Hi everybody,
This is Biggie and I'm happy that you have chosen to join me today in this short body scan meditation.
The body scan is a guided body awareness exercise.
It comes from John Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program.
It is one of the most effective exercises not only for reducing stress but also for calming acute anxiety and panic states.
When practiced regularly it calms the autonomic nervous system so that anxiety attacks occur less frequently and less intensely.
I have experienced firsthand how powerful this exercise can be and would therefore like to share it with you.
You can sit in your chair,
Your car or in any other place that feels comfortable.
Just find a place where you won't be disturbed for the next 20 minutes or so.
If you get cold easily,
Cover yourself with a blanket.
Position your arms in any way that feels comfortable to you,
In your lap,
With your palms facing upwards or downwards,
Both palms on your stomach or one hand on your stomach and one on your heart.
Now close your eyes and mentally let go of your surroundings.
Turn your attention toward your breathing.
Let it flow wherever it wants.
You don't have to do anything.
You don't have to regulate it.
Just let yourself breathe,
At your own pace,
In your own rhythm.
There is no right or wrong with a body scan.
Everything is fine just the way it is.
Accept inner images that may arise in your mind but don't force anything.
All body sensations that may or may not occur are okay.
Maybe you can feel a tingling somewhere.
Maybe there is a floating sensation.
Maybe there is warmth or coldness and maybe there is just nothing at all.
Everything is possible.
Nothing is a blue tree and everything is fine just the way it is.
Start by sending your attention down to your left foot and onwards to your big toe.
Notice everything there is to notice.
The contact with the socks that you are wearing,
The blanket that covers it,
The touch with a neighboring toe.
Just notice.
Don't rate,
Don't assess,
Don't interpret anything.
Let things be as they are.
Now expand your perception to all the toes of your left foot.
Notice each one of them individually.
What temperature are they?
Is there some tingling?
Or just maybe you don't feel anything at all.
Let the focus of your attention slowly widen and notice your entire left foot.
From the toes,
Across the back of the foot,
The sole of the foot,
Up the heel and to the ankle.
How does it feel?
How's its contact with the ground?
Can you feel anything else?
Your inner gaze travels on across the ankle joint and up the lower left leg.
The shinbone in front and the calf muscles in the back.
Your inner perception continues up to the back of the knee.
What can you feel here?
And how does the knee joint feel inside,
This most complex of all joints of the body?
Can you feel its individual parts?
Continuing on from the knee,
Focus on your left thigh.
Imagine your gaze like a camera lens.
Sometimes it's opened wider and sometimes less wide.
Take a look at the front of the thigh with its powerful muscles,
Followed by the back with its more delicate muscle structure.
And then take another look at the entire left leg,
From the toes up to the groin.
Just feel what there is to feel and let everything be the way it is.
Now you leave your left leg behind and turn your attention to your right leg.
Here too you start your journey with a big toe.
Does it have any particular temperature?
What else can you feel?
Expand your camera lens to include all the toes,
Then the sole of the foot,
The instep,
The heel and then the entire right foot.
Stay there for a moment and enjoy what there is to discover.
Now your attention moves on via the Achilles tendon to the inner ankle,
The outer ankle and then up the call.
What are the muscles telling you here?
And how does the shinbone at the front feel?
Can you feel the clothes that you're wearing on it?
Or the blanket that covers it?
The right knee invites you to linger for a moment.
Follow its inner structure with your perception and be amazed at how complex it is.
The back of the right thigh then absorbs your inner gaze and redirects it to the front of the thigh.
And from there you can take another look at the entirety of the right leg.
Via the groin and the hip joints on both sides you continue your journey through the pelvic bones and the lower abdomen.
Emotions are often based in this area.
For some people this region is the seat of their fear.
Notice how your stomach feels.
Is there tension?
Is there a particular temperature?
And move your attention on to your lower back and your middle back,
Up the flanks and over the width of the chest.
How it rises with the rhythm of your breath.
How it widens and narrows again.
Notice also how your heart beats inside your chest cavity,
Calmly and evenly in your own rhythm.
Observe your breathing and your heartbeat a little longer.
You can rely on them.
They will tell you straight away if something is wrong.
Now your attention moves on over your collarbones and shoulder blades to your shoulders and the neck area.
Tension and stress are often present here.
Actively let go of all the weight and all the remaining tension.
You don't have to hold on to anything.
All is well.
Just notice and let everything be as it is.
And now send your inner gaze down both arms.
Can you feel your strong upper arm muscles?
And can you feel how your elbows rest on the surface?
Is there pressure?
Is there some tingling or some heat?
Maybe there's some numb spots?
Send your attention down your forearms,
Over the wrists,
Your palms and the back of your hands,
All the way down to your fingertips.
Notice the elegant construction of your hands.
They are marvels of biological engineering.
Ten fingers,
Countless joints,
Highly sensitive areas of skin.
Notice and marvel.
Now widen your focus again so that you can perceive both arms in their entirety.
And finally,
Turn your attention toward your head.
Would you like to take a look at your face from the inside?
Can you perceive the inside of your eyelids?
Can you feel the air flowing in and out through your nostrils?
How does your tongue feel inside your mouth?
Can you feel the inside of your throat?
And maybe even the connections to the ears and down to the lungs.
Can you feel the inside of your skull?
How does your brain feel?
And how do you perceive the protective bony shell that surrounds all these sensitive soft parts?
Stay with the perception of your head in its entirety for a little longer.
And then expand the focus of your camera lens to your entire body.
Are there any places that you found difficult to feel?
Then stop by in those places again for a few breaths.
And now you slowly come back into the space that surrounds you.
Take one or two deep conscious breaths.
Start moving your fingers and toes,
Then your hands and feet.
Maybe you want to pull your knees toward your chest.
Maybe you want to move your head from side to side.
And then slowly open your eyes.
Stay seated for a little while longer until your body is fully awake and present again.
Now I hope that this short version of the body scan was good for you.
Return to the exercise as often as you need.
May it give you relaxation and peace.
Until next time,
Take good care of yourself.
Bye bye.
