Body Scan (With Brief Intro)

The body scan is a meditation for becoming mindfully attuned, and present for, the felt sensations and experiences of the body. It is a wonderful practice for learning how to be more at ease with discomfort, and for gaining clarity about the changing nature of our physical experience. This 30-minute session follows a 2-minute introduction.

Transcript

Welcome to this 30 minute body scan meditation.

This is a practice that can be done laying down on your back,

Maybe on a padded mat on the floor or a bed,

With a blanket for warmth and cushions for support if needed,

And with your arms resting down by your sides.

But you can also do this practice in a sitting posture if that's your preference,

Just ensuring that the back can be nice and upright without being stiff or tense.

Feet making contact with the floor and hands resting in the lap.

It can be helpful to have the eyes closed if that's comfortable for you,

But it's also perfectly okay to practice with a soft open gaze.

The purpose of the body scan is to help us become more mindfully attuned and present to the felt sensations and experiences of the body.

And throughout this meditation I'll be inviting you to bring your attention to the body bit by bit and to simply notice how each part of the body feels.

But it's important to highlight that in this practice we're not trying to make ourselves feel anything,

Or achieve a particular state of being,

Or even to become relaxed,

Although you may find that that does become your experience.

There are no goals here at all,

Only intentions.

The intention to remain present and aware of your moment-to-moment experience as you follow the guidance.

The intention to be open to sensations just as they are,

Without needing to analyze or interpret them in any way.

And the intention to keep coming back to your present moment experience each time you notice that attention has been pulled away,

Either by an external distraction,

Or by a busy thinking mind.

So as we begin the practice now,

Seeing if you can start to become aware of the whole body laying or sitting here.

Noticing how this body feels right now,

And however it feels,

Seeing if it's okay to allow things to be just as they are,

Including any emotions that may be present.

This is a practice where it really is okay to put judgments aside and simply notice what's already here,

With an attitude of kindness.

Accepting yourself just as you are right now.

And now feeling into the points of contact where the body is touching and pressing into the surface it's resting on.

Perhaps at the head,

The shoulders or upper back,

The hands,

The legs or feet.

Noticing the weight of the body in these areas.

Maybe pressure or warmth or vibration at these points of contact.

And as you're aware of the whole body resting here,

Also starting to become aware that the body is breathing.

Without needing to change or control the breath in any way,

Just gathering your attention around the experience and sensations of the body breathing in and breathing out.

Letting it be natural.

There's no right or wrong way to be breathing,

Just as there's no right or wrong way to be feeling when we practice.

We're just noticing how the breath already is.

And so for a few moments just allowing your awareness to settle on the flow and the motion of the breath coming in and the breath going out.

If the mind starts to wander,

Getting hooked by a thought,

Which it possibly will do many times throughout this practice,

Knowing that there's nothing wrong with this,

It's just the mind doing what human minds have evolved to do.

Simply note that it's happened and then without judgment,

With kindness,

Gently guide your attention back to wherever you were intending your focus to be at that time.

In this moment being right here with this breath.

And now consciously choosing to direct your focus of awareness down through the body and into the left foot.

Awareness of breathing can still be there in the background,

But now just being open to noticing what sensations are happening in and around the left foot right now.

Paying particular attention now to the underside of the foot,

The ball,

The arch and the heel,

An area of the body that so often carries all the weight of the body.

What sensations do you notice here?

Warmth,

Coolness,

Tingling,

Vibration,

Numbness,

Pressure or anything else.

If you're registering no sensation,

Remembering that this is okay too.

What's it like to notice an absence of sensation?

Letting go of any thoughts or judgments about this experience and simply allowing yourself to settle into the awareness of what's actually being experienced here in this moment.

And now feeling into the toes of the left foot.

Perhaps starting with the big toe and then moving across each one to the little toe.

Paying attention to any sensations you notice.

Maybe even seeing if you can get a sense of the toes from the inside,

The flesh and the bone.

Maybe the sensations of each toe touching the one next to it.

And moving on to the top of the foot now.

Feeling into sensations of skin covering the top of the foot and all the important tendons and ligaments in this area.

Again not trying to make yourself feel anything,

Just noticing what if anything becomes known.

Feeling into the sides of the foot.

And then guiding awareness up into the area of the ankle.

How does it feel in and around the ankle right now?

Maybe sensing the protruding bone on each side.

The tissue and tendons around the front.

And the Achilles tendon to the back.

As best you can sensing the outside and the inside of this area around the ankle.

There's no good or bad,

No right or wrong.

Just a simple knowing of whatever you happen to sense here.

And guiding your attention up into the bottom half of the leg now.

Feeling the skin of the lower leg,

The hard shin bone at the front,

The calf muscle at the back,

The sides of the lower leg.

