Body Scan (MBSR)

This 30-minute guided Body Scan meditation focuses on the Breath and the Body. It is a gentle invitation to tune into the body. The attention is gently guided through the body, focusing on awareness of sensations. Turning towards this aspect of our experience with compassion, we develop the ability to be anchored and embodied in our bodies. Suitable for daytime or evening. A good meditation to practice when feeling stressed, or as a regular physical well-being practice.
Duration: 30 minutes

Transcript

Mindfulness Meditations guided by Una Keeley Professional MBSOR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor 30 minute body scan Welcome to this guided body scan meditation which is part of the mindfulness course that you're taking part in.

To begin find a place and a time where you won't be disturbed and arrange your surroundings in a way that supports your intention to give yourself this time to practice and to nurture your own health and wellbeing.

Lying down now on a mat or a rug on the floor or perhaps on your bed or sitting in a chair,

Make sure that you're warm enough and comfortable.

Loosening your clothes if they constrict your breathing in any way.

Allowing your arms to rest by your sides and let your feet fall away from each other.

Allowing your eyes to gently close if that feels comfortable for you.

If you would like to keep them open just resting them on a spot in front of you in a soft gaze.

It's best to stay awake during this practice if possible.

If at times you notice feelings of sleepiness you might want to experiment with keeping your eyes open or perhaps opening them and closing them.

And if you do fall asleep when you become aware again just rejoin the instructions with an attitude of acceptance as best you can.

In this body scan there is no goal other than to remain aware of the body as we move our attention around it,

Feeling it and sensing it from the inside.

We are not trying to feel any particular way or to achieve any special state,

Not even relaxation.

We are simply practicing allowing whatever is present to be here as we find it moment by moment,

Bringing to our bodies an attitude of friendly curiosity and maybe a sense of discovery for those parts of the body that we often ignore or take for granted.

Seeing if you can let go of the tendency that we all have to want things to be a certain way and if at times you become aware of unpleasant feelings in the body or the mind,

For example,

Boredom,

Discomfort,

Restlessness or irritation,

Just acknowledging that these feelings have arisen and then gently returning your focus to the instructions and to any sensations that might be present in the part of the body that we are currently focusing on.

The mind will wander many times during this practice and the fact that this happens is not a problem at all.

When we notice our attention has been pulled away we simply return our focus to the body as gently as possible.

What is more important than staying with the instructions all the way through the practice is being aware of what is going on when something else pulls our attention.

Acknowledging this and then gently returning our focus to the part of the body that we are exploring in that moment.

The wandering away of the mind and the returning of our attention to the body is part of our practice.

So now lying or sitting here and becoming aware that breathing is happening in this moment and noticing where in the body are you feeling the breath most clearly.

It could be in the chest or in the belly or at the tip of the nose as the air enters and leaves the body through the nostrils.

Just becoming aware now of where you are feeling the breath in this moment.

Letting go of any need to control the breath or to fix it or change it in any way and just observing it moving.

Noticing it move in waves on the in-breath and on the out-breath.

Not so much thinking about the breath but becoming curious about the actual sensations of breathing.

Perhaps noticing a sensation of rising or expansion as the air comes in or falling or contraction as the air goes out again.

Feeling just this breath.

And when you notice the mind is no longer paying attention to the feeling of the breath coming in and going out and it has instead become involved in a thought or a story.

Noticing just acknowledging that the mind has wandered.

And then as far as possible without any judgment bringing it back again to the feeling to the sensation of the breath.

Just this breath.

And now when you're ready beginning to scan through the body and beginning with the toes of your left foot.

So shifting your focus away from the feeling of inhaling and exhaling and bringing your attention now into the left side of the body down into the left leg and the left foot and out to the toes of the left foot.

And beginning to notice any sensations which may be here in the toes in this moment.

Without moving them or trying to make them any different rather seeing what is already here when the attention arrives here.

Becoming aware of the big toe and the little toe and the toes in between.

There could be tingling or maybe throbbing or a sense of warmth or for you a sense of coolness or maybe there are no clear sensations at all.

Just allowing whatever is here to be here now even if that is a blank.

And now moving your attention around to the bottom of the left foot.

The ball of the foot,

The instep,

The heel.

Perhaps noticing the sensations of the heel making contact with the bed or the floor.

And if it helps beginning to sense into your foot and experimenting with breathing with the bottom of the foot.

Understanding your breath flowing down into your foot and then being aware of the breath in the background.

As in the foreground you explore any sensations you find in the bottom of the left foot.

And now letting the field of your attention expand to include the whole of the left foot.

The top of the foot,

The ankle,

Sensing deeply into the bones in the joint of the foot.

And bringing some friendly curiosity to whatever may be present in this moment including perhaps a lack of sensation if that is what is here now for you.

And now becoming aware of the bottom of the left leg,

The calf muscle at the back and the shin bone at the front.

Perhaps receiving a sense of weight of the muscle as it makes contact with the floor.

Perhaps picking up on a sensation of tightness or softness or maybe for you there's no clear sensations here.

Moving up into the left knee,

The kneecap,

The back of the knee and the sides of the knee.

Allowing whatever is here just to be as you find it and really giving the knee some time and attention now.

Moving up into the top of the left leg,

The region of the body between the knee and the hip and noticing any sensations coming into your awareness from the thigh muscle and the large bone underneath.

Perhaps noticing the weight of this bone or a sensation of tingling maybe for you warmth or coolness.

Seeing if there are any clear sensations present in this moment.

And whenever you notice the mind has wandered away from the focus of the body and the sensations in the body,

Simply acknowledging this and without giving yourself a hard time,

Gently escorting the attention back and back now into the top of the left leg.

