MBSR Body Scan (Short Version)

This MBSR body scan meditation will guide you through a slow and gentle scan of the body, allowing you to recognize and identify sensations, emotions, or thoughts that are present moment by moment. By practicing this body scan meditation regularly you will regain connection with your body in the present moment and realize when you are stressed and what you can do for your own well-being.
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Transcript

We'll begin this meditation by finding a comfortable posture,

Either laying down on your mat or the floor,

Or finding a dignified,

Upright position.

In whichever posture you are,

Noticing if using props might make the posture more comfortable.

For example,

If laying on the floor,

Placing a pillow or a yoga bolster underneath the knees to avoid lower back pain,

Or taking a blanket in case it gets cold.

And whenever you're ready,

If it feels right,

Closing the eyes.

If closing the eyes is not an option at this moment,

Just gently gaze at a spot or an object in front of you.

We will be doing body scan meditation.

Relaxation might be part of the process,

But I invite you to stay awake and practice what John Kabat-Zinn calls falling awake,

A state of awareness of the present moment,

Moment by moment.

If at some point the mind starts to wander,

Simply remember that it is normal,

A human quality of the mind.

Try not to force yourself to stop thinking,

As this might only create more tension.

Instead,

You can practice recognizing that thoughts are present and return your awareness to whichever part of the body the meditation is at.

Realizing where you are right now,

Mentally,

Physically and emotionally.

Doing a short check-in,

Taking a moment to connect with yourself.

There's no right or wrong way of feeling.

However you're feeling right now is the way you're feeling.

So if it's possible,

Then allowing whatever is present to be there with openness and curiosity.

Now slowly guiding your awareness to the breath and the fact that you're breathing right now.

Realizing the air coming in and out of the body.

Becoming aware of the parts of the body involved in the process of breathing.

There's no need to change or control the breath,

Simply allowing it to flow naturally,

Accepting the in-breath as it comes and letting go of the out-breath as it goes.

Maybe it's even possible to notice a pause or that short moment between the in-breath and the out-breath.

Following the rhythmic movements of the body with each breath.

The rising of the belly with the in-breath,

The falling of the belly with the out-breath and with each out-breath allowing the body to become heavy,

Sinking a little bit deeper into the floor or into the mat.

Realizing the in-breath and the out-breath following each other rhythmically.

The next out-breath,

Letting go of the breath and guiding the awareness to the toes of the left foot.

Taking the mind away from the breath and guiding it all the way down to the toes.

The big toe,

The pinky toe and the toes in between.

Noticing any sensation,

Whatever it may be,

In the toes of your left foot.

There may be sensations of tingling,

Moisture,

Dryness or warmth or coldness.

If there's a lack of sensation,

Becoming aware of the lack of sensation without adding any additional label to the experience.

Being aware of not feeling is already awareness.

On the next out-breath,

Letting go of the toes and moving the awareness to the sole of the left foot and the heel of the left foot.

Maybe noticing the effect of gravity on this part of the foot.

Sensing the heel touching the ground,

The heaviness of it.

Feeling the sense of touch or pressure.

Maybe noticing the touch of the sock or shoe on the sole of the foot.

Is it tight or loose?

Or maybe feeling the air on the sole of the left foot.

And on the out-breath,

Letting go of this part of the body and gently guiding the awareness to the ankle and the top of the left foot.

Noticing the joint,

The left and the right side,

The back and the front of the joint.

Being aware of the top of the left foot.

Are there any sensations here?

And now feeling the left foot as a whole before letting it go and becoming aware now of the lower leg,

The shin in the front and the calf in the back.

Maybe noticing the muscles or even the tissue,

Tendons and bones that compose this part of the leg.

Not thinking about them but being deeply aware of the elements that make up the lower leg.

And on the out-breath,

Letting go of the lower leg and directing the awareness to the left knee.

