Mindful Body Scan Meditation

This is a 45-minute mindful body scan meditation from the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Course. This practice can help us to cultivate more awareness of our bodies and to take note of what is happening for us from moment to moment.

Transcript

This is a guided body scan meditation.

Finding a place where you can be warm and comfortable and a time that you can be free from distractions.

You may like to lie down on a mat or the bed,

But if this is uncomfortable for you or you're feeling sleepy,

It might be useful for you to sit in a chair or on a cushion.

If you're lying down,

Legs can be outstretched or you might find it comfortable to plant the soles of the feet and bend into the knees,

Perhaps allowing the knees to fall in towards each other like a teepee shape.

This can be more comfortable if you've got lower back issues.

Cover yourself with a blanket if you like so that you can stay warm throughout the practice.

Once you are comfortable,

Start to bring your attention to the points of contact between the body and where it's resting.

Noticing the backs of the ankles and the legs,

The buttocks,

Parts of the spine and the shoulders,

The weight of the back of the head and also having a sense of the areas which aren't connected with the earth.

If you are in a seated position,

Noticing the feet on the floor,

The bum on the seat and any points of contact between the lower back and the back of the chair.

Now when you feel ready to do so,

Bringing your focus to the breath,

Noticing the sensations that the breath creates as it moves in and out of the body.

You might bring your focus to the belly rising and falling or the chest and the ribs expanding and contracting.

Or you might find it helpful to notice the breath in the nostrils.

Maybe paying attention to the soft fluttering sensation on the upper lip as the breath moves in and out.

Just following the breath wherever it is most vivid for you in the body.

And remembering that as we make our way through this body scan practice,

There are no right or wrongs.

We're simply noticing whatever is going on in the body from moment to moment,

Non-judgmentally,

Without any agenda or reason.

So we're not even necessarily trying to relax during this practice.

Simply being with whatever is here now.

So when you're ready,

Starting to let go of your focus on the breath and sending your awareness all the way down your left leg and into the big toe of the left foot.

Noticing any sensations arising here in the big toe of the left foot.

You may have a sense of the fabric of the sock surrounding the big toe.

Maybe some pressure from the toe next door as it rests against the big toe.

Or perhaps there's a sense of tingling or heat.

There may be no sensations at all.

Knowing that whatever you're noticing here in the big toe is exactly as it should be.

And then when you're ready,

Starting to let go of your focus on the big toe and taking your attention over to the little toe of the left foot.

Noticing any sensations here.

Again,

There might be something or nothing at all.

Knowing that either of these is okay.

And then when you're ready,

Letting go of your focus on the little toe of the left foot and bringing your awareness to the toes in between.

2nd,

3rd and 4th toes on the left foot.

What's available for you to notice here?

Perhaps you can identify each toe or maybe it just feels that there are no sensations arising here in the toes in between.

And again,

Remembering that that's okay.

When you're ready,

Letting go of your focus on the toes in between and starting to broaden your attention out to the rest of the left foot.

So first noticing the top of the foot,

Maybe a sense of the skin stretched across the bones of the foot,

Perhaps a sense of the ligaments attaching to the bones.

And then bringing your focus to the sole of the left foot.

What sensations are you noticing here in the sole of the left foot?

Any tingling or pulsing?

A sense of heat or cool?

Perhaps some sensations from the blanket covering the foot or the sock surrounding the foot?

Or maybe no sensations at all?

And then bringing your attention to the back of the ankle and the front of the ankle.

And then broadening your awareness out to the whole of the left foot.

All five toes,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot and ankle.

Noticing any sensations in the whole of the left foot.

And then when you're ready,

Letting go of the left foot and ankle and starting to take your awareness up to the lower part of the left leg.

Turning your attention to the shin and the calf of the left leg.

Noticing any sensations arising here in the lower part of the left leg.

Again,

These might be surface sensations.

Noticing fabric touching skin.

Or you might notice the spread of the back of the leg as it comes into contact with the floor.

Or there might be sensations beneath the skin.

A sense of the bone of the shin.

Muscles and ligaments beneath the skin.

Or no sensations at all.

