MBSR Loving Body Scan

In this practice, we engage in a loving body scan derived from the school of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Our goal is to be aware, without judgment, expectation, or strict adherence to any role or assumption. This practice may be helpful for those often on autopilot, disassociated, or in a difficult relationship with their body.

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome to a body scan.

A body scan is used to get in contact with a body at work on autopilot in need of some love and care or a dissociated body.

Find yourself in a laying down,

Relaxed position,

Bringing some dignity to the spine,

Making sure your head,

Neck and shoulders are all aligned.

Bring your shoulders down by wiggling the hands and bringing them towards the feet.

Although this meditation may have you connected with relaxation,

What we are doing here is falling awake,

Practicing deep connected awareness.

It's best to do this in a place where you'll feel secure,

Where you won't be interrupted.

This is a time just for you right now to be with yourself 100% to the best of your ability.

See if you can allow yourself to just be.

There is no goal here except to be present and redirect towards being present.

Having a goal of relaxation,

Sleep,

Peace or calm may result in tension.

What will come will come.

So this is a practice of letting be and letting go.

Allow yourself to be exactly as you are however you come into this practice.

Whether your heart rate is high,

You just rushed home,

You've had an irritating day or this is just like any other day.

Give yourself permission to feel exactly what is happening as it happens.

As you begin to settle in,

Take note of your breathing.

Sometimes when we are directed to take note,

We begin changing and judging the breath.

See if you can just observe it for what it is right now.

There is no right way to be or to breathe.

Simply experience the air moving in and out of the body.

Tension towards the sensations in the nostrils or the sensations in the stomach.

The abdomen expanding gently and then deflating.

Allow yourself to come into this rhythm of your natural body as it is.

Moment by moment,

Breathing.

Now as you feel ready,

Let's begin to focus on the toes of the left foot.

Moving away from the breathing sensations and focusing on an awareness of whatever feelings come up in this region of the body.

Perhaps tingling,

Moisture,

Warmth or no sensation at all,

Which is a sensation.

Continuing to breathe and move.

And when you become ready,

We will begin moving towards the heel.

Perhaps bringing an awareness that the heel is making contact with whatever it is,

The bed,

The mat.

Just feeling the sense of touch,

Pressure,

Sensation.

Moving in and on the out breath,

Letting go of the sensations of the heel.

Moving towards the top of the left foot,

Noticing whatever feelings or lack thereof.

Just being there with it.

Letting some awareness spread up to the ankle.

When you're ready,

Breathing in and on the out breath.

Letting go of the whole left foot.

Now as we travel,

Becoming aware of the lower part of the left leg,

The calf muscle as it were.

Any sensations on the skin or perhaps in the muscular area of the leg.

Breathing in and on the out breath,

Letting go.

Starting to allow movement up towards the knee.

Feeling the knee,

Kneecap inside of the knee joint.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Now moving up towards the left thigh above the knee.

In this large muscle,

Allowing yourself to feel wherever it is coming into contact with the mat or the floor.

The deep muscles moving to the groin and the hip.

Letting it be soft and on the out breath.

We move down to the toes of the right foot.

Now this is a new side and with new sides there are new sensations.

So allow your awareness to come to the big toe.

Just taking note of whatever your skin is up against,

Sensations,

Pressure,

Tension,

Relief.

Then going ahead and releasing the toe as we become aware of the heel of the right foot.

Breathing in and breathing out and now allow us to bring our attention to the top of the right foot.

Perhaps all the way up to the ankle.

Just feeling and breathing in and out.

Allowing yourself to just be.

Now at this point in our time together,

You may notice that your mind has traveled ever so often onto thoughts,

Feelings,

Or wanting to change sensations.

Anytime this becomes your experience,

See if you can gently guide yourself back to the part of the body in which we are spending loving care and time with.

Knowing that there is no perfection,

No expectations here.

Now we will continue movement up towards the calf of the right leg.

Feeling,

Noticing,

Breathing in and breathing out.

Continuing up towards the knee.

Again feeling the knee,

Kneecap inside of the knee joint.

Feeling fully aware.

Now moving towards the right thigh.

Noticing sensations on the surface of the skin.

Inside the skin,

Perhaps even down to the bone,

Up to the hips,

And up to the groin.

The whole right leg.

Feeling both legs settled where they are.

Moving up towards the stomach where we may become aware of our breath expanding our belly and deflating.

Tuning in to all other sensations surrounding the sensations of the breath.

Coming in to the body fully.

Now as we leave the domain of the stomach,

Moving up towards the realm of the chest,

We may also feel sensations of breathing here as well.

Perhaps there may be a sensation of a heartbeat.

Lightness,

Heaviness,

Temperature.

Feeling in and out of the chest.

As we move up towards the neck and the shoulders,

Becoming aware of anything going on in this area,

We hold a lot in the neck and shoulders.

Trauma and tension and difficulty.

Suspending an extra moment or two.

Settling in with these areas.

Not judging what they hold or how you carry them,

Just observing.

Now as we flow down from the shoulders,

We will visit the left hand.

All the way to the fingertips.

Feeling each finger and then the whole hand.

Moving up towards the forearm.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Moving up towards the elbow and the upper arm.

The strength that's carried here.

Sensations,

Temperature,

Air,

Feel.

The whole left arm.

Bringing yourself all the way to the right hand.

Feeling each finger on its own and then coming to meet as the hand.

Breathing in and out of whatever you might find here.

Now up towards the forearm.

Sensing wherever this arm may be in space.

As we travel up towards the elbow and upper arm.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

The whole right arm.

Now,

Traveling back up the neck towards the face.

Taking note of our jaw,

Our lips,

Our nose,

Our eyes.

Muscles around the eyes.

Eyebrows.

Muscles between the eyebrows.

The forehead.

The whole head.

Now,

As we continue to breathe as we do.

Noticing the whole body alive.

Functioning.

Supporting us to the absolute best of its ability.

Thanking the body for all that it does.

Knowing that whatever we noticed and whatever our experience today,

There is no right,

Wrong,

Goal or expectation of you in this space.

There's just your body,

Your awareness and the work that you've put in today.

Thank your mind for its constant effort to bring you back to awareness.

Knowing that there is no fault and if your mind wandered a thousand times in your effort to bring it back just as many.

Now,

As you sit with the whole body,

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Prepare yourself to gently exit this space,

Perhaps with a commitment to bring this level of awareness throughout the rest of your day.

May you be well.

May you go with love.

Reviews

Great meditation/body scan. Achieved its purpose: awareness and calm.
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