the shoulders,

And with the inhalation,

Bringing your attention to surveying the arms,

From underarms to wrists,

Exploring both arms together or each one individually,

Whichever is best for you in this moment.

Exploring the fronts,

Sides,

And backs of the arms.

Noting where the arms are in contact with the surface you are lying on or sitting on,

If they are,

And becoming aware of these sensations.

Exploring the elbows and the wrist joints,

Moving deeply into the joint spaces,

Paying attention in this particular way,

With intention.

Sensations may be entering your field of awareness due to where your clothing touches the skin,

And the object of your attention is to study these sensations with a kind of affectionate curiosity and non-judgmental stance,

With as little interference,

And with as much detail as possible.

If it is helpful,

Continue using the labeling technique,

And if more than one sensation is arising,

Feeling free to attend to the one that really peaks your curiosity,

The one that is really calling out to you as you are attending to the arms.

Moving in for a closer look and exploring the sensation in its entirety.

Again,

Whenever the attention is wandering,

You know what to do,

With a kind of compassionate awareness,

Gently returning to the object of meditation,

Which in this moment happens to be the sensations arising in the arms.

Now on the next out-breath,

Releasing your attention from the arms,

And on the in-breath,

Establishing your attention on the hands,

Letting your awareness move down and float freely throughout the hands,

Attending to any sensations that are arising here,

Exploring each hand separately or both together.

There may be warmth,

Tingling,

Pressure,

Numbness,

Tension or ease,

Observing as best you can the quality of the contours of these sensations that are arising in the hands,

Remembering that you may have awareness of where your hands are in contact with the surface you are lying on,

Sitting on,

Or on the body.

And simply noting this.

As you are exploring the hands,

Exploring the palms,

The backs of the hands,

Each of the fingers and the thumb,

Noticing the joints that are present in the hands and investigating these,

Being with whatever sensations present themselves in this moment.

Now on the next out-breath,

Letting go of your attention on the hands,

And on the in-breath,

Bringing your attention to the upper back and surveying this area.

There may be sensations of pressure or temperature or tension,

And you are observing each sensation without having to change anything,

Allowing yourself to explore and feel each sensation with curiosity as you are exploring the upper back.

And now with the next out-breath,

Letting go of your attention on the upper back,

And with the inhalation,

Directing your attention to the lower back and bringing awareness to any sensation that comes up and exploring it in detail.

The lower back is a region that may present challenging sensations.

If this is the case for you,

Seeing if you can open up to these,

Neither leaning in nor pushing away,

Allowing whatever sensations are arising to follow their own course.

As you are exploring the back,

Coming aware of the spine and the muscles surrounding the spine,

Investigating them fully,

Again,

When the attention wanders,

Simply noting that and bringing your attention back to the investigation of the body which in this moment is on the lower back and the spine.

Now on the next out-breath,

Releasing your awareness of the back and with the inhalation,

Becoming aware of the chest as it is rising and falling.

There may be sensations made by the clothing against your skin as the chest expands and contracts with each in-breath and out-breath.

You may be aware of your beating heart.

Letting your awareness fully penetrate into each sensation,

Allowing it to do whatever it does as you are observing the chest and its movement moment by moment.

Now with the next out-breath,

Releasing your awareness of the chest and with the in-breath,

Bringing your attention to the abdomen,

Noting the belly as it is rising and falling with each breath,

Rising and falling,

Rising and falling,

Each breath a new breath.

Many sensations arise in the stomach to which we apply descriptions.

In this moment,

We are trying to observe whatever is arising in the abdomen without thinking about them,

Without naming or judging or drawing conclusions.

Rather,

We are being with sensation as it is.

In this moment,

Our attention is on the belly.

Now with the next out-breath,

Letting go of your awareness of the abdomen and with the in-breath,

Establishing your attention on the pelvis,

The front,

Sides,

And the buttocks,

Allowing your awareness to move freely around this region of the body,

Observing any sensations that are arising in the pelvis,

Trying as best you can to be opening up to the sensation,

Whatever it is,

Rather than resisting,

Tensing,

Or bracing against what is coming up.

Strong sensations may arise in the pelvis,

And you can always return to the breath as an anchor to the present moment.

With the next out-breath,

Releasing your attention from the pelvic region,

And with the in-breath,

Bringing attention to the legs and ankles,

Exploring each one individually or both together,

Learning to be present as best you can with whatever is arising right here,

Right now,

And then giving them center stage.

