MBSR Body Scan

So allowing the body to settle in this laying down posture,

Making whatever adjustments are needed to best take care of yourself.

Making sure that you're comfortable and at the same time,

Especially if you feel sleepy,

Tired,

Fatigued,

Making sure that you're alert.

So if you need to open your eyes from time to time and just glance at the ceiling to stay awake,

Then I invite you to do that.

So what we're practicing in the body scan is to fall awake,

To fall awake to our body,

To what's going on in the body.

Kind of like drop from the head back down into the body.

So perhaps setting that intention at the beginning of the practice to fall awake.

To notice there is a body that's lying down right here.

And that's breathing.

Seeing if we can allow attention to kind of gravitate towards the abdomen or the front of the body,

Maybe the chest.

And to notice that although most of the body is still,

The front of the body is moving.

As the body breathes in and the abdomen rises,

Maybe ever so gently.

And then as the body breathes out,

The abdomen falls.

And perhaps maybe even putting one of your hands there,

Just to help you notice that movement.

Noticing that there's fundamentally nothing to do,

The body breathes by itself.

But that we can shine the light of our awareness on that area of the body and notice breathing.

What does it actually feel like?

Seeing if we can,

At least temporarily,

Kind of let go the agenda of improving our experience.

Improving the breath.

Fixing it.

What we call doing mode.

And seeing if we can shift into what we call being mode,

Where we simply become aware of and kind of accompany our experience from moment to moment.

However it shows up.

So seeing if we can allow our experience of breathing to be however it is right now without having to change it.

Just riding the waves of your breathing from moment to moment.

And then on an out breath releasing the abdomen from awareness.

And on an in breath establishing our awareness in the left foot.

And just like with the breath noticing that there's again fundamentally nothing to do other than to just be aware of the experience of having a left foot.

Which might come with certain physical sensations.

Like temperature,

Touch,

Pressure,

Tingling,

Vibration,

Pain.

Or might come with the absence of a physical sensation.

And no matter what reveals itself to us in our left foot,

Seeing if we can allow that experience to be there.

Bringing curiosity.

What does it feel like in the toes of the left foot?

The bottom of the left foot.

The heel.

In all the different areas of the left foot that maybe we haven't investigated yet.

Just allowing yourself to be surprised by what you find there.

Not knowing.

And how it's going to change from moment to moment maybe.

Not trying to feel anything in particular but being open to what's already there.

Noticing when attention moves into thoughts,

Judgments,

Plans,

Fantasies,

Memories.

Noticing that that's perfectly normal.

When that happens just recognizing it and then choosing to return to the sensations in the left foot.

And then shifting attention from the left foot up into the left ankle.

Noticing what's there.

If anything.

You're continuing to move the attention upwards into the bottom of the left leg.

Maybe noticing the calf kind of pressing down on the mat if it's touching.

Maybe the contact with the clothing.

Feel spasms or pulling,

Vibrations,

Tingling,

Itching.

Maybe something else.

Or maybe no sensation.

Just exploring with curiosity.

And then moving attention into the left knee.

Continuing that exploration of what's there.

Exploring all areas of the knee.

And then intentionally shifting to the left thigh.

It's kind of a large region of the body.

Lots of different regions inside the left thigh.

The inner thighs,

The back,

The hamstrings.

And maybe even deep inside the left thigh.

Noticing the quality of our attention right now.

Are we dozing off?

Are we distracted by something?

Are we lost in thought?

Is the mind agitated?

Seeing if we can notice that without judging it.

Just observing it.

Where's my attention at?

Once you notice it,

Seeing if you can choose to intentionally bring it to the left thigh and continue exploring.

Even if you have to come back to it again and again.

Not a problem.

On an out-breath,

Releasing the left thigh from your awareness.

And on an in-breath,

Establishing your awareness into the right foot.

And continuing the exploration there.

What does it actually feel like to have a right foot?

The sensing into the different areas of the right foot.

The toes individually or maybe as a group.

The bottom,

The heel,

The sides,

The top.

On the surface and maybe deeper inside.

Again,

No agenda other than just letting experience reveal itself to you.

Just witnessing it.

Really seeing if we can be curious like a scientist discovering a phenomenon for the first time.

And the other's mind exploring,

Being curious.

And shifting this exploration into the right ankle.

And continuing to move up towards the bottom of the right leg.

Maybe you're noticing the weight of the right leg on the calf.

Maybe you're noticing other sensations on the skin,

Contact.

Maybe you're noticing pulsing,

Vibrations,

Tingling,

Itching.

Or maybe you're noticing no sensations at all.

So noticing the absence.

All of that is worth exploring.

And so continuing with this beginner's mind up into the right knee.

All the different parts.

Maybe the mind is giving us an image of the knee.

Again,

Not a problem if that happens.

And then seeing if we can come back to the actual sensations.

Sensing into the knee directly.

What does it actually feel like to have a right knee?

And then shifting attention into the right thigh.

Continuing to become more familiar with our own experience.

In this case,

The experience of having a right thigh.

Sensing the quality of your attention.

Where is my attention directed right now?

No matter where we catch it,

Seeing if we can reestablish our intention of bringing it to the right thigh.

And maybe different areas of the right thigh we haven't explored yet.