And moving now the attention across the body into the right side of the body,

Down into the right leg and foot and coming to rest in the toes of the right foot and becoming aware of any sensations you notice when the attention arrives here.

So sensing the big toe,

The little toe and the toes in between and perhaps moving a little closer now to sense the spaces in between the toes,

The toenails and the sole of the right foot,

The instep,

The heel and the top of the right foot,

The ankle.

Just noticing whatever sensations are here.

And now moving your awareness to the region of the body between the right ankle and the knee.

Sensing into the shinbone,

The calf muscle and gently turning your attention towards this part of the body.

When you're ready,

Bringing your attention now into the right knee,

Noticing what's here,

Becoming aware of the kneecap,

The sides of the knee,

The back of the knee and perhaps deep inside the knee.

Shifting your focus now to become aware of the top of the right leg,

The thigh muscle and now moving your attention upwards into the body to become aware of the area of the pelvis.

Noticing the hips on either side,

The buttocks and perhaps noticing the sensation of the contact between the buttocks and the surface you are lying on.

Receiving into your awareness whatever sensations are arising in this part of the body in this moment.

Moving your attention into the lower back now,

A part of the body that can store up tension over time.

So as best you can,

Bringing some friendly curiosity to whatever sensation or bundle of sensation is here now.

Noticing if there are any judgments arising and as best you can just acknowledging these as thoughts and gently returning the attention to the direct experience of the lower back just as it is in this moment.

Shifting the focus of your attention now to the front of the belly,

The abdomen,

The belly button,

The sides of the belly and perhaps right inside the belly.

And now moving upwards inside the torso to include the solar plexus,

The region just below the rib cage in the centre of the body.

And if it's helpful allowing the breath to help you explore this part of the body now.

Perhaps noticing the rib cage gently expanding and contracting as the lungs fill up with air and empty again.

And perhaps sensing to the beating of the heart as it pumps freshly oxygenated blood around the body in a constant cycle of renewing energy.

And now in the chest area and around the heart perhaps noticing any sensations of tightness or perhaps tenderness as best you can opening to all sensations that you are experiencing around the heart in this moment.

And now moving the attention around to the back of the rib cage,

The upper part of the spine,

The upper back,

The shoulders.

Shifting the focus of your awareness now down both arms and down to the hands.

So bringing the attention right out to the fingers and sensing the fingertips on both hands.

Noticing any sensations in the pads of the fingertips.

The thumbs,

The backs of the hands and the front of the hands.

Shifting right into the palms.

So noticing any coolness,

Warmth,

Tingling,

Throbbing.

Becoming aware of the wrists now.

Maybe perhaps for you picking up on a sensation of the pulse.

Seeing the attention now up through the arms and becoming aware of the elbows,

The tops of the arms and across to the shoulders.

Switching the focus now to the neck.

So becoming aware of the skin on the neck and perhaps moving right inside the throat area.

Moving the attention now up to the face and the head.

So sensing the lower jaw.

And beginning to move the attention towards the mouth.

Sensing the lips and moving the attention inside the mouth.

So sensing the teeth,

The gums,

The tongue,

The roof of the mouth and the back of the throat.

Perhaps becoming aware of the air passing the back of the throat as it enters into the lungs and as it leaves again and exits through the nostrils.

Perhaps picking up on a sensation of the air moving in and out at the tip of the nose.

Sensing the temperature of this air.

Moving the awareness now to the cheeks.

Sensing the cheekbones and moving the awareness now towards the ears.

Sensing the tops of the ears,

The earlobes and perhaps sensing right into the auditory canal.

And now noticing the eyes.

A part of the body that easily gets tired.

And receiving any sensations into your awareness now that are coming from the eyes.

The eyeballs,

The eye sockets,

The eyelids,

Eyelashes and the eyebrows.

Perhaps sensing into the separate hair follicles here.

And the forehead and the sides of the forehead moving out towards the temples.

Noticing it at rest.

Not having to communicate,

To give or to receive information.

Or to express any emotion.

Simply being and breathing.

Becoming aware now of the top of your head.

Noticing the sensations in the scalp.

Bringing the attention now to the very top of the crown.

And imagining now that there's a small opening here about the size of a coin.

Which functions a little bit like the blowhole of a whale.

So we're going to imagine now,

If possible,

To take a breath into the body through this opening.

And allowing the breath travel down through the body all the way down to the feet.

Allowing the breath to leave the body through the soles of the feet.

And then taking the next breath,

The in breath,

In through the soles of the feet.

And feeling it move all the way up through all the muscles.

Up to the very top of the head,

The crown of the head,

And exiting through this little hole.

Allowing the body to do this at your own pace.

Taking a breath in the crown of the head,

Exiting at the soles of the feet.

And then returning in at the soles of the feet,

Exiting at the crown of the head.

Doing this at your own pace,

At your own rhythm.

And now allowing the breath to return to the natural rhythm.

And becoming aware of the whole body lying here.

Being aware of it here now in this moment.

And as the body scan comes to an end,

Becoming aware once again of the space around you.

Space around the body.

Perhaps becoming aware of the air on the face.

Maybe the sounds around you.

And sensing how the body would like to move now.

And gently allowing the toes to move,

The feet to move,

The fingertips,

The hands.

And when you're ready you can begin to open the eyes.

And gently move on to your side.

And when you're ready,

Allowing yourself to rise into the seated position and to go about your day.

Reviews

As good a body scan as any I have experienced, and added to by Una’s kindly tone and lovely soft Irish accent. Wonderful.