And now when you're ready,

Letting go of your focus of the lower part of the left leg and beginning to take your awareness higher up the left leg to the knee cap and the back of the knee.

Knowing that there's no right or wrong,

Whatever you're feeling or not feeling in this area of the body is okay.

You might find that the mind starts to wander.

Perhaps emotions appear as you scan through the body.

There may be some boredom or a sense that you're doing something wrong in this practice.

Just seeing if you can meet whatever appears for you.

Whether that's a thought,

Emotion or sensation.

Just noticing these emotions or sensations appear.

Bringing your focus to whatever is arising.

And then if it's a thought or emotion,

Perhaps seeing if you can allow that thought to drift away.

Bringing your focus back to the area of the body that we're turning our attention to now.

In this case the knee cap and the back of the knee on the left leg.

And now when you're ready letting go of the left knee cap and the back of the left knee and starting to take your attention higher up the left leg to the left thigh.

The upper part of the left leg.

Noticing whatever sensations are arriving here in the left leg as you turn your attention to it.

Again you might notice that the mind starts to wander away from you.

Seeing if you can simply notice each time this happens.

Knowing that it's perfectly natural for the mind to wander.

So perhaps imagining the mind as an excited puppy on a lead.

Running here,

There and everywhere.

Investigating and exploring.

Our job is to kindly but firmly draw the attention back to where we're focusing.

As we would training a puppy.

In this case bringing your focus back to any sensations in the upper part of the left leg.

And now when you're ready starting to let go of the upper part of the left leg and broadening your awareness out to have a sense of the whole of the left leg and foot.

The toes.

The whole of the left foot.

The ankle.

Lower leg,

Upper leg.

All the way up to the hip joint.

Noticing any sensations here in the whole of the left leg and foot.

And then when you're ready starting to let your awareness of the left leg go.

And now taking your attention all the way over to the right leg.

Down the right leg.

And to the big toe of the right foot.

What's available for you to notice here in the right big toe.

And then when you're ready letting go of your awareness of the big toe of the right foot and taking your attention over to the little toe.

Noticing any sensations appearing here in the little toe.

Or any absence of sensations too.

Remembering that there's no right or wrong.

We're simply bringing our attention to whatever is going on in this particular moment.

And then letting go of the little toe of the right foot and bringing your focus to all of the toes in between.

Perhaps you can identify one toe from the next.

Or maybe there are no sensations here at all.

Knowing that that's okay.

And then when you're ready letting go of the toes in between.

And bringing your focus to the top of the right foot.

Noticing whatever is available for you to notice here.

And then taking your attention to the sole of the right foot.

Perhaps a sense of the dryness of the skin on the right foot.

Or maybe some moisture or heat.

And then when you're ready bringing your attention to the ankle of the right foot.

Back of the ankle and the front of the ankle.

Maybe sensations from underneath the skin.

Or any clothing,

Trouser leg or socks surrounding the ankle.

Looking with curiosity at whatever is going on in your body right now.

And then broadening your awareness out to have a sense of the whole of the foot and the ankle.

Noticing any sensations.

And when you're ready letting go of your awareness of the right foot and ankle.

And bringing your focus up the right leg towards the shin and the calf of the right leg.

The whole of the lower right leg from the ankle to the knee.

Noticing any sensations appearing here.

Perhaps noticing any labelling of sensations as pleasant or unpleasant.

Maybe seeing what it's like to be with these sensations regardless of how we label them to feel.

Knowing that if sensations are intensely unpleasant and we struggle to stay with them,

That there's always the option to come back to the breath as an anchor point for our attention.

And then when we feel comfortable to do so,

Moving our focus back to whichever area of the body we're focusing on now.

So in this instance,

Bringing the focus back to the lower part of the right leg.

And then when you're ready starting to let go of your focus on the lower right leg.

And taking your attention up to the knee on the right leg.

Noticing the kneecap and the back of the right knee.

Perhaps noticing a sense of space at the back of the knee.

Or any feelings of skin stretching over the top of the right kneecap.

Or no sensations at all.

When you're ready letting go of your awareness of the right knee.

And taking your attention up the right leg to the upper part of the leg.

To the right thigh.

What sensations are here in the right thigh?