And then on an out-breath,

We can release the right thigh from our awareness and on an in-breath,

Establishing our awareness into the pelvic area.

Noticing the buttocks.

In contact maybe with the floor,

We're noticing the weight of that region of her body.

Maybe we're noticing the space between the left hip and the right hip.

The genitals,

The pubic bone.

And the lower part of the abdomen.

Seeing if we can sense into that region directly,

Even if there are a lot of thoughts,

Maybe even some emotions related to that region.

What does it actually feel like right now?

Also sensing into the tailbone,

The bottom of the spine,

The lower back.

And slowly moving upwards.

So noticing the whole region of the abdomen,

The lower and the upper part of the abdomen,

At the front,

The waist at the sides,

The lower to middle back in the back.

This whole abdominal region,

From front to back and the space between the front and the back.

Maybe we're noticing the movement of the belly still with breath.

Maybe we're noticing digestion.

Maybe we're noticing the contact between the lower back and the floor.

Maybe some discomfort,

Some pain there.

No matter what it is,

Seeing if we can just allow our experience to kind of unfold on its own.

We're just observing,

Being with it.

Checking in with the quality of our attention from time to time.

My dozing off,

My loss in thought,

My paying attention to something other than the abdominal region.

And if so,

Congratulate yourself for noticing that.

See if you can just gently and intentionally redirect your attention to that region of your body.

Just being with it.

And let's continue exploring upward.

So the region of the chest,

The sternum,

The rib cage.

Maybe noticing the heart pumping,

The lungs expanding and contracting.

And sensing into it directly,

The middle and the upper back.

Noticing if attention moves into thinking.

Maybe we have thoughts about what we're noticing.

Fears,

Memories,

Emotionally charged thoughts.

So when that happens,

It's not a problem.

You can just notice it,

Recognize it and intentionally bring your attention back to the region of the chest and the upper back and the space between both.

Wondering whatever experience is there from moment to moment.

And on an out-breath,

You can release that region from our awareness.

And on an in-breath,

Establishing your attention into the left hand,

Specifically the palm of the left hand.

What's happening there?

Maybe something,

Maybe nothing.

Check it out.

Maybe heat,

Pulsing,

Vibration,

Touch.

Moving into the fingers,

Maybe individually,

Maybe as a whole,

All the way to the tips of the fingers of the left hand.

And again,

Just inquiring what's there to be noticed.

Reaching the top of the left hand.

Moving into the left wrist.

The left forearm.

The left elbow.

And upper arm.

All the way up to the left shoulder.

Maybe we're noticing tension.

Some other sensation there.

Again,

No need to strive to change anything.

Just allowing your experience to be whatever it is.

So releasing the left shoulder from your awareness on an out-breath.

On an in-breath,

Establishing attention in the right palm of the hand.

And like an interior explorer or researcher,

Just exploring the different regions of the hand.

The fingers,

The fingertips.

Top of the hand.

Tensions on the skin and maybe deeper inside.

And then moving attention up into the right wrist.

Moving into the right forearm.

The right elbow.

And the top of the right arm,

Including the right shoulder.

What's there to be felt?

What's revealing itself to me in this moment?

And continuing this exploration up into the neck.

So this is the right side of the neck.

This is the back of the neck.

There's the left side.

There's the front.

There's the throat deeper inside.

Maybe the neck is touching a cushion.

Maybe it's not.

Maybe there's tensions,

Pain.

Maybe it's just the contact with the air flowing in this room.

Shifting attention upwards now into the jaw.

Noticing if there's tension in the jaw.

If the mouth is open or closed.

Noticing the tongue and its placement in the mouth.

Other sensations that are revealed to us in the mouth.

Tensions on the gums,

The temperature in the mouth,

Humidity,

Saliva.

Being aware of the lips,

Bottom lip,

Top lip.

The space of the contact point between the lips.

The mouth is open,

The air flowing in and out of the mouth.

Maybe moving into the nose,

The nostrils.

Same thing,

Noticing the air maybe flowing in and out of one or both of the nostrils.

Noticing the temperature differences on an in-breath and an out-breath.

The humidity or the dryness.

And then moving to the eyes,

The eyeballs,

Continuously moving.

So noticing the action of the little muscles.

Maybe noticing if there's tension held around the eyes.

Or maybe around the eyebrows,

Space between the eyebrows.

The forehead,

Shifting attention to the left and to the right ear.

Noticing maybe sensations in the outer ears.

Like with the air or with our hair.

And then noticing the scalp.

Maybe the back of the head,

Pressing down against the cushion,

Top of the head.

And again,

At this point,

Just checking in with the quality of your attention.

And if I notice that I'm lost in thought,

I'm dozing off,

Remembering the intention to fall awake.

And this time,

Seeing if we can expand the field of our awareness and cover the whole body with our awareness.

From head to toe,

Front to back,

Side to side.

Noticing there is a body laying down,

Breathing on its own,

Generating all these sensations maybe throughout the body.

Maybe more so in some areas than others.

What does it actually feel like to be in my body right this moment?

That's the inquiry.

Can I allow my experience to unfold on its own?

So that I can just watch it and be with it.

Nothing to fix.

Nothing to solve,

Something to be honored,

Something to be lived fully.

No need to suffer every day.

So,

Becoming familiar with our experience.

Meaning if we can maintain that familiarity even after the meditation is over.