Body Scan For Stress And Pain Management

In practicing the body scan,

Come to rest lying on your back,

On a padded surface,

On the floor,

Or on your bed,

In whichever way will be comfortable.

Perhaps placing support beneath your knees or head,

Whatever will allow for minimal discomfort.

With your arms alongside,

But not touching the body,

And the palms open to the sky if that feels comfortable to you,

And your feet falling away from one another.

If lying on your back is difficult,

Then lie in whichever position is available and comfortable for you.

Or even changing your position as you need to,

All the while maintaining a steady,

Rhythmic breath,

And a continuity in the awareness of what is happening in each moment.

Keep in mind that the body scan is an invitation to fall awake,

Rather than to fall asleep,

No matter how relaxed you may become.

To that end,

It may be helpful to practice with your eyes open from time to time,

If any feelings of drowsiness arise.

This is also an invitation to step out of clock time altogether,

Into this very moment,

And rest in this presence with an open mind and an open heart.

Following along with the instructions as best as you can.

Keeping in mind that what is most important is not what I am saying,

But rather your awareness of what you are experiencing in any and every moment,

Even in those moments when difficult or unpleasant sensations,

Thoughts,

Or emotions arise.

In fact,

It is especially important in such moments to put out the welcome mat to such experiences,

And rest in open hearted,

Non-reacting,

Attending to the moment as best as you can.

It is not said that this is easy,

But it is the heart of the being mode that we are cultivating here.

As we live in a fast paced world of going,

Doing,

Achieving,

Accomplishing,

This is a moment to do less,

And to be more.

Simply being with the breath and with the body,

Moment to moment.

As best you can,

Letting go of the tendencies we all have from wanting things to be different than they are right now,

And allow things to be exactly as you find them.

Allow yourself to be exactly as you are.

This is a time set aside entirely for you.

An opportunity to be by yourself and with yourself fully.

Seeing if you can allow it to be a nourishing time,

A time that you deserve to give back to yourself some positive energy and attention.

Use the instructions for guidance as best as you can.

Watching your body and the activity of your mind as we go along.

Letting go of judgmental and critical thought,

And being aware of how you feel.

Using the instructions and guidance as best as you can,

In spite of not what may arise in your body or in your mind.

Remember,

There is no right way to feel as you are doing this.

The way you are feeling is the way you are feeling right now.

Just accepting it and giving yourself permission to feel what you are already feeling,

Whatever it is,

And seeing that it's okay.

As we go along,

Seeing if it is possible for you to stay in your own experience as it is unfolding moment to moment,

In your body and in your mind and in your heart.

Even as you follow along with my guidance.

But,

If at any point you need to tune out my voice to find a deeper silence underneath what I am saying,

Then give yourself permission to do so,

And come back to the guidance whenever it feels appropriate to you.

Let's begin now by bringing your attention to a sense of your body as a whole,

Lying here,

However it is in this moment.

Keeping in mind that,

From the perspective of mindfulness practice,

As long as you are breathing,

There is more right with you than there is wrong with you.

No matter what the condition of your body and its history,

No matter what you are facing in this moment,

As long as you are breathing,

There is more right with you than there is wrong with you.

So,

Right now,

As you lie here,

Simply giving yourself over to feeling the sensations of contact in all of those places that your body is supported by the surfaces you are lying on.

Feeling how the air around your body caresses your skin as it moves subtly throughout the room,

And in the form of the breath as it moves throughout the body.

And slowly letting your attention delight on the breath,

Feeling the rhythmic motions of the breath,

Riding on the waves of the sensations of the breath as it moves in and out,

Up and down,

All throughout your body and around your body.

Noticing the way that the breath inspires movement of the belly as it rises with each in-breath and falls with each out-breath.

Or perhaps,

Noticing the breath at the nostrils,

At the throat.

Wherever the feeling of the in-breath is most prominent,

Notice it there,

Just as it is.

Now as you lie here,

Seeing if it is possible to be open to and rest in awareness of the body as a whole,

Breathing as a whole,

In and out,

Moment by moment,

Breath by breath.

Feeling it melt and sink deeper and deeper into the surface you're lying on with each out-breath,

As the muscles relax deeper and away from their bones.

Feeling the breath move throughout the body and feeling the body relax deeper with each exhale.

Noticing if there are times when the mind wanders or is carried away by the thought stream.

In these moments,

Noticing what is on your mind and then gently bringing your attention back to the breath and to your body and to the region of the body that we are focusing on,

As we are lying here and as the body scan unfolds.

Keep in mind that in this practice session,

As well as in the others,

That it is in the nature of the mind to wander and to think.

So it is bound to happen and it is not a sign that you are doing anything wrong.

Remember,

As long as you are breathing and attending to the breath,

There is more right with you than there is wrong with you.

Now,

When you feel ready,

Let go of the body as a whole and shift your awareness to the toes of your left foot.

Taking a moment to really tune into them,

Perhaps distinguishing each toe from all the others,

Bringing a gentle,

Interested,

Affectionate attention to each toe and to the various sensations that you find here.

