Body Scan Mindfulness Meditation

Visualize your body waking up and speaking to you in this toe-to-head body scan, which enhances mindful attention and focus.

Transcript

This is a mindfulness body scan meditation.

You can do this meditation either seated in a chair,

On a cushion or a bench,

Or you can do it lying down on your back,

On a carpeted floor or a yoga mat,

With a small pillow perhaps under your head for support,

Whichever is most comfortable and relaxing for you.

But I would say that if you're going to do it lying down,

Be sure you aren't sleepy to begin with,

Because falling asleep during this meditation would not be the best outcome.

So whichever posture you've taken,

Find a relaxed position.

If you're seated,

Make it upright and yet relaxed at the same time.

Now gently close your eyes,

And let your attention come to rest in the sensations of breathing as they appear in the abdomen.

Notice how your abdomen expands when you breathe in,

And how it relaxes when you exhale.

That's particularly easy to notice when you're lying down.

Sometimes when we have an upright position,

We tend to breathe sort of backwards.

We lift the chest when we inhale,

And we lower the chest when we exhale.

We've learned to breathe like that,

But the abdominal breathing is really more natural.

And if you pay attention to it while you're lying down,

You may find that you can breathe that way when you're standing or sitting as well.

So let your attention rest in the sensations in the abdomen as you inhale and as you exhale.

Other sensations may appear,

Thoughts may come and go,

Just let them and let the attention rest in the sensations of movement in the abdomen as you breathe.

Now move your attention to the toes of your left foot.

Watch each toe in turn,

The left big toe,

The second toe,

The third,

The fourth,

And the pinky toe of the left foot.

Let them come alive,

Let them speak to you.

See if you can hear or feel the spaces between the toes as well.

Let them come alive.

You may feel tingling,

You may feel some other sensation.

Just let that area come alive for you and speak to you.

Now move your attention to the left foot,

The sole of the foot,

The top,

The sides,

And the inside of the left foot.

Let all those areas come alive,

Let them begin to speak to you.

Now the left heel and the left ankle,

The front,

Back,

Sides,

And inside of the left ankle.

Let that area come alive and speak.

During the course of this meditation,

You'll encounter some areas in the body where you feel some tension.

Whenever you notice that there's tension and that it may want to relax or be able to relax,

Gently allow it to relax,

Gently see whether it can relax.

Let your attention cover the entire left foot.

Let the left foot light up,

Let it speak to you.

And now you may want to notice for a moment the right foot and see whether the right foot feels any different from the left foot after this part of the meditation.

Now returning to the left side,

Bring your attention to the left lower leg,

The calf at the back of the leg,

The sides,

The shin at the front of the leg,

And the inside of the left lower leg.

Let them light up,

Let them come awake,

Let them speak to you.

Now the left knee,

The kneecap,

The back of the left knee,

The sides,

And the inside of the left knee.

Let them come alive and speak.

And the left upper leg,

The front of the thigh,

The back and sides of the thigh,

And the inside of the thigh.

Let that entire area light up,

Let it speak to you,

Let it come alive.

Now expand your attention to include the entire left leg,

From the thigh through the knee,

The calf,

All the way down to the toes.

Now move your attention to the right toes,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth,

And fifth toes.

The spaces between the right toes.

Let them come alive,

Let them speak to you.

Wake them up.

See what they have to say.

Now move your attention to the right foot,

The sole,

The top,

The sides of the right foot,

And the inside of the right foot.

Let that whole area come alive and speak.

And let it relax if it wants to.

Now the heel and the back of the right foot,

The right ankle,

The front,

Back,

Sides,

And inside of the right ankle.

Let that area come alive.

Let it speak.

Now move the attention to the right lower leg,

The calf in the back,

The sides,

The shin,

And the inside of the right lower leg.

Let that area come alive and let it speak.

Listen for what it has to say and allow it to relax if it wants to.

And move to the right knee,

The kneecap,

The back,

Sides,

And inside of the right knee.

Let that area wake up.

Let it speak.

And now the right thigh,

The front,

Back,

And sides of the right thigh,

The inside of the right upper leg.

Let that whole area wake up and speak.

And let it relax if it wants to.

Now expand your attention.

Let it flow down from the right thigh through the knee,

The lower leg,

The foot,

And the toes.

So that that entire right leg and foot and toes lights up and speaks.

And bring in the left leg too,

The whole left leg,

The whole right leg.

Let them come alive and speak to you.

Let them relax even more if they want to.

Now let your attention move up into the buttocks and into the lower abdomen and the pelvis,

The genital area,

The pelvis,

The front and back of the lower abdomen.