Noticing the knee,

The kneecap,

The front and the back of the knee,

The left and the right side of the knee and experiencing the knee as a whole.

Exhaling and letting go of the left knee.

Moving into the region of the left thigh all the way up to the hip joint.

Experiencing the left thigh and the sensations that are present.

The front of the thigh,

The back of the thigh,

The thigh as a whole.

Taking a deeper breath and on the out-breath,

Relaxing and letting go of this part of the body.

Now going from the left hip joint to the right hip joint and all the way back down to the toes of the right foot.

Without moving them if possible.

Becoming aware of the toes and the right foot.

The nails on the toes and maybe even the space between the toes.

Noticing if there are any sensations present and being aware of where the sensations are present.

Is it the same in all toes?

Does it vary from toe to toe?

And maybe you can sense a toe but not the others.

So just becoming aware of this as well.

Just allowing whatever experience to be present without judging what the experience is.

Now letting go of the toes of the right foot and letting the attention shift to the bottom of the foot,

Becoming aware of the bottom and the top of the foot.

Sensing the sole and the heel of the right foot as well as the ankle and the top of the foot.

Sensing the right foot as a whole,

A part of the body that is often taken for granted.

So just feeling this important part of the body,

Appreciating it perhaps.

And then breathing out,

Letting go of it.

Becoming aware of the lower leg and any sensation here.

Getting present with the lower right leg.

And then gently letting go of the right leg and becoming aware of the right knee.

If at some point there are sensations of pain,

Maybe trying to explore them with curiosity.

Is it always the same?

Is it changing?

Maybe you notice that it comes and goes in waves.

Breathing in,

Sensing the knee.

Breathing out,

Letting go of the right knee.

Feeling the right thigh,

The entire right thigh from the knee all the way up to the right hip joint.

Being as precise as possible about the sensations.

Sensing,

Feeling the right thigh as it is.

And then on the out breath,

Letting go of this region of the body as well.

Now becoming aware of the pelvis from one hip to the other.

Sensing the buttocks in contact with the floor or the chair.

As well as the sensation of pressure caused by gravity.

Becoming aware of the entirety of the pelvis and on the out breath directing the attention to the lower back.

Sensing the lower back,

The region that connects the pelvis to the upper body.

The lower back is usually a region that for many,

It causes problems or pain.

There might be intense sensations or pain.

But for the moment simply experiencing the back as it is,

Exploring the sensations.

And the out breath maybe allowing the tension or tightness to flow out of the body.

Allowing the body to sink deeper and deeper in a state of relaxed awareness.

Exploring what it means to be still with whatever shows up moment by moment.

Breath by breath.

Now letting go of the lower back and directing the awareness to the middle and the upper back.

Sensing also the shoulder blades touching the floor.

Sensing the back of the ribs as well.

And now directing the awareness to the front of your torso or trunk.

The belly rising and falling in harmony with the breath.

Allowing the awareness to spread from the belly to the chest.

Maybe feeling the movement of the diaphragm and the ribs.

The expansion on the in breath and the contraction on the out breath.

If possible feeling the heart beating and pumping blood to every part of the body.

Becoming aware of the lungs.

The air coming in and out.

And on the out breath letting go of this part of your body.

Feeling your attention to move to the fingertips of both hands.

Sensing the tips of the fingers and the palms of both hands at the same time.

Noticing the sensations present in the hands.

Maybe there's some pulsation from the blood flow.

Maybe there's warmth or the hands are sweaty.

Whatever sensation is present is okay.

Feeling the awareness to move to the back of the hands and the wrists.

And here again perhaps sensing the pulsation of the blood flow.

And guiding the awareness now to the forearms and the elbows.

Maybe noticing the touch of the forearms and elbows to the floor or the arms of the chair.

Becoming any and all sensations and experiencing the forearm and elbows as they are.

And now allowing the upper arms to appear in the field of your awareness.

The upper arms,

The armpits all the way up to the shoulders.

