The Body Scan Practice

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.

This meditation is lead by The Centre for Mindfulness Studies' facilitator: Gwen Morgan

Transcript

Welcome to the body scan practice.

Preparing for this period of formal mindfulness meditation practice,

By finding a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for a while,

Turning the cell phone off,

And coming to lying down on a mat on the floor or on a bed,

Bringing your arms along by your sides,

Palms facing up,

And allowing your feet to fall away from each other,

Making yourself comfortable with pillows supporting your back.

This practice may also be done sitting up in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the ground,

Gently allowing your eyes to close if you are comfortable with this,

Or allowing them to fall in an open,

Soft and unfocused gaze.

However,

If you are sleepy,

Experimenting with keeping the eyes open,

As this may be helpful for staying awake during the practice.

The intention in the body scan is to be fully awake,

Observing with a gentle curiosity,

Sensations arising and passing in the body.

The invitation is to bring an accepting and non-judging awareness to your experience of the actual sensations present,

However it is right now,

Pleasant,

Unpleasant or neutral.

Letting go of thinking about the body and directly experiencing the actual physical sense of the body and knowing of the body directly.

The guidance will be directing your attention systematically through the body to various parts and regions,

Shifting,

Holding and releasing attention with a focus on the physical sensations in each area,

Cultivating our capacity to steady the mind.

In attending to the body sensations,

Which are only ever happening in the present moment,

We are inviting awareness of the body to bring us fully into the present moment.

There are many different body sensations you may be experiencing,

Pressure,

Tightness,

Tension,

Warmth or cold,

Itching,

Numbness,

Achiness,

Pain and sometimes no sensations.

Whatever is here now,

Noticing its qualities and how these sensations are perhaps changing,

Rising and falling in intensity or coming and passing away.

Even in those moments of unpleasant and intense body sensations,

Thoughts and emotions,

Staying present with a gentle,

Patient,

Non-reactive attending as best you can.

This is the heart of mindfulness practice.

Staying present and opening with a full and compassionate awareness to the experience.

In this way we are cultivating a greater connection with the body and coming to know where and how our body is holding stress and tension,

Where and how emotions may be showing up and getting to know our automatic patterns of reactivity.

Remembering that mindfulness is a practice of non-striving and acceptance.

There is no goal to feel a certain way,

Nor is there a right or wrong way to feel just the way you are feeling right now.

Letting go of expectations,

Even the expectation of relaxing,

As the effort and wanting to be relaxed will only generate more tension.

Rather in simply observing what is present,

Letting go of thinking,

Letting go of wanting things to be different than how they are,

Letting go of having to do anything,

Nothing to do here,

Coming to stillness.

Bringing a gentle,

Patient,

Compassionate awareness to your experience,

Accepting whatever is present and opening to the potential for strength and healing within yourself.

We are going to begin by taking a few moments to feel the sense of the whole body lying or sitting here.

Perhaps feeling the weight of the body against the floor or chair,

Coolness or warmth,

The air in the room moving against the skin,

The feeling of clothing,

And the feeling of the support of the surfaces you are lying or sitting against,

Letting go and releasing into their support.

Now gently shifting the focus of your attention to the sensations of breathing,

Breathing normally and naturally.

You don't have to do any style of breathing,

You don't even have to think about breathing,

Letting go of the doing mode and coming to a different mode of mind simply being,

Observing the coming and going of the breath in the body,

Perhaps noticing the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen,

Rising with each in-breath and falling with each out-breath,

And if you would like placing your hands on the belly to better be in touch with the sensations of the breath here.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

And in the silence you may be noticing that your attention is no longer on sensations of breathing,

But absorbed in thinking,

Worrying,

Planning,

Daydreaming,

Judging,

Arguing,

And when you notice,

As soon as you notice,

Simply noting what is on the mind,

Gently labeling it as thinking,

Thinking,

And then bringing your attention back to the physical sensations of the breath,

Or to the body part we will be focusing on.

