Welcome to the MBSR body scan meditation.
This guided practice consists of moving your attention through each area of the body with the intention of noticing and feeling sensations moment to moment as your experience unfolds.
In certain areas of the body you might notice absence of sensations.
This is not a problem.
This is simply your experience in the moment.
You can note that there is no sensation present and stay with that area of the body as best you can until the invitation to move to the next area is given.
In addition to sensations you may notice thoughts or emotions arising.
There is no need to try to make sense of the thought or emotion but simply note what is present in that moment and feel your way into the next moment and area of focus.
Noting each sensation or mind state as it arises and then passes.
You are practicing greater awareness of the interconnectedness of your mind and body.
You are practicing redirecting your attention to focus primarily on the body as opposed to the head or mind where most of us spend the majority of our time.
You are becoming more intimately familiar with the ever-changing nature of things moment to moment.
The invitation is to become more curious about what is happening in your body in each moment.
The goal isn't to push anything away or make anything happen but simply to experience the physicality of being alive in this moment.
This attitude of curiosity and learning more about what is is especially important as you focus on areas of the body that might hold pain,
Discomfort or trauma.
If any area of the body evokes a sense of overwhelming emotion or the intensity of a physical sensation becomes too much for you,
You always have the option of anchoring and stabilizing with your breath.
Focusing on the sensation of breathing and returning to the body scan only when you are ready.
To prepare to begin the body scan practice,
Choose a quiet space where you won't be interrupted.
Wear loose comfortable clothing and have a blanket,
Pillows or other props nearby that will help keep you warm and comfortable during this practice.
The goal is to stay awake and alert while being comfortable.
The body scan is typically done lying down on your back on a mat or carpet on the floor or on a firm bed.
Another common position is the astronaut position.
Lying on the floor with your legs and hips close to a chair,
Place your legs on the chair so the backs of your calves are resting on the seat of the chair with the knees directly over the hips.
If neither of these positions is right for you,
You may choose any posture that is comfortable for you including sitting in a chair or standing.
We will begin the body scan by settling into whatever position is right for you.
If you are lying on the floor or a bed,
Your feet are relaxed,
Gently falling away from one another,
Arms at your sides,
Palms facing up if that is comfortable for you.
Noticing the relative symmetry of your body and making any adjustments needed to feel aligned and comfortable.
If while lying down the arch of your back feels uncomfortable,
You can place a pillow under the knees or thighs.
Now allowing the surface to hold the weight of the body,
Releasing,
Releasing the weight of the body into the surface beneath.
Noticing the back of the body,
The sides,
The front.
Begin to arrive in the practice by focusing on the sensations of your breath for a few moments,
Perhaps noticing the air as it enters your nostrils.
The rise and fall of your chest,
The expansion and then release of your belly.
Settling into your body,
Being present in this moment.
If thoughts arise,
Note that you are thinking and then gently bring your attention back to the sensation of breathing,
Breathing,
Settling,
Sensing the body as a whole,
Arriving in this moment.
Now gently bring your attention to your feet.
Notice where your heels or feet are making contact with the floor.
You might feel a sensation of pressure where contact is made.
Now moving your attention gently along the bottom of your feet,
Through the arches,
To the balls of your feet and then to your big toes.
What sensations do you notice in your big toes?
What does it feel like from the inside out of your big toes?
Now directing your attention to your pinky toes and now all the toes in between.
Remember you aren't trying to create sensation or any particular experience.
You are simply noticing what is.
Moving now to the tops of the feet and noticing all the tiny bones that make up the tops of the feet.
Perhaps you notice air flowing across the tops of your feet or the sensation of a sock or shoe touching the skin of your feet.
Now beginning to notice your ankles,
The fronts of the ankles,
The pointy inner bones,
The tendons at the back of the ankles and now the outsides of both ankles.
What is present for you in this moment?
Now beginning to move your scan up to the area of the lower legs,
The muscular region of the calves.
Feeling the fullness of both calves.
Now shifting your attention to the front part of the lower legs.
The bony shin area,
The region between the feet and the knees of each lower leg.
And now the knees.
What is present in the tops of the knees?
The insides of each knee.
The outside.
And now the soft backs of the knees.