Just registering how it all feels and what sensations are present.

As best you can not analyzing what's here but rather settling into the actual felt experience.

And when noticing sensations,

Seeing if it's possible to notice if they stay the same,

If they're static or do they change,

Do they move or shift in any way.

Letting go of the lower leg now and moving up into the area of the knee.

Around the kneecap.

Perhaps sensing into the joint and the cartilage within the knee.

Feeling around the sides and the tendons and soft tissues at the back of the knee.

Just bringing that quality of feeling bringing that quality of gentle curiosity to how it feels right now.

And now guiding your attention to the upper half of the leg.

The large thigh muscles that work so hard moving the body around.

Starting with the outer thigh,

The quadriceps.

Sensing how it feels both on the surface and deeper within the tissues and fibers of the muscle mass.

And moving around to the back of the thigh.

The hamstrings.

And now sensing into the inner thigh.

Just being open to noticing whatever's here.

As we become mindful of the body in this way,

Sometimes we experience pleasant and easeful sensations.

Sometimes we experience areas of no sensation at all.

And other times we may notice sensations that are unpleasant or uncomfortable.

And in these times of noticing discomfort or pain it's perfectly okay to make tweaks to your posture.

Giving your body what it needs.

But rather than making these adjustments automatically,

See if you can first experiment with exploring what these sensations are really like.

It's common for our thoughts and judgments about discomfort to distort and diminish our tolerance for discomfort.

By opening to what's actually being experienced without judgment and with an attitude of curiosity and of kindness.

See if it's possible to be with these sensations with a little more ease.

Now we're going to repeat this process with the right leg.

So guiding awareness back down the body now,

This time into the bottom of the right foot.

Exploring any sensations that are present here right now.

In the ball of the foot,

The arch,

The heel.

Maybe tingling or pulsing or temperature.

And feeling into the toes.

The big toe,

The middle toes,

The little toe.

Each one touching its neighbor.

Just registering whatever you find.

And now shifting attention to the top of the foot.

And then moving to the ankle.

The front of the ankle joint.

The hard bone on each side of the ankle.

And the achilles running down the back.

What do you notice here?

And now moving up to the lower right leg.

Feeling any sensations on the surface of the skin.

Feeling into and around the shin and the calf muscle.

Allowing whatever's here to be here.

Just exploring with awareness.

Moving up to the area of the knee now.

The inner and outer knee joint.

The kneecap.

The sides and back of the knee.

And now bringing awareness to the top of the leg.

The large dense muscles of the outer thigh.

The hamstrings at the back.

And moving around to the potentially softer muscles of the inner thigh.

If at any time you notice the mind has become lost in thought.

Maybe a narrative about how this practice is going.

Just registering that that's what's happened.

And gently and kindly moving to the side of the foot.

And gently and kindly bring your awareness back into the body.

And letting go of the legs now.

And shifting attention into the area in and around the pelvis.

Including the sitting bones.

Noticing any sensations around the buttocks.

Maybe contact with the surface beneath.

Sensing into the groin area.

And around each of the hips.

Feeling all the surface areas as well as deeper within.

Just staying open and receptive to whatever's here.

And now guiding awareness up into the abdomen.

We tend to experience a lot of emotion in this area.

Particularly anxiety or nervousness.

And it can be a gathering place for a lot of our stress.

So with kindness just noticing how the abdomen is right now.

Trying to change anything or wishing it to be different.

Just getting to know what's already here as it is.

Noticing any movement of the belly rising and falling with each breath.

And also bringing awareness to the complex inner world of the abdomen.

The stomach,

The intestines and organs that play such a crucial role.

Extracting nutrients and purifying the body.

Perhaps the belly feels full or maybe empty.

Just investigating what's here.

And now moving up through the torso.

Registering sensations in and around the lower rib cage.

And up into the area of the chest.

Again noticing any natural movements of the chest.

Lifting and lowering with each in and out breath all by itself.

Feeling the upper rib cage and the sternum or breastbone.

Sensing into the chest cavity which houses and protects the all-important lungs and heart and diaphragm.

If at any time you notice yourself feeling restless or bored or impatient this is okay too.

See if you can bring some awareness to what this is like.

It can be very useful to have a deeper clarity of how these kinds of experiences arise and move and pass through the body without needing to be caught up in the narrative that can often accompany them.

We can simply say this is restlessness.

This is how it feels.

And so letting go of the chest area now and feeling along the collarbone left and right.

And continuing into each of the shoulders.

Noticing what sensations are present here in the shoulders right now.

A place where we often carry tension.

So just exploring with curiosity any sensations being felt here.

And now moving down into the top halves of the arms.

This time exploring both arms together.