It is not wrong that the attention has wandered,

Rather you are discovering something important about the tendencies in the mind,

And choosing to return your attention to the present moment sensations of the breath and of the body.

Breath and body always here,

Only ever in the present,

Can become like an anchor,

A tether for returning our awareness to the present moment.

And as you are practicing,

You may find that certain parts of the body are more difficult to focus on.

So,

If this happens for you,

Knowing that you have a choice,

Perhaps first bringing a sense of investigative curiosity to the sensations,

Moving in close,

But knowing also that you may choose to shift your attention to the sensations of the breath,

Feeling the breath in the belly,

Staying with these sensations of breathing,

Trusting your inner wisdom,

And taking care of yourself in a compassionate way.

And then,

When you are ready,

Returning your attention to where the guidance is directing your focus.

So if you have placed your hands on the belly,

Taking them off now and bringing them to your sides,

Palms facing up,

And when you are ready,

Along with an out breath,

Letting go,

And shifting the focus of your attention away from the abdomen,

All the way down the left leg to the toes on the left foot.

If your eyes are closed,

How do you know where your toes are?

Becoming aware of the sensations,

From the big toe to the little toe and the toes in between,

Noticing perhaps tingling,

Coolness,

Warmth,

Dampness,

Numbness,

Or there might be no sensation.

Whatever you are feeling,

Bringing a sense of investigative curiosity to directly experiencing sensations in the left toes,

Just as they are.

And when you are ready,

On the out breath,

Letting go,

And along with an in breath,

Shifting your attention along the bottom of the foot,

Feeling where the heel is touching the floor or mat,

And over the top of the foot,

Holding the whole left foot in awareness,

Being curious,

Focusing on sensations,

Holding your attention here as best you can.

And now letting go and shifting your attention up to the left ankle,

Feeling the sensations on the floor,

Feeling the sensation on the floor,

And then gently lifting your attention back into your feet.

And now letting go and shifting your attention up to the left ankle,

Feeling the sensations on the surface,

And deep beneath to the bones and the ligaments.

And then expanding to include the lower left leg,

Becoming aware of the shin in front,

The calf in back,

And deep inside,

Holding this whole region of the body in awareness.

It's not an area we usually bring attention to,

But right now being open and curious and attending to whatever sensations are arising and passing.

With an exhale letting go,

And with an inhale moving your attention to the knee,

Your left knee,

Becoming aware of the soft tissue in back and the kneecap in front,

Ligaments,

Tendons,

This joint that does so much work for you,

Holding your attention on the left knee as best you can.

You may be noticing at times that your attention has wandered away from the intended focus,

And when you notice,

Simply acknowledging where the attention has gone,

And then patiently,

Without judging,

Returning your attention to the physical sensations,

Right now the sensations in the left knee,

Holding your attention in present moment sensations.

And when you are ready,

Letting go with the out breath,

And shifting your attention along with the in breath to the upper left thigh,

All the way from the knee up to and including the hip joint,

Feeling the weight of the thigh against the surface it is touching,

And deep into the thigh muscles.

This is a large muscle group,

Perhaps holding tension,

And if you are noticing this,

Experimenting with having a sense of softening and letting go with an out breath,

Just noticing however it releases,

If it does,

Allowing it to be however it is,

Being curious.

Expanding your awareness to include the whole left leg,

Noticing how you can do this.

And when you are ready,

Moving your attention down the left leg and over to the toes on the right foot,

Seeing the toes on your right foot in your mind's eye,

Sensing,

Feeling into the toes,

From the big toe to the little toe,

Toes in between,

Touching each other,

Or sensing spaces between them,

Holding your right toes in awareness,

Staying present as best you can.

And along with an in breath,

Expanding the awareness to include the top of the right foot,

The sides and the bottom of the foot,

Along the soles of the right foot where the heel is touching the surface,

Becoming aware of whatever sensations are present,

Holding them in awareness.