If labeling helps you to better focus on the sensations and body parts,

Feeling free to use it,

Perhaps silently saying to yourself,

Shin,

Thigh,

Knee.

If you are deciding to use this technique,

Seeing if the labeling can be very soft,

Like a bubble floating up into your awareness,

As you are attending to the terrain of the legs in as much detail as possible,

Exploring the hip joint,

The knee joint,

And the ankle joint,

Penetrating into the joints deeply and investigating any sensations arising here.

When the attention is taken away into thinking or other sensations,

You know what to do.

Coming back to the object of meditation in a kind way,

A compassionate way,

A way that acknowledges that becoming absorbed in cascading thinking is simply the nature of mind.

In fact,

Noticing that the attention has wandered is as much a part of mindfulness meditation as a staying on the body part itself,

Which in this moment is the legs.

And now on the next out-breath,

Releasing the legs from awareness,

And with the in-breath,

Allowing this special kind of attention to come into the feet,

The tops of the feet,

The toes,

The nails,

The soles,

And the heels.

Resting here as best you can,

Right here,

Right now,

Knowing that you can attend to each foot separately or both together,

Letting your awareness move through the feet,

Waiting until an area calls out for your attention,

And then moving in to investigate whatever sensations are arising,

Studying contours or topography,

Noting pressure,

Moisture,

Tingling,

Pulsing,

Or even numbness if these are present.

So attending to the feet in their entirety,

Moment by moment,

Narrowly seeing your awareness of the feet on the next out-breath,

And on the in-breath,

Allowing your attention to move along the back of the body,

From the back of the heels,

The calves,

The backs of the knees,

The thighs,

The buttocks,

The spine,

The lower,

Middle,

And upper back.

Breathing in and out,

Noticing tenseness,

Looseness,

Pain,

Comfort,

Vibration.

Resting with whatever sensations are presenting themselves.

Continuing the movement of your attention along the back of the arms and the hands,

The shoulders,

The neck and the head.

Attending to the back of the head and the scalp,

Opening your awareness to examining any sensations that are welling up in this moment.

And as sensations come and go,

Seeing if you can move from location to location,

Lingering and attending to what is arising until your investigation is complete.

Attending to one sensation,

Exploring it,

And waiting for another to arise.

Again,

If it feels right to you,

Labeling the body parts as you're exploring the back body.

Now with the out-breath,

Releasing your attention on the back body,

And with the in-breath,

Opening up the field of awareness to include the entire front body,

So that you are now attending to the body from the top of the head to the tips of your toes.

Letting your attention hover until a sensation tugs at your awareness,

Allowing it to do what it wants to do without manipulating anything,

Exploring it fully,

And then patiently waiting for the next sensation to come along.

Taking all the time you need with each sensation,

As you move your awareness down the entire front body,

Along the face,

The neck,

The throat,

The shoulders,

The chest,

The abdomen,

The fronts of the arms and the hands,

The hips,

The thighs,

Knees,

Shins,

And the fronts of the feet.

Expanding your awareness,

Taking in the entire body.

And with the next out-breath,

Releasing your attention from the entire body,

And with the in-breath,

Once again becoming aware of the physical sensations of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.

Wherever the sensations of breathing are most dominant for you,

As you are opening up to things as they are in each moment,

And seeing how one can be with experience as it is,

Without clinging or resisting,

Allowing things to be as they are.

Beyond our own fears,

Worries,

Tensions,

Mood,

And beyond the tendencies of the mind,

To want things to be a certain way,

To give in to its preferences.

So being awake to your experience as it unfolds moment by moment,

Remembering that this state of clarity is available to you at any time by bringing attention or awareness to the anchor of the breath.

And now with the out-breath,

Releasing awareness of the breath as the primary focus of attention,

And on the in-breath,

Shifting your awareness to the ears to include hearing,

Noticing the sensations of hearing,

Allowing sound to come and go,

In the same way you have been attending to the sensations of the body,

Seeing what it is to hear without naming,

Without judging,

Without a story.

And if your eyes are closed,

The suggestion at this point is to open them,

Bringing your full attention to the room with awareness of body,

Awareness of breath,

Awareness of sight,

And awareness of sound as you attend to the bell,

Signaling the end of this formal period of meditation practice.

Reviews

Excellent. Thank you. I appreciate the long practice. Easy to follow and focused.

Wow intense focus and fabulously relaxing and insightful

So relaxing, thank you

Nice focusing meditation. The time flew by. Myinkey mind was pretty quiet today. Thank you.☮️🙏