Welcome to the mindfulness-based body scan.
In this practice we will be progressively directing the attention throughout the body,
Keeping the attention on the physical sensations.
There's no need to move the body as you direct the attention anywhere to try to feel a certain sensation.
The practice is more about directing the attention and seeing what is already there in terms of the experience of physical sensations.
The practice is traditionally done lying down,
But it can be done seated or even standing.
So finding a posture that works for you.
And we'll begin by slowly directing the attention towards the breath in the belly as it goes out and comes in.
So perhaps for the next few moments noticing the movement of breath in the belly.
And now letting go of attention to the breath and shifting the attention all the way down to the physical sensations in the feet.
So noticing anything that is present here.
It may be sensations like the pressure of the feet against the floor.
Or the back of the heel against the floor if you're lying down.
Maybe sensations of temperature.
Sensations perhaps inside the feet or at the level of the skin.
Sensation of clothing against the skin.
And so taking the next few moments to see what the experience of physical sensations in the feet is right now for you.
And shifting the attention now to focus on the ankles.
Noticing any physical sensations that might be present in and around the ankles.
And letting go of the ankles.
Now shifting the attention into the lower legs.
And noticing any sensations that might be present in the lower legs.
Whether they be clothing against the skin or sensations in the muscle.
Perhaps even sensations inside the bone.
And sometimes a lack of sensation might be what you experience that can be completely normal.
So when you direct your attention here or elsewhere in the body,
There may be areas where you have no perceived sensation.
And if that's the case,
Simply noticing lack of sensation as the experience in this moment.
Letting go now of the lower legs.
And shifting the attention up into the knees.
And circling the knees with the attention.
Above,
Behind,
Inside,
Outside.
Noticing any physical sensations that might already be present.
And letting go of the knees.
Shifting the attention now into the upper legs.
And noticing any sensations that might be present.
If you're sitting,
It might be sensations of the back of the legs against the chair.
Or if you're lying down against the floor.
Sensations again might be at the level of the skin or inside of the muscle or even further in.
And noticing any time the attention wanders away from where you've directed it.
The wandering attention can be a normal part of the mindfulness practice.
And any time that you do notice the attention wander,
It's simply an opportunity to bring the attention back once more to the body.
In this case,
The upper legs.
And this may happen once or twice or a hundred times in a practice.
And now letting go of attention to the upper legs.
And shifting attention into the region of the hips and the pelvis.
And noticing any sensations that may be present in this region of the body.
And continuing to work with the wandering attention as a normal part of the practice.
Letting go now of the hips and the pelvis.
And shifting the attention into the lower back.
Noticing any sensations that might be present in the lower back.
This is one of the areas of the body that can often hold tension.
Seeing if it's possible to allow yourself to be with and notice any sensations that are present.
Present.
Whether they be pleasant or unpleasant or neutral sensations.
Letting go of the lower back now and shifting the attention to the middle and the upper back.
And continuing to fully experience the range of sensations that might be present.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant,
And neutral sensations.
Simply noticing what is already here.
Moment by moment.
And it might stay the same or it might change moment by moment.
Noticing what's here now.
And now letting go of the back and shifting the attention around the front into the belly.
Perhaps for a moment or two reconnecting with that sensation of breath and the belly moving along with the breath.
And now allowing the attention to expand and include anywhere in that region.
So not just the belly but the internal organs as well perhaps.
Or the surface level,
The skin moving against the clothing.
Without necessarily searching for any particular sensation,
Just noticing what's already here.
And now letting go of the belly and shifting the attention up into the chest.
Sensations may be even larger like the entire sensation of the chest moving,
Expanding,
And contracting along with the breath.
Or they might be smaller and more subtle.
Letting go now of the chest and shifting the attention to the neck and the shoulders.
Once again seeing if it's possible to open up and experience any sensations that might already be here.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant,
And neutral.
By allowing yourself to notice and experience what's here,
It's accepting the reality of the present moment experience.
And the opposite would be resisting.
And so we see if it's possible to allow and welcome anything that's present since it's already here.
Letting go now of the neck and the shoulders,
And shifting the attention into the skin and muscles of the face.
Taking a moment to perhaps notice the facial expression,
The muscles in the jaw,
Cheekbones,
Space between the eyebrows,
The forehead,
And anything else that might be present.
And letting go of the face and shifting the attention to the remainder of the head,
The top,
The side,
The back of the head.
And letting go of attention of the head and bringing the attention once more back down into the belly and the breathing.
And now expanding the attention to include a sense of the entire body,
The sense of the body as a whole,
Whatever that means for you.
Some people experience this as a sense of the entire body breathing.
Or perhaps as a sense of space that the body's occupying.
Or it might be something completely different.
Taking a few moments to see what the experience is for you with the body as a whole.
And continuing with the practice,
Continuing attention on the body as a whole,
And allowing the eyes to come up if they've been lowered or closed.
So continued attention on the body as a whole and just looking ahead normally.
Doing so at the end of the practice begins to make this type of awareness,
This type of attention more easily available to us as we go about our everyday lives.
