Body Scan - Mindfulness Practice

The body scan practice is designed to help develop a mindful awareness of bodily sensations, and to relieve tension wherever it is found. Research suggests that this mindfulness practice can help reduce stress, improve well-being, and decrease aches and pains.

Transcript

In this practice I'm going to take you through a body scan.

So just getting into position now,

Lying down flat preferably on the floor but maybe on a firm bed.

Get a sense of support underneath your body.

Your feet hip-width distance apart,

Your spine long.

Feel your head resting on the floor,

Your sit bones,

Your shoulders,

The backs of your legs.

And just take a moment to check in on how this is feeling and seeing if you need to make any adjustments.

You might need to pop a pillow under your knees or your head.

It's important to be comfortable throughout the practice.

So taking a moment in this position to notice the ground beneath you.

Really taking time to arrive in this posture.

Notice all the contact that your body's making with the ground beneath you.

Maybe even notice where parts of the body feel heavier or lighter.

And just taking a moment to really feel that sense of gravity pulling the body down.

And throughout this practice feel free to give yourself permission for whatever might bubble up in terms of emotions and thoughts.

There's no right or wrong way to do this practice.

Just notice what comes up.

We're not banishing anything.

We're just being open to what's there.

What needs to be listened to.

Maybe noticing the contact that your clothing is making on the body or maybe even contact of the air where the skin's exposed.

You might notice coolness or maybe warmth.

Feel free throughout the practice to make any adjustments that you need to.

So really coming home to your body.

Really honoring this body that does so much for you.

Meeting what's here to be known.

You start to bring your attention to the sense of the body breathing.

What happens when you turn your attention to the breathing?

Where do you notice it?

Maybe in the nostrils.

Cool air coming in.

Maybe in the throat.

Or maybe in the chest or the belly.

A rising on the inhale and maybe a falling on the exhale.

And just knowing that this breath is there for you throughout the practice as an anchor if you need to come back to it.

And also knowing that if the mind wanders as minds do,

This is not a problem.

Just allow it to happen and when you notice,

You can choose to come back to wherever you are in the body or just to the breath.

There's nothing lost.

Maybe bringing a sense of tenderness as we receive ourselves over and over again in this practice just as we are.

Breath coming in.

Breath exhaling.

So now I'd like to get you to bring your attention down to your right leg and begin by exploring what's happening in the right foot.

You may be noticing contact of the heel on the floor.

Maybe allowing your attention to feel any sensations that may be felt through the sole of the foot.

The heel,

Arch and ball of the foot.

Noticing anything that there is to be felt in the toes.

Maybe counting through the toes from the big toe,

One by one until you reach the little toe.

Is there anything to be felt there?

Maybe tingling.

Maybe numbness.

Maybe nothing at all.

Opening your awareness to the sensations at the top of the foot and the side of the foot.

Knowing that as you go through the body,

Seeing what sensations are there,

Some of those sensations may be very vague or you may feel no sensations at all.

It's perfectly okay.

It's all about just noticing.

So now allowing your attention to shift to the ankle,

The ankle of the right leg.

Noticing what's to be noticed.

The skin,

The bones,

The flesh around the ankle and then coming up into the right lower leg.

Opening your sensations to the calf and the shin.

What's there?

What do you notice?

Maybe the pressure again of the calf on the floor.

And maybe having a sense of noticing sensations in the level of the skin or maybe deeper into the muscle and the bone.

Just exploring.

No rush.

And just really allowing the body to be as it is right now.

Bringing your attention now to the right knee.

Circling around that knee.

Maybe coming to the top of the knee,

The kneecap or maybe inside the knee,

The back of the knee.

And again,

Just noticing what sensations are there.

Whether they're intense,

Vague.

It's not a problem.

Just see what's there to be seen.

What's there to be felt.

Now scanning up to the right quad muscle.

The front of the thigh of the right leg.

Those big dominant muscles there.

What do you notice?

Coming round the top of the right leg to the outside.