Moving now to the upper legs,
The space between the hips and the knees.
Can you sense the bones in the upper legs?
What is your experience of the upper legs from the inside out?
What sensations are present in the muscles?
Do you feel clothing making contact with the skin?
Shifting awareness now to the buttocks.
And the tailbone.
Perhaps there is a feeling of pressure against the floor.
Shifting attention to the sides of this area and each of the hip bones.
And now the pelvic bowl.
The boniness of this area.
Now noticing the genital and anal region.
Knowing that if at any time the sensations or emotions evoked become too intense in any region of the body,
You may always return to the sensation of the breath.
Returning to the body scan only when you are ready.
Now focusing on the lower belly.
Perhaps noticing the softness of this region.
The skin and organs beneath.
You might notice sensations of digestion.
Or a feeling of emptiness or fullness.
What does the lower belly region feel like in this moment?
Focusing now on your lower back,
An area that can hold a lot of tension.
What is here now?
Noticing the lower spine.
Moving the scan up to the region of the middle back.
The skin.
The middle spine.
And now the region of the upper back.
Shifting attention to the sides of this area.
Shifting attention now to the front of the torso,
The abdomen area.
The rise and fall of the belly with each breath.
Now noticing the expansion and contraction of the ribcage with each nourishing breath.
Now focusing on the lungs,
Filling with air and releasing.
With each breath,
The lungs gently hug the heart.
Resting right in between your lungs.
Perhaps you notice the sensation of your heart beating.
The miracle of being alive.
Moving attention now up to the collarbones.
The center of the collarbones.
And moving towards both shoulders.
Noticing what is present in the front of your shoulders.
The top of the shoulders.
The back of the shoulders.
Now scanning the upper arms.
What is here now?
If thoughts arise,
Simply notice and redirect your attention to the upper arms.
The bones.
The muscles.
The skin.
The muscles.
Moving now towards the bony point of both elbows.
The soft inner side of the elbows.
The lower arms.
The delicate bones of the wrists.
And noticing how each wrist connects to your thumbs.
Placing your attention on both thumbs.
Shifting now to the pointer fingers.
Middle fingers.
Ring fingers.
And now your pinkies.
Noticing the curve of the fingers.
The fingertips.
The palms of the hands.
You might notice air flowing across the palms.
Or pressure at the back of the hands resting on a surface.
Now sensing the whole of both arms at the same time.
Now letting your arms fade into the background.
And shifting your attention to the base of the neck.
Moving up to the back of the head.
And now the scalp.
What sensations are present here now?
Perhaps there's a sense of tingling in the scalp.
Now directing all your attention to the top of the head.
Shifting attention now to the forehead.
The area of the eyebrows.
The area of the nose.
The eyeballs and eye sockets.
The space between the eyebrows at the top of the nose.
The bridge of the nose.
The nostrils.
What sensations are here to be experienced?
Perhaps you just feel a neutral sensation.
Now shifting attention to the skin of the cheeks.
The lips.
Perhaps a sensation of the lips touching.
Or slightly parted,
Feeling the lips.
A flow of air.
The teeth and gums.
The tongue.
Perhaps noting where the tongue makes contact with the teeth.
Shifting awareness to the jaw area.
The hinge of the jaw.
The lower jaw bones.
The chin.
Now moving awareness to the ears.
The outer ears.
The inner ear.
Beginning now to hold the entire head and neck area in your awareness.
Now including the shoulders,
The chest,
The abdomen,
The back,
Arms,
The pelvic region,
Chin,
Hips,
Buttocks,
Upper legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
Ankles,
Feet,
And toes.
Sensing the fullness and completeness of the entire body in this moment as you are.
Breathing into the entire body.
Nourishing every cell in the body with each breath.
Breathing.
As we prepare to end this practice,
Perhaps taking a moment to thank yourself for taking time to show up for this loving act of self-care.
In a moment,
You'll hear a bell bringing our practice to a close.
When you are ready,
You can begin wiggling your toes and your feet.
Maybe your fingers.
Beginning to stretch ever so slightly.
Maybe opening your eyes when you're ready and beginning to take in your surroundings.
Taking all the time you need before transitioning into the next activity of your day.