Let those areas come alive and let them speak.

Let them relax if they want to.

And let your attention move up to the middle of the abdomen,

The front,

Back,

And sides of your belly,

The inside of your belly.

See what the sensations are in those areas.

Let them speak to you.

Let them come alive.

And let your attention move into the upper abdomen,

The front,

The back,

And the sides of the upper abdomen.

Let those areas come alive.

Let them speak to you.

And move your attention into the chest,

The front,

The back,

The sides of the chest.

Let those areas come alive.

Let the inside of the chest come alive.

You may begin to feel a tingling and a glow in the area of the heart.

Let that happen.

Notice the muscles of the back.

They may want to relax.

Let them relax.

And move the attention to the shoulders,

The tops of the shoulders,

The backs and front of the shoulders,

The insides of the shoulders.

Those muscles often carry tension.

Let those areas come alive.

And let them relax.

Now bring the attention to the fingers of the left hand,

The thumb,

The first,

Second,

Third,

And fourth fingers,

And the spaces between the fingers.

Let those areas come alive.

Let them speak.

And now the left hand,

The palm,

The back,

The sides,

And the inside of the left hand.

Let them come alive.

And now notice the left forearm,

The top,

The bottom,

The sides,

And the inside of the left forearm.

Let those areas come alive.

Let them speak to you.

And the left elbow,

The outside,

The crook,

The sides,

And the inside of the left elbow.

Let those areas come alive and speak to you.

And move to the left upper arm,

The back,

The front,

The sides,

And the inside of the left upper arm.

Let that area come alive.

Listen to it.

Let it speak to you and let it relax if it wants to.

Now move the attention to the fingers of the right hand,

The right thumb,

The right first,

Second,

Third,

And fourth fingers,

And the spaces between the right fingers.

Let those areas come alive and speak.

Notice the palm of the right hand,

And the back of the right hand,

And the sides,

And the inside of the right hand.

Let that whole area come alive.

Let it speak to you.

Let the attention move to the right wrist,

The front,

Back,

Sides,

And inside of the right wrist.

Let that area come alive.

And the right forearm,

The back,

The front,

The sides,

And let the inside of the right forearm come alive and speak to you.

Let the right elbow come alive.

Listen to it.

Let the right upper arm come alive.

The outside and the inside of the right upper arm.

Let it awaken.

Let it speak to you.

Listen and let it relax if it wants to.

Now bring your attention through the shoulders into the neck.

The front,

The back,

The sides of the neck.

You may notice the muscles at the back of the neck and the sides of the neck particularly want to relax.

Let them relax.

Let that area come alive.

Let it speak to you.

Notice the inside of the neck,

The throat,

The esophagus,

The windpipe.

Those areas can speak to you as well.

Let that whole area come alive.

Now notice the jaw.

The jaw muscles may want to relax.

The jaw area,

Let it come alive.

The area around the mouth,

The chin.

Now the whole face,

The area around the nose,

The eyes,

The forehead.

Let them come alive and speak.

Notice the muscles around the eyes.

They frequently want to relax.

Let them relax.

Now move around toward the back of the head.

The back of the head,

The scalp,

The top of the head.

Let those areas come alive and speak to you.

Let them tingle and let them relax if they want to.

And notice the inside of the head.

Let that space feel large.

Let it come alive and speak to you.

You may notice there a glow,

Similar to the glow in the chest.

Let it glow.

Now let that glowing feeling of aliveness cascade down from your head,

Through your neck,

Through your shoulders,

Into both arms,

All the way down to the ends of the fingers of both hands.

Let it cascade down through the heart area,

Through the chest,

Through the abdomen,

Through the pelvis,

Through the upper legs,

The lower legs,

All the way down to the toes.

Let your entire body be infused with this living,

Glowing presence.

Feel it come alive.

Now gently allow the attention to return to the abdomen,

To return to the sensations of breathing in the abdomen.

Just notice the breath as you inhale and as you exhale.

As you inhale and as you exhale.

When you feel ready,

Bring a little motion into the fingers and the toes and gently let your body start to move around a bit.

And when you're ready,

Allow your eyes to open.

Thank you for meditating with me.

I'm Steve Diamond.

You can find me online at MoreThanMindful.

Com and on the More Than Mindful channels at SoundCloud and YouTube,

Where there are more guided meditations.

Reviews

Extremely good body scan and mindfulness meditation

Absolutely beautiful! Thank-you 🙏🏾

The best body scan meditation I've done. Thank you.

Good, detailed meditation. Best not to be sleepy.