Being aware of the joints and the muscles that compose the entire arm.

The left and the right arm from the fingertips all the way up to the shoulders.

The shoulders are usually one of the parts of our body where we hold a lot of tension.

Throughout the day the shoulder stands up most of the time with those being aware of it.

Noticing if right now in this moment there's discomfort or tension in the shoulders.

And if there's tension maybe allowing it to flow out to let go on the out-breath.

Now letting go of the arms and the shoulders.

Getting deeper into stillness in a state of deep present moment awareness.

Letting the focus of attention go to the neck,

The back of the neck,

The throat.

Noticing the entirety of this region of the body.

Maybe noticing the sensations when swallowing and breathing.

And on the out-breath letting go of the neck and becoming aware of the face.

Another region of the body where tension might be accumulated.

Noticing the jaw and the mouth without moving them,

Experiencing them as they are.

Breathing in and breathing out,

Becoming aware of the lips and the tongue inside the mouth.

The teeth,

The gums,

The roof of the mouth.

Breathing in and out,

Being present with this part of the body.

And on the out-breath letting go and now slowly noticing the nose.

Feeling the breath going in and out of the nostrils.

Noticing the right and the left nostril.

Sensing the air coming in and the air coming out.

Being aware of the air that comes in,

Is it different from the air coming out?

Noticing if the air coming in changes,

Maybe the temperature changes.

On the out-breath letting go of the nose and feeling out the eyes and the eyelids.

Noticing if there's movement in the eyes.

Maybe it's possible to sense the contact of the eyes with the eyelids.

Maybe being aware of how certain processes in our body happen without us actively doing them.

Being aware now of the eyebrows,

The space between the eyebrows.

This region can also hold a lot of tension.

So sensing the entire region of the eyes and around the eyes.

And if there's any tension here,

Allowing it to leave on the out-breath.

Noticing the forehead,

Seeing if there are stored emotions in this part of the face.

Becoming aware of the entire face,

The face as a whole.

The details of the face are constantly active,

Showing to the world what is happening inside of us.

Our emotions,

Thoughts,

Our worldview.

So recognizing and acknowledging this region of the body.

Letting it soften.

Allowing it to be neutral.

And guiding the awareness now to the back of the head.

Flaying on the floor,

Sensing the part of the back of the head touching the ground.

Feeling the touch point of the head to the ground.

Really noticing the effect of gravity on the back of the head.

And now expanding the feel of awareness to the top of the head,

The crown of the head.

Now imagining that you could breathe from the crown of the head.

Feeling the breath to flow from the crown of the head right through the body all the way down to the feet,

To the toes.

And breathing out through the feet.

Now breathing in from the bottom of the feet all the way up to the crown of the head.

Allowing the breath to flow naturally,

To flow through your body.

Seeing the entire body breathing and flowing with the in breath and the out breath.

Allowing the breath to flow naturally.

Allowing the breath to flow naturally in and out.

And feeling the body as a whole from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

Playing here in a state of deep awareness of the present moment.

Feeling complete and whole.

Acknowledging your essential completeness.

Recognizing the real possibility of being present,

Connected and aware.

As well as the healing powers of taking each moment just as it is.

Allowing the body to be just as it is.

Allowing the mind to be just as it is.

Moment by moment.

Breath by breath.

And slowly bringing the awareness to the body again.

And fully bringing movement to the fingers.

Moving finger by finger.

Consciously leaving the moment of complete stillness.

And bringing movement to the toes as well.

Feeling aware of the movement.

Allowing the calmness and awareness to remain with you throughout the day.

And in your day to day activities.

And if it feels right,

You may wish to congratulate yourself for dedicating this time to nourish your mind and body.

A moment only for yourself.

That is always available to you by simply being present.

Reviews

Paulina, with so much thanks for a magnificent scan meditation. Your words and voice brought calmness and peace .

Thank you for a gentle little body scan. Very relaxing.