Body Scan Practice

Body Scan is a mindfulness practice which has been shown to be effective at bedside, in stressful environments (like healthcare institutions) and as a tool for coping with chronic pain. Although the practice was originally designed to strengthen awareness it is also effective in re-teaching people how to relax. In this way, many people find the body scan practice helpful in restoring the lost ability to sleep.

Transcript

I and all beings,

Sentient beings,

Equal to the ends of space,

From this time forward until the essence of enlightenment is reached,

Take refuge.

And all of those great beings who have achieved enlightenment,

And all those guides and teachers who have shown the way,

And all of the sacred teachings written and unwritten,

And to all those beings and communities who seek the way to enlightenment,

We take refuge.

We honour these three aspects of enlightenment with respect and supplication,

And request that they bless our body,

Speech,

And mind throughout the three times.

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.

May all beings be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow.

May all beings never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless.

And may all beings live in equanimity without either too much attachment or too much aversion,

And live believing in the sacred equality of all that lives.

Now,

Just taking a moment to arrive,

Allowing the body to settle,

The breath to settle,

Actually feeling your feet making contact with the floor,

And your body with the chair.

You may wish to close your eyes or lower your gaze.

Sitting or lying with a straight back,

I'm reminded that I'm in a precious human body.

I have all my faculties intact,

And as I sit in this awareness of this great human potentiality in which I dwell,

There is a natural arising of appreciation and gratitude.

So in this moment,

I take a few breaths,

Just taking this all in.

With my feet resting on the floor or bed,

I'm reminded that I'm connected to the center of the earth,

And that every day I am held unconditionally with gravity,

No matter what my behavior is.

So in the sense of being grounded and being held,

I take a few more breaths,

Just arriving at the practice.

Now turning your awareness to the breath,

Rather than thinking about the breath,

Actually feeling the breath as it enters the body,

Moves through the body,

And then exits the body.

Noticing all the qualities of that breath,

The length,

The temperature,

The texture,

The strength,

And deliberately choosing to give equal importance and attention to both in-breath and the out-breath.

In other words,

What we take in and what we let go of.

As you breathe naturally,

Allowing that breath to descend into the body,

Little bit by little bit,

So that the belly starts to rise and fall with the breath.

Body scan.

Starting with my feet and moving upward through the body,

I visit each part of the body,

Each organ,

Each system,

Experiencing my body fully.

We do so without judgment,

Acknowledging our experience,

Noticing any tension,

Agitation,

Discomfort or pain,

And acknowledging these experiences.

And as we visit each part of the body,

We consciously relax that part of the body,

Inviting the body to the practice.

And so we will spend the next few minutes just doing the body scan,

Fully relaxing the body,

And bringing the body to the practice itself.

Starting with the feet,

Actually feel your feet.

Feel them make contact with the floor or bed.

Feel the toes.

Feel each toe,

The heel,

The arch,

And top of the foot,

The ankle.

Observe your experience of your feet and notice if there's any tightness or discomfort.

And now consciously relax the feet.

Let go of any tension you may experience.

Then imagine that you can breathe into the feet and ankles,

Relaxing them even more.

Now moving your awareness to the legs,

To the knees,

Thighs,

And calves.

Can you feel your legs and take in what you notice in this moment?

Do you notice any tense spots,

Any agitation or discomfort?

Notice an underlying urge to move forward and see if you can just be,

Consciously relaxing all the parts of the legs,

Allowing them to let go.

And now breathing into the legs,

Relaxing them even more,

Inviting the legs to the practice.

Now moving up to the torso of the body,

Starting with the front of the body,

Starting with the belly as you breathe in and out,

Observe your belly.

Is it rising and falling with the breath?

Is it expanding fully with each breath or are you holding back?

Is there tightness?

See if you can fully relax the belly,

Allowing the belly to expand and contract fully with each breath,

Breathing into the belly,

Inviting the belly to the practice.

Moving up now to the lungs,

Feel your breath as it enters the lungs and also feel the exhale.

Can we breathe fully like a whale,

Allowing the lungs to expand not only front to back but also side to side?

Observe how you are breathing.

Is it deep,

Relaxed,

Or is there a holding back or tightness?

Allow your lungs to relax into the breathing,

Supporting a deep breath,

And observe.

Now,

Bringing your awareness to the heart,

Can you imagine your heart to be as big as the sky or is there tightness or woundedness there?

Observe.

Be honest with yourself.

As you breathe,

Allow your heart to open,

To blossom,

To relax and surrender with each breath.

Now exploring the back,

All of the microsystems of muscles,

Sinews,

And bones,

All the zones of the back.

Observe what you experience.

Notice the areas which are tight,

Sore,

Agitated,

Or tired.

Now completely relaxing all the areas of the back and finally breathing into the back,

Relaxing the back even more.

Now bring your awareness to the arms,

Hands,

And fingers.

Observe your experience.

Notice any tension,

Agitation,

Discomfort,

Or pain.

Acknowledge it rather than pushing it away.

Can you sense a need to be doing rather than just being?

See if you can just be without doing.

Slowly,

Gently relax every finger,

Then your hands,

Wrists,

Arms,

And elbows.

Breathe into those areas,

Relaxing them even more,

Letting go of any doing in this moment,

Inviting the arms,

Hands,

And fingers to the practice.

Now turning your awareness to the shoulders.

This is where many of us keep our burdens.

In this moment,

Can you put your burdens down just for a few moments?

Maybe even let your shoulders slump,

Fully relax and let go,

Totally surrendering,

And now breathing into the shoulders,

Relaxing them fully.

Moving up to the neck area,

Notice where the sore spots are,

The tense areas.

Even observe your voice box,

The need to give voice and express yourself.

In this moment,

Even let this go,

Fully relaxing the neck,

Breathing into the neck,

Relaxing it even further.

Turn your awareness to the face,

To all the micro muscles which give us personality.

Really feel your face.

What does it feel like?

Observe where the tight spots are,

And then allow the face to let go completely,

To fully relax,

And then breathe into the face,

Relaxing the face even more.

And finally,

Now turning your awareness to hearing,

Deeply listening to all sound,

Sounds within the body,

Within the room,

And even sounds that are very far away,

Deliberately choosing not to have preference for pleasant or unpleasant sound,

But simply to rest in the awareness of whatever arises or emerges with an attitude of acceptance,

Allowing deep listening to be the practice in the moment,

Fully relaxing into sound.

We will spend a few moments in the practice of deep listening.

Now in this moment,

Take it all in,

As if taking a photo of how your body feels in this moment,

Fully relaxed in awareness.

Notice the sense of peace.

Savor for a few minutes so that you can remember and come back here.

Now,

Bringing your awareness back,

Feeling our bodies fully,

Being aware of the sounds around us,

Breathing in,

Knowing that we are breathing in,

Breathing out,

Knowing we are breathing out.

Feel your feet making contact with the floor or bed.

Feel your back,

Your body resting on the chair or bed.

Can we open our eyes and come back into the room?

May all sentient beings,

As limitless as the whole of space,

Each effortlessly achieve realization,

The nature of their mind.

And may every single being throughout all of the six realms,

Who have all been our mothers and our fathers,

Attain the ground of primordial perfection,

Enlightenment itself.

I dedicate this practice to all of them.

May it be a benefit to all.