Is there some tingling or warmth?

A sense of the blanket shrouding the leg?

And then when you're ready starting to let go of your focus on the upper right leg.

And broadening your attention out now to the whole of the right leg.

All the way from the hip to the toes of the right foot.

Noticing any sensations appearing here in the right leg.

And perhaps noticing how it feels now to have scanned through the whole of the right and the left leg.

And then when you're ready letting go of your focus on the right leg and bringing your attention up now to the pelvis region of the body.

Noticing the pelvis,

The hip joints and the pubic area.

And bringing your awareness to any sensations that are arising here.

Again there may be pleasant or unpleasant sensations.

We often hold tension in the hips.

So there may be a sense of holding,

Tightness.

Or this area of the body might feel quite open for you.

Remembering that there is no right or wrong answer,

Just simply noticing whatever is going on here.

And then when you're ready starting to let go of the pelvic region and bringing your focus further up the back of the body now to the buttocks.

And the back of the spine.

All the way up towards the shoulder blades.

Sure again you may have a sense of points of contact here with the floor or the bed,

Wherever you're resting.

Noticing whatever is going on here for you in this particular moment.

Remembering that if you notice the mind has started to wander away from you,

Perhaps bringing some focus to where the mind has wandered.

Maybe drifting into daydreaming or sleepiness,

Time travelling into the past or the future.

The thought itself is not important.

So not necessarily focusing on the content of the thought,

Just noticing any patterns in thoughts appearing.

Noticing the thought and then seeing if you can allow it to drift away,

Bringing your attention back to the point of the body that we're focusing on now.

Bringing your focus back to the back of the body.

All the way from the shoulders to the buttocks.

And then when you're ready starting to release the focus on the back of the body and taking your awareness now up and over the shoulders to the front of the body.

To the torso,

The chest,

Breastbone,

Belly and stomach within.

What sensations are available for you to notice here in the front of the torso?

You may have a sense of some processing in the stomach,

Gurgling or churning.

Maybe a tightness in the chest.

You may notice the breath again here in the front of the body.

Simply bringing your awareness to whatever is arising here.

And again noticing any thoughts associated with bringing your attention to this particular part of the body.

You may notice that you've started to drift into sleepiness.

So perhaps seeing if you can catch each time you come close to falling into sleep.

Just seeing if you can catch each time this happens.

Trying not to get angry at yourself if this is happening repeatedly.

Just noticing as best you can each time it does.

Gently but firmly bringing your focus back to sensations in the body.

Seeing if you can do this non-judgmentally.

Now when you're ready letting go of your awareness of the front of the body.

And taking your attention up towards the shoulders.

Tops of the shoulders.

And the backs of the shoulders.

Noticing any sensations here.

Perhaps there's some tension or a sense of muscular pull.

Again we often hold physical tension in the shoulders.

Noticing whatever is going on here for you in this particular part of the body.

Again you might notice some labelling here of pleasant or unpleasant.

Seeing if you can be with whatever is.

Now when you're ready starting to let go of your awareness of the shoulders.

And here seeing if you can imagine that you were splitting your attention.

And sending one part of your awareness down the right arm to the fingers and the hand.

And then splitting your other part of the tension and taking it down the left arm to the left fingers and hand.

So having a sense of both the right and the left hand now.

The palm,

Back of the hand,

Fingers and fingertips.

And the two thumbs on each hand.

Noticing any sensations here.

There might be a sense of dryness in the palms or moisture.

Heat or tingling in the fingertips.

Noticing whatever is available for you to notice here in the left and the right hand.

And then when you're already letting go of your awareness of the hands.

And taking each part of your attention,

One part up the left arm,

Focusing on the forearm all the way from the left wrist to the left elbow.

And the other part of your attention focusing on the right forearm.

From right wrist to right elbow.

Noticing any sensations here.

Or no sensations at all.

And then letting go of the lower arms and turning your focus to the elbows and the elbow creases.

What sensations are appearing here for you in each of the elbows?

And the backs of the elbows.

And then when you're already letting go of your attention on the elbows and taking your awareness further up the arms to the upper arms.

From elbow to shoulder.

Triceps and biceps.

Sensations from clothing.

