Emotional Sensation Body Scan

In this contemplative practice, we are learning how to recognize and distinguish between what we call affect, a part of our consciousness that is constantly filling you in on the ever present on going needs of your body now and in the future and emotions which are a complex mental construction that is short lived.

Transcript

Welcome to week 5 of the Art and Science of Human Flourishing and in this week we will be exploring emotions.

Let's review that in this course we subscribe to the theory and emerging neuroscientific evidence that suggests our emotions are constructed by our brains as a tool for making meaning of the incoming sensory inputs it is receiving from inside our bodies and from the world.

In short,

Emotions are the concepts our brains use to compress all the information we receive from inside our bodies and outside of our bodies.

It is a form of prediction for the most functional action to be taken in the next moment.

In this contemplative practice,

We are learning how to recognize and distinguish between what we call affect,

A part of our consciousness that is constantly filling you in on the ever present ongoing needs of your body,

Now and in the future,

And emotions which are a complex mental construction that is short lived.

Affect can be understood in terms of the degree of arousal or activation you feel at any given moment and its valence meaning how positive,

Negative,

Or neutral that arousal feels.

We recognize these as physical bodily sensations such as trembling,

Tension,

Lightness,

Pain,

Hunger.

In this exercise we are learning to be more aware of affect in our body as it manifests in the different physical sensations moment by moment.

We are training ourselves to notice with a mindful non-judgmental awareness what is present in our bodies in terms of sensations.

We are practicing refraining from having to analyze them,

Judge them,

Transform them into different narratives about the meaning and implications of our experience.

Remember that most of the time these bodily sensations get interpreted by our minds and make predictions based on past experience and current context in a process that we are very much unaware of.

In the first part of this practice you will be prompted to bring to mind certain situations that cause feelings to arise in the body and mind associated with emotions like worry or peacefulness.

We will then notice what we are experiencing in our bodies with greater granularity or differentiation and work on cultivating a greater awareness not only of the body but of the emotion concepts your mind is generating and the accompanying thoughts that are constructing your experience.

In the second part of this practice instead of triggering the formation of a kind of emotion like worry or peacefulness we will practice scanning the body with a mindful non-judgmental awareness from the crown of the head to the toes to notice what is happening right now moment to moment and explore experiencing these sensations with a greater degree of granularity or differentiation.

We will practice acknowledging and welcoming all kinds of sensations without judgment,

Suppressing,

Ignoring,

Or trying to change them in any way.

By practicing in this way we aim to gain a greater understanding of our bodies and minds default response and create new default responses that go in the direction of transforming our experience of emotions from surviving to thriving.

Let's begin by finding a stable and comfortable position for your body.

In this exercise you can choose to either be seated in a chair,

Sit on the ground,

Or lay down.

In whatever position you happen to be please relax your body,

Relaxing your shoulders,

Gently resting your hands on your lap or on the ground,

And when you're ready closing your eyes.

We'll begin this meditation by taking a deep breath in and out for a few moments just to let your mind and body settle into the present moment.

Now begin by exploring the feeling of happiness.

How does happiness feel in your body?

To help you do this remember a time when you felt happy.

As you recall this moment of happiness notice the sensations you feel in your body.

Where are they located?

Does your whole body experience the same kind of sensation or do they vary in different parts of your body?

What level of arousal do you experience?

Is it a kind of excitement or is it a lower level of peacefulness or feeling at ease?

As you sit here or lay here feeling happiness being curious about this feeling as you experience not only it in your body but in your mind what kinds of thoughts are present?

What about images or interpretations?

Whatever is happening just notice.

You don't need to change or judge anything.

See if you can assess what the body mind ingredients of happiness are as you experience it right now.

Now begin to let go of this feeling and image of happiness and take three deep breaths.

Now this time we will choose to investigate a mild but slightly uncomfortable feeling.

Some small concern or worry that you have.

Bring to mind something in your life that you are mildly worried about.

It could be a class,

Performance on the field or stage,

A relationship with someone you care about.

Now what do you notice in your body as a result of invoking this feeling of mild worry?

Where are these sensations present that are most imminent such as in your belly or your shoulders or back or your forehead or jaw?

What are the sensations like?

Thinking back to that circumplex chart what level of arousal do you feel?

Is it a kind of excitement or is it a lower level of arousal?

And as you sit here be curious about this feeling as you experience in your body and your mind.

Are there any thoughts that accompany this feeling or images or interpretations?

And just simply notice without judging or trying to change your experience.

Now completely let go of the worry and take three deep breaths.

Now allow a feeling of peacefulness to come to mind.

To help you do this think of a time when you felt peaceful.

Where were you?

What was the context?

And notice what does peacefulness feel like in my body?

Notice the sensations in the body.

What do they feel like?

What degree of arousal is present in the body?

Notice the connection between thoughts,

Images,

And feelings about peacefulness and the physical sensations in your body.

Now bring your attention back to the breath and take three deep breaths and let go of the emotion of peacefulness.

And now begin to scan your body for any sensations and affect as you experience them moment by moment.

If you're feeling strong emotions you may notice the sensations in your body right away.

There are only mild emotions it may take more practice to notice the subtle sensations that are being interpreted into those emotions.

And also you may notice nothing at all and that's perfectly fine.

You're simply practicing noticing.

Start with scanning your body around the area of your forehead,

Your eyes,

Your cheeks,

Your jaw,

Your mouth.

What do you notice?

Notice there a connection between how you feel physically and the kinds of thoughts and images that are appearing.

Now scan down to your shoulders and into your chest.

Just notice is your mind assigning a label to what you're experiencing physically?

Now bring your attention to your belly,

Down to your legs and feet.

Just notice.

What do you notice physically?

And what do you notice the relationship is between the physical sensations and the mental images or thoughts or interpretations?

Now be aware of your muscles throughout your whole body.

What do you notice?

Bring attention now to the feeling on your skin such as heat or cold or dampness or dryness.

When you notice any emotional sensations or feelings,

Focus your attention on them and just be with them without trying to change,

Judge or interpret.

Remember it's natural to get lost in thoughts and if you notice that,

Just recognize that as a type of mind wandering and bring your attention back to your body.

Bring your attention back to your breath and conclude this exercise by taking three deep breaths.

Now when you're ready,

Begin to slowly open your eyes and bring some subtle movement back to your body.

And as you continue on in your daily activities,

Start to notice in informal ways the link between your physical experience and how your mind interprets it and makes meaning through emotions and how that affects your actions.

Thank you so much for practicing.