Feeling all around and into the biceps and triceps that give strength to the arms.

Feeling sensations on the skin as well as deeper within the muscles themselves.

And then shifting down to the elbows.

Feeling the inside and outside.

Sensing the joint,

The funny bone,

The sides of the elbows.

Remembering if there seems to be an absence of sensation,

That's fine too.

Moving to the lower parts of the arms now.

Exploring the outer surface of the forearms.

Detecting any sensation on the skin.

And investigating anything that's being felt in the muscles of the forearms.

And moving down to the wrists.

And into the hands.

The hands can often seem more alive with different kinds of sensation.

So feeling into the backs of the hands,

The palms,

Each of the fingers and thumbs and the spaces in between.

There may be warmth or coolness,

Tingling,

Pressure,

Pulsing.

Perhaps a feeling of contact with a surface they're resting on.

Maybe the hands are touching each other if you're sitting with them placed in your lap.

And if you notice the mind wandering into thoughts,

Plans,

Daydreams.

Just gently coming back as many times as you need.

Letting go of the hands now and shifting attention to the back.

Feeling the muscles around the arms.

Feeling the muscles around the lower back.

An area that often takes a lot of the strain.

Feeling in and around the tailbone,

The coccyx.

And then gradually guiding awareness up through the vertebrae of the spine.

Feeling the large muscles on either side of the back along the way.

Remaining open and receptive to any softness or tightness you may discover throughout the back.

And continuing up the spine,

Taking in the shoulder blades.

And to the uppermost vertebrae at the back of the neck.

So bringing awareness into the neck now.

Noticing how the back of the neck feels.

And around the sides.

And the front of the neck to the throat.

Which can also be a place where we experience different emotions.

Such as fear and sadness and stress.

So with extra kindness,

Just noticing how this area feels right now.

And then guiding attention to the face.

Starting with the jaw.

Practicing if there's any tightness in the jaw or if it's relaxed.

And feeling the chin.

And then the various parts of the mouth.

The lips,

The tongue,

The roof of the mouth.

The gums and teeth.

Are the teeth clenched or are they apart?

And then bringing attention to the nose and nostrils.

Maybe there are sensations of air coming in and out of the nasal passages as you breathe.

If so,

Noticing if there's any tension in the nose.

And if the temperature of the air is different on an in-breath than an out-breath.

And then feeling into the cheeks.

And the ears.

The inner ear,

The outer shell of the ears.

Including the earlobes.

And shifting attention to the temples on the side of the head.

And then moving to the eyes.

The muscles around the eyes,

The eyelids.

And sensing into the eyeballs.

Sometimes if the eyes are closed we might detect little micro-movements of the eyeballs beneath the closed lids.

Are the eyes straining or are they soft?

And then moving up to the brow and the forehead.

Noticing if this area feels soft or relaxed.

Or if there's any tightness or furrowing.

And then bringing awareness right up to the top of the head.

Feeling around the crown and the scalp.

Maybe sensations of hair if that's present.

And then bringing awareness to the back of the head.

Exploring whatever you notice here.

So now inviting you to start to expand your awareness.

To take in the whole of the head and the face together.

And then expanding even more now to include the neck and the shoulders.

And then the chest and the abdomen.

The whole of the back.

And both of the arms and both of the hands.

And taking in the hips and the upper legs.

The knees and the lower legs.

The ankles,

The feet and toes.

And so once again being aware of the whole body resting here in its entirety.

Taking a moment to notice how the whole body feels.

And getting a sense of whether it feels the same or different to when you started this practice.

And if it feels right for you,

Taking this opportunity to feel gratitude and appreciation.

For everything this body does for you.

And extending this same kind of gratitude and appreciation for yourself.

For having taken this time to practice in this way.

For nurturing your well-being and developing the skill of coming home to the body.

At any time,

No matter what's going on or how busy the mind gets,

The body is always already present.

And learning how to tune into the body with a mindful awareness is something that you can choose to do in any moment.

And learning how to tune into the body with a mindful awareness is something that you can choose to do in any moment.

So in a few moments the sound of the bell will signal the end of this practice.

And after hearing the bell,

Feel free to open your eyes if they've been closed.

Become oriented to the space you're in.

And gently start to move and stretch your body.

In a way that supports you in easing yourself into the rest of your day.

Thank you for your practice.

Reviews

Thank you Paul for this wonderfully detailed, patient and calming body scan. It was just what I needed. So many great touches throughout to bring you back in contact with your experience. “This is restlessness” pulled me back from wandering just when I needed it. And your calming voice and instruction helped me connect throughout. A fitting ending on gratitude too 🙏

Thank you. Nice little body scan. Very kind voice. ☮️💖🙏🖖🪷