Working from the hip all the way down to the outside of the right knee.

And then bringing your attention round to the back of the thigh.

Noticing any pressure there where it's touching the floor.

And then taking in the whole of that right thigh and just notice what's there to be felt.

And coming up into the groin on the right side.

And then taking in the whole of the right leg as it's resting on the floor right now.

And just exploring what you notice as you take in the whole of that leg.

Any sensations that may be coming up.

Any tingling,

Numbness,

Throbbing,

Lightness.

Does the leg feel restless?

Just investigating any sensations in that leg that might be pulling for your attention.

And noticing the experience that's arising in your body.

There may be strong sensations that crop up elsewhere.

Other places in the body away from where you're focusing that are pulling you.

It's okay if you go to investigate them and then just return back to the body scan.

So you may be oscillating between where we are in the scan or where the sensations in your body are the strongest.

And that's totally fine.

Now noticing the left and right leg and seeing any differences between them to be felt.

Now you've scanned through the right leg but not through the left.

Just noticing.

Now we're going to explore the left foot.

Notice the ball,

The arch,

The sole.

Coming now to the toes.

The big toe all the way through the toes to the little toe.

And then the sides of the foot.

Coming round to the top of the foot.

Just taking in the whole of the left foot now as you approach the left ankle.

Coming up through the left ankle and then shifting the focus to the lower leg.

The left calf and the shin.

And just tuning in to what's there to be known.

Coming up into the left knee.

Exploring the knee.

Circling it with your attention.

The top of the knee,

The inside,

The outside.

And then into the crease at the back of the knee.

You feel deep into the knee joint.

Is there anything there to be felt?

Just exploring.

Being curious.

And now bringing the attention up into the left thigh.

And again scanning this area of the body in whatever way you know,

Whatever way suits.

Exploring what sensations are to be felt in the left thigh.

The top of the thigh.

The back of the thigh where it's lying on the floor.

Up into the left hip.

And then broadening your focus to take in the whole of that left leg.

Noticing the leg resting.

And now coming to both of the legs resting here.

Now you've scanned your attention through both of the legs.

What do you notice?

Softening and opening to whatever is here to be experienced.

Really looking to be with whatever is arising.

There's no need to go into battle with this practice with the body.

Just really appreciating what's here to be noticed.

In this precious body.

This precious moment.

Now we're going to shift up into your torso.

As it rests on the floor noticing the pelvis,

The weight of the back of the hips,

The sacrum.

Weighing down into the floor.

Notice the whole of the back of your torso lying here in this moment.

And through this base part of the body we explore the sacrum,

The pelvis,

The lower back,

The middle back where the kidneys rest on either side of the spine.

The upper back and the shoulder blades.

And then notice the length of the whole spine lying here.

You might notice the back of the ribs touching the floor.

Might even feel a slight motion as you're breathing.

As you breathe in the ribs may press into the floor.

And then feeling through the shoulders,

Shoulder blades.

And letting your attention travel back down the sides of the body towards the hip bones and the sides of the pelvis.

And maybe exploring the sensations that might be here to be felt in the side of the body.

The side of the waist,

The ribs,

The armpits.

Now pulling your attention back down to the base of the body.

Noticing what might be felt in the base of the torso,

The pelvic girdle.

And then moving through the front of your torso from your pubic bone up the front of your pelvis,

Working up to your belly,

Your lower abdomen.

Exploring if you can maybe notice the breath rising as you breathe.

The expansion and release of the breath.

Or maybe you notice no movement at all and that's fine.

See if you can sense the body breathing here.

And just be present to the sensations in the abdomen as you rest.

Bringing attention through the waist area up to where the rib cage meets in the middle,

The solar plexus.

All the way up to where the collar bones meet.

Maybe you can notice the breath again here as the diaphragm expands and releases that oceanic wave-like movement of the breath.

Bringing your attention into the ribs,

The lower ribs.

Exploring the rib cage,

The front of the body.

And maybe seeing if you can even have a sense of noticing the heart beating within the ribs.