And with an out breath,

Allowing this area of the body to dissolve in your mind's eye,

And shifting your attention to the right ankle,

Attending to any sensations here,

From the surface to deep inside the ankle to the bones,

Tendons,

Ligaments,

Staying present to the actual physical sensations here.

Letting go with the out breath,

And moving your attention up to the lower right leg,

Along the calf and the shin,

All the way up to the knee,

Expanding your awareness to include this whole lower right leg,

Holding your attention here,

Not trying to change the sensations,

Observing them,

Feeling them,

Being aware of your present moment experience,

Including the activity of the mind,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Impulses,

Simply noting them when they arise,

Allowing them to be just as they are,

And choosing to return the focus of your attention to the actual physical sensations in the lower leg.

Releasing attention along with the out breath,

And then shifting to attending to sensations arising and passing in the upper right leg,

The entire upper right leg,

From the knee all the way to the hip joint,

Noticing how it is,

Bringing a sense of investigative curiosity to exploring these sensations as if you are experiencing them for the first time,

Holding your attention here as best you can.

And as we are moving through the body,

Remembering that the breath is always available as an anchor to the present moment,

Whenever you are finding greater difficulty in focusing on an area of the body,

And knowing that moving your attention to the sensations of breathing is trusting your inner wisdom and taking care of yourself,

So choosing this if it feels wise,

And moving back to the guidance when you are ready.

And so with an out breath,

Letting go of the right thigh,

And when you are ready with the in breath,

Shifting your attention to the region of the pelvis from the right hip,

Cross the buttocks and back to the left hip,

And around the front,

Holding an awareness called area from the base of the pelvis to the lower belly,

Where the pelvic cradle is holding the organs of elimination and reproduction,

Becoming aware of whatever sensations or lack of sensations you are experiencing in this region of the body,

From deep within the body,

Or on the surface.

So with an out breath letting go,

And when you are ready along with the in breath,

Moving your attention from the pelvic region around into the lower back,

This is a problematic area of body for many people,

Noticing what is present for you right now.

And if the sensations are intense,

Seeing if you can bring a gentle,

Compassionate awareness to the experience,

A sense of investigative curiosity to exploring the actual sensations,

Noticing how they really are right now,

Burning pins and needles,

Heat,

Tingling,

Throbbing,

Noticing how they may be ebbing and flowing,

Not solid as you may think,

Noticing also if you are bracing and tensing with difficult sensations,

Or what thoughts and emotions are arising,

Letting them go,

And having a sense of releasing and letting it go along with the out breath.

Thank you.

And when you are ready letting go,

And moving to an awareness of the lower back,

A problematic area of the body for many people,

Noticing what is present for you right now.

And if the sensations are intense,

Seeing if you can bring a gentle and compassionate awareness to the experience,

Exploring the actual sensations,

Noticing how they are right now,

Burning pins and needles,

Heat,

Tingling,

Throbbing,

Perhaps noticing how they may be ebbing and flowing,

Not as solid as you may think,

Noticing also if you are bracing or tensing with difficult sensations,

And having a sense of releasing and letting go along with the out breath,

And staying present as best you can.

And when you are ready letting go,

And expanding your awareness to include the entire back,

Sensing the spine and the strong muscles along the spine,

Out to the edges of the back,

Perhaps noticing the subtle movement of the ribs and back,

As the air is filling the lungs,

Feeling deep inside the lower ribs protecting the kidneys,

The liver,

The spleen,

Attending to the sensations rising and passing along the full length and breadth of the back.

And along with an in breath expanding your awareness to include the upper shoulders along the shoulder blades.

Another area that collects a lot of tension throughout the day,

Observing and feeling what sensations are present.

And when you are ready releasing with the out breath,

And moving your attention along with the in breath around to the abdomen in front,

And up to the rib cage in front,

Becoming aware of any sensations here on the surface,

The belly rising and falling with the breath,

And deep into the belly,

Sensing into the organs of digestion and elimination,

Noticing whatever is present.