Touching skin.

Maybe a sense of the texture of that clothing.

Maybe it's smooth,

Soft.

Wrinkly or scratchy.

Or there might be sensations within the arms.

Feeling of muscles beneath the skin.

Bones beneath the muscles.

Or no sensations at all.

Whatever you are experiencing is okay.

Just relax exactly as it should be.

And now when you're ready starting to let go of that narrow awareness of the upper arms.

And expanding your awareness to encompass the whole of the right and the left arm.

All the way from the shoulders to the fingertips.

Broadening your focus out.

And now letting go of the arms and broadening the awareness out further to the whole of the trunk of the body.

From shoulders to hip joints.

Arms,

Front of body,

Back of body,

Buttocks and pelvis.

And noticing how it feels to have scanned through the whole of the upper part of the body now.

And when you're ready letting go of this upper part of the body.

And bringing your focus up towards the neck and the throat.

Noticing any sensations here.

Perhaps noticing some moisture within the throat.

Or there may be a sense of dryness.

Sensations around the neck,

Perhaps from hair touching the neck.

Clothing touching the neck.

Or no sensations at all.

Now when you're ready letting go of your awareness of the neck and the throat.

And bringing your focus to the whole of the head now.

And turning your attention to the back of the head.

If you're lying down,

Noticing the back of the head resting either on the floor or cushion or the bed.

And if you're sitting,

Maybe the head is resting on the back of a chair.

Perhaps having a sense of the weight of the head.

Or again there may be sensations from the hair.

Some tingling or a sense of itchiness.

Noticing whatever is arising for you right now here in the back of the head.

And now when you're ready bringing your focus up to the top of the head.

Noticing any sensations arising here.

And now bringing your focus to the front of the head and the face.

The hairline,

The forehead,

The eyebrow ridge,

The bridge of the nose,

Nostrils and the sides of the nose.

Cheeks,

Eyes,

Eyelids,

Eyelashes,

Eyebrows,

Lips,

Chin,

Jawline.

Inside the mouth,

The jaw,

The tongue.

Perhaps noticing where the tongue is resting towards the top of the mouth or the bottom.

Any tension in the jaw.

Creases around the eyes,

Furrows in the forehead.

Noticing the ears,

The whole of the face.

What sensations are arising here?

And then broadening your focus out again to encompass the whole of the head.

The back,

The top,

The face.

And when you're ready letting go of your focus on the head and starting to broaden your awareness out to the whole of the body.

From the top of the head to the soles of the feet.

Noticing how it feels to have scanned through the whole of the body here.

And when you're ready beginning to let go of your awareness of the body and bringing your focus back to the breath,

Moving through the body.

So you might bring the attention back to the belly or the chest or the nostrils,

Noticing the breath flowing in and out.

And now when you're ready imagining that you could breathe the breath in through the top of the head.

Inhaling in and sending the breath in one long deep wave all the way through the body.

And then exhaling the breath out through the soles of the feet.

And then inhaling the breath in through the soles of the feet,

Sending the breath all the way up the legs,

Through the torso,

To the top of the head.

Exhaling the breath out through the top of the head.

And then again inhaling through the top of the head,

Sending the breath all the way through the body.

In a long deep wave through the torso,

Through the legs and out through the soles of the feet.

And just continuing to breathe in this way,

Long soothing waves of breath throughout the body.

Inhaling through the soles of the feet,

Exhaling through the top of the head.

Inhaling through the top of the head,

Exhaling through the soles of the feet.

And then when you're ready,

Letting go of this waving breath and just bringing your attention to the body resting here.

Lying or sitting.

And just noticing any thoughts or emotions,

How you're feeling having scanned through the whole of the body.

And as we bring this practice to a close,

Making sure to look after yourself.

Bring yourself out of the practice slowly,

Allowing light to come back to the eyes.

Gently rolling to one side of the body,

Taking your time.

And being kind to yourself as you make your way through the rest of the day.

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Reviews

A very thorough body scan!

Nice and gentle bodyscan. No music, just all that's needed 🙏🏻

Really lovely! You have such a calming voice. Good pace, very nice. Saving this one. Thank you. ☮️💖🙏🖖