Feeling into the shoulders again.

The front of the shoulders,

The back of the shoulders,

The top of the shoulders.

Softening and opening into whatever is there to be noticed.

Making space for whatever's there as best you can.

Really allowing what's here.

Bringing your attention into your arms.

Maybe you notice how they're resting by your side on the floor.

Notice how they are coming into contact with the environment around them.

How are they arranged?

Can you notice the feeling of the air on the hands or fabric?

Feeling down into the hands,

Feel the shape,

The space between the fingers.

You notice the right hand first,

The fingers,

The palm of the hand,

The top of the hand.

And then moving and scanning your attention all the way up the arm,

Past the elbow,

The bicep,

Into the shoulder and taking the whole of that right arm.

Coming over into the left hand now.

Noticing the top of the hand and the fingers,

The thumb,

The palm of the hand.

And then scanning your attention up through the wrist,

The lower arm,

Through the elbow and into the muscles,

The biceps and triceps and the upper arm.

All the way up to the shoulder.

Notice any sensations of coolness,

Of warmth,

Any tingling,

Any heaviness.

Just taking both the arms lying here by your side.

These arms that do so much for you and for others throughout the day really savour their stillness.

The chance they are getting to rest.

Exploring skin,

Bones,

Muscles,

All the tissues to be felt.

Maybe taking a moment to notice your emotional state right now and the state of your mind.

There's no right or wrong way to be,

But notice what's here.

Really honour what's arising.

There's no need to go into battle with it.

Just welcome whatever is there,

All good information.

Your body's voice.

Make space for any voices that might be commenting on what you might be experiencing.

As we come up to notice the neck,

Exploring the area of the throat.

What do you notice here?

Experience sensations and see what is there to be felt right now.

Explore the sides of the neck,

The back of the neck.

Resting in this experience,

This moment.

Now open the exploration into your head.

Maybe feeling into the back of the head.

Feel that sense of weight of the head as it rests on the floor.

Coming into contact maybe with the floor or maybe with a cushion or the mat.

Feeling into the sides of the head,

The area of the temples and the scalp.

And feeling into the top of the head now.

What do you notice?

Tingling,

Throbbing,

Pulsing,

Maybe even numbness.

Maybe nothing at all.

Just make space for whatever is there to be felt,

Just as it is.

Opening up now to the face,

Letting your attention rest in the face.

Maybe there's some sensations in the forehead.

Exploring what's to be noticed in the eyes,

The eyebrows,

Eyelids,

Eyeballs,

Eye sockets.

You might notice the experience of movement here or dryness,

Moisture.

Maybe a tendency to want to open the eyes or not.

Bringing attention through the nose.

Again you might notice the breath here coming and going.

Notice the cheeks.

You notice any sense of temperature here,

Coolness or warmth.

Just rest in these sensations.

Now we'll explore the mouth,

The tongue,

The palate.

Is there anything that you can taste?

Noticing the teeth in your mouth.

Feeling into the jaw,

The chin.

Maybe noticing if there's tension or looseness.

And now expanding the focus to take in the whole of the head,

Including deep inside those bony structures,

Deep inside your skull,

Blood,

Nerves,

The brain.

And then opening your attention to the whole of your body resting here from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

Really feel into the whole of your body alive,

Present,

Breathing.

And taking a moment to reflect what it's been like to dip into the body scan today.

Notice the quality of the body,

The sensations,

Emotions,

The thoughts.

What the quality of the listening has been like.

Whether things shifted or changed emotionally or mentally as you move throughout the practice.

Just notice and allow the practice just as it is.

No need to strive for anything more or less.

Just trust in the practice.

And you're ready.

Start to notice the surrounding sounds,

The room around you.

Maybe bringing some gentle movement into the body.

Be opening the eyes,

Letting the light in.

And slowly,

Carefully coming out of your practice.

Reviews

Beautifully guided body scan - this practise is an absolute fav ✨💕🙏🏼

Very effective body scan for deep release. Thank you 🙏