This is an area where emotions may show up,

We sometimes talk of having a gut feeling,

Noticing if the belly is held tightly or softly,

Bringing a sense of investigative curiosity to the sensations that are present here,

Holding it all in a non-judging awareness.

With your next out breath letting go,

And shifting your attention along with an in breath,

Up into the chest,

Around the rib cage in front,

Up to the collar bone.

This region is the home of your heart and your lungs,

Which are nourishing every region in the body in a continuous cycle of detoxification and purification.

Perhaps feeling the sensations of movement of the lungs or of the heart beating,

The heart the home of the metaphorical heart,

Of heart hungers,

Noticing thoughts,

Noticing emotion,

And letting go,

And becoming curious as to what the actual physical sensations are,

Here,

Now,

Present in awareness.

And with an out breath letting go,

And then moving your attention up to the shoulders and down both arms to the hands,

Holding both hands in awareness,

Noticing how you can do this,

Bringing a sense of investigative curiosity to the experience of your hands,

Exploring the fingertips and thumbs,

The palms,

The back of the hands,

Being aware of sensations on the surface and inside,

And when you are ready,

Expanding your attention to include the wrists,

The lower arms,

Elbows,

Upper arms,

Right up to the armpits and to where the shoulders hinge,

Holding in a more expanded awareness the entire area of the arms,

Noticing what sensations may be coming and going as you are exploring these regions of the body.

And when you are ready with an in breath,

Moving your attention across the collarbone to the neck,

Front and back,

And into the throat,

The center of swallowing and speech,

Perhaps sensing the movement of air at the back of the throat with the breath,

Or sensations of swallowing,

Staying present,

Bringing a non-judging awareness to your experience of your neck and your throat,

And now moving attention up the neck,

Along the jaw to where the jaw hinges under the ears,

Following the line around the chin,

And then up to the mouth,

And to the interior of the mouth,

The gums,

The teeth,

The tongue,

Seeing if you can feel any tightness around the mouth and jaw.

When we are highly stressed we tend to brace and tighten the muscles,

And in particular maybe the muscles around the jaw,

Perhaps we grind our teeth,

Being curious about the sensations present right now.

And if you would like,

Experimenting with letting the mouth open a little,

Allowing the jaw to loosen,

Noticing what the sensations are now,

Bringing this sense of investigative curiosity to the experience of physical sensations in this area of the body.

And as you are ready,

Expanding your awareness to include the entire face,

Experiencing the sensations in the face,

Scanning up over the mouth,

The cheekbones,

The nose,

Sensing perhaps the air moving in and out of the nostrils,

Up to the eyes,

The entire region of the eyes,

The eyelids,

The eyeballs,

The inner and outer corner of the eyes,

Up to the eyebrows,

And across the forehead,

Temple to temple,

Noticing sensations in the forehead,

Another place that collects tension,

Expresses emotion,

Attending to sensations all around the face,

From the chin to the forehead over to the ears,

Bringing a gentle and kind awareness to each and every sensation as they are rising and passing away.

And when you are ready,

Letting go of the face and moving your attention to the top of the head,

The sides and back,

Feeling deeper into the brain,

Experience holding and awareness sensations or lack of sensations,

Arising and passing in the entire head and scalp,

Staying present as best you can.

With an out-breath,

Releasing your attention on the head and expanding your awareness to include the sense of the whole body lying here,

From the top of the head to the bottom of the feet,

Allowing sensations to come and go as they will,

Not trying to change anything,

Allowing the breath to flow freely in and out,

A renewal with every in-breath,

A releasing with every out-breath,

Noticing it's coming and going,

Ever-changing,

Ever-present,

Resting here in silence and in stillness,

Knowing that you are making a positive contribution to your health,

Nurturing your body,

Your mind and your heart in doing this mindfulness practice,

Opening to new possibilities of healing and wellness.

So now abiding here in awareness of the body and breath until you hear the sound of the bell which will bring this practice to a close.

Thank you.

The bell is invited.

Reviews

Perfectly done ♥️

Nice and slow. Good for my MBCT program.

Perfect just what I needed