Perhaps a sense of contact between the toes or the way the air feels as it moves subtly between the toes.

Perhaps a sense of coolness or warmth or moisture or tingling or numbness.

Whatever these sensations are,

Just feeling your toes as they are.

And that might include no sensations at all.

And if that is your experience when you tune into this region in this moment,

Allow it to be so.

And being aware as well if you are experiencing these sensations or lack of sensations as pleasant or unpleasant or neither pleasant or unpleasant.

And being aware of any emotions that may arise,

Whether it be aversion,

Boredom,

Impatience,

Joy or contentment or peace.

Allowing all of this to merely be held in your awareness moment by moment as you lie here without having to do anything at all.

Just being present with what is unfolding and continuing to come back to the toes themselves.

And as you lie here attending to the toes of the left foot,

Seeing if you can imagine your breath rising and passing through your entire body and down the left leg and into the toes of the left foot in one in breath.

And seeing if you can imagine your breath coming up from the toes in the left foot and into the left leg and all the way up the left side of your body and out through the nose on the out breath.

And now when you're ready,

Take a slow deep more intentional breath in right down into the toes,

Cradling for a moment or two.

And on the out breath as the breath let's go.

Watch the toes dissolve from your mind's eye and shift your focus now to the bottom of your left foot.

The soul and heel,

The instep.

Breathing into and out from this region of the body and noticing any sensations or lack of sensations here.

Bringing your attention gently back to the bottom of your left foot whenever the mind has wandered away.

Breathing in all the way down the left side leg into the bottom of the left foot and breathing out from the left foot all the way up the left side body and out the mouth or the nose.

And with a deep breath in as your exhale passes through your whole body.

Allow for the image of the left foot to be dissolved gently from your mind and shift your focus now to the lower portion of your left leg.

The shin in front.

And the calf muscle behind.

Noticing sensations or lack of sensations here.

The skin or the muscle or the bone layer.

Breathing into and out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath in allow for your exhale to pass throughout your whole body as you gently remove your attention from the lower portion of your left leg.

And bring your focus now to the upper portion of your left leg.

The space between the knee and the hip.

The quadriceps muscle and the hamstring muscle behind.

Breathing into and out from this region of the body and noticing sensation or lack of sensation here.

Gently bringing your focus back to this region of the body whenever you find that the mind has wandered away.

And with a deep breath in allow your exhale to pass throughout your whole body as you gently bring your focus now to the left hip bone.

Focusing now on the left hip,

Your groin area or the glute muscle behind you on the left side.

Noticing any sensation here or lack of sensation.

Any activity of the mind or emotions that may arise.

And gently bringing your focus back to this region of the body whenever the mind has become distracted.

Breathing into and breathing out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath in allow your exhale to pass throughout your whole body as you let the image of your left hip gently fade from your awareness.

And bring your focus now all the way across the hip to the right side.

And with your whole breath breathing in all the way down the right leg into the toes of the right foot.

Focusing now on the toes of the right foot.

Perhaps distinguishing each toe from one another noticing sensation or lack of sensation.

Feeling of warmth or coolness.

Noticing the way that the air moves around or between the toes ever so subtly.

Noticing any activity of the mind or emotions that arise.

And breathing into and out from the right toes.

And with a deep breath into the toes allow your exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As you shift your focus now to the bottom of your right foot.

The heel,

The arch,

The ball mount,

The ankle.

Noticing sensation or lack of sensation here.

And breathing in and out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath into the bottom of the right foot allow your exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As the image of your right foot fades from your awareness.

Bring your attention to the lower portion of your right leg.

Your calf muscle,

Your shin.

Noticing sensation here,

Lack of sensation.

And gently bringing your mind back to focusing on this portion of the body whenever you find that it has wandered away.

Breathing in and out from this region of the body.

And take a deep breath in.

And as you exhale allow for the air to pass throughout your whole body.

And bring your focus now to the upper portion of your right leg.

Your quadricep muscle in front,

Your hamstring behind.

Noticing what is here right now.

Perhaps at the skin layer or the bone or the muscle.

Or the deeper tissues or the fascia system that protects the bone and the muscle.

Sensation or lack of sensation here.

And breathing into and out from this region of the body.

And taking a deep breath in.

And with your exhale bring in your focus now to your right hip.

The bone,

The pelvis on the right side,

Your groin muscle,

Your glute muscle behind you.

Seeing what is here in this moment.

Any sensation or lack of sensation as you breathe in and you breathe out from this region of the body.

Noticing any activity of the mind and acknowledging the mind if it wanders away.

And gently with compassion bringing the focus back to the right hip.

And sensation that you may notice here.

And with a deep breath into the right hip.

As you exhale allow for your breath to move throughout your whole body.

As you bring your focus now to your torso.

Your low belly.

Your lower intestines in the front.

And a tailbone behind you and the muscles of your low back.

Becoming aware of any sensation here or lack of sensation.

And breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath into your lower torso.

Allow for your focus now to shift upwards to your stomach,

The middle of your torso.

The muscles and the organs here.

And behind the body,

The muscles of the middle back.

Breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body and aware of any sensation or lack of sensation here.

And with a deep breath in.

Allow your exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As you bring your awareness upwards to your low ribs.

Perhaps noticing the low ribs as they gently rise or expand with your inhale.

And perhaps they gently contract with your exhale.

Aware of the lungs here,

The heart space.

And behind the body,

The shoulder blades and the muscles of the back.

Aware of any sensation or lack of sensation here.

Any activity of the mind or emotion that may arise in this moment as you focus on this region of the body.

And breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath in.

Allow your exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As you bring your focus now to your left shoulder.

Breathing in and breathing out from your left shoulder.

Noticing any sensation or lack of sensation.

Gently bringing your mind and your attention back to the left shoulder when you find that you've become distracted.

And with a deep breath into the left shoulder.

Allow your exhale to pass throughout the whole body.

As you let the left shoulder dissolve from your awareness.

And you bring your focus now to the upper portion of your left arm.

The space between the elbow and the shoulder.

The bicep and the tricep muscle.

Breathing in and out from this region of the body.

Breathing deeply into the upper portion of your left arm.

And as your exhale passes throughout the whole body.

Allow your attention to be placed on the lower portion of your left arm.

Your elbow.

Your forearm.

Seeing what is here at the skin or the bone or the muscle layer.

Noticing sensation or lack of sensation here.

Breathing in and out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath in.

Allow for a full exhale throughout your whole body.

As you bring your focus now to the left hand,

Your wrist,

And the top of the hand,

The knuckles,

The bottom of your hand,

The palm.

Noticing sensation or lack of sensation here.

And breathing in and out from your left hand.

Imagining your left hand breathing in and out.

Feeling the sensation of the breath in this region of the body.

And gently bringing your focus back to this region of the body when you find that the mind has wandered away.

And with a deep breath into the left hand.

Allow for a full exhale throughout your whole body.

As you bring your awareness now to the left fingertips.

Noticing sensation or lack of sensation.

Distinguishing each finger from the others.

Noticing what is here in this moment as you breathe in and out from the left fingers.

And take a deep breath in.

Imagine your exhale traveling all the way up from the fingertips at the left arm,

All the way across the shoulders over to the right shoulder.

As you bring your focus now to the right shoulder,

Breathing in and out from this region of the body.

Noticing sensation or lack of sensation here.

Sensing what is here in this moment.

With a deep breath into the right shoulder.

Allow a full exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As you shift your focus now to the upper portion of your right arm.

Your bicep muscle in front.

Your new tricep behind.

Aware of sensation here.

Lack of sensation.

Breathing into and out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath into the upper portion of the right arm.

Allow for this image to pass away and bring your focus now to the lower portion of your right arm.

Your right elbow.

Your forearm.

Your wrist.

Noticing what is here in this moment.

And breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

Gently bringing your focus back to the lower portion of your right arm.

Whenever you find the mind has wandered away.

With a deep breath in.

Allow a full exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As you bring your focus now to the right hand.

Noticing sensation or lack of sensation here.

The top of the hand,

The knuckles,

The skin or the bones,

The tendons.

Noticing the palm of the hand.

Any sensation here or lack of sensation.

Aware of any activity of the mind or emotions that may arise.

And breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

Simply being with the breath and being with sensation that you find here.

And with a deep breath into the right hand.

As you exhale,

Allow for the image of your right hand to pass away.

And bring your focus now to the right fingertips.

Distinguishing each finger from the next.

Paying attention to what you find here.

Sensation or lack of sensation.

Whenever you find the mind wandering away.

Gently acknowledge where the mind wanders to.

And then with compassion,

Bring the mind and the focus back to the right fingertips.

As you breathe in and you breathe out from this region of the body.

With a deep breath into the right fingers.

Imagine your exhale coming out from the fingertips and traveling all the way up the right arm.

Up into the shoulder.

Bring your focus now to the region of your throat and your neck.

Your cervical spine.

Any sensation here or lack of sensation.

Perhaps even noticing the breath in this region of the body.

The way that it feels in the throat area.

As you breathe into and out from this region of the body.

And with a deep breath here.

Allow for your exhale to pass throughout your whole body.

As you shift your focus now upward to the muscles of the face.

And the bones,

The jaw,

The cheekbones.

The eyes as they feel in their sockets.

Perhaps they feel heavy or light.

The brow bone and the forehead.

Any sensation or lack of sensation here in the mouth.

Perhaps allowing space between the tops and bottom rows of teeth.

Breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

Become aware of any sensation at the ears,

The temples,

The top of the cranium,

The scalp,

The hair.

Breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

And noticing any sensation or lack of sensation in the back of the head and the skull.

The base of the cranium.

Breathing in and breathing out from this region of the body.

Feeling the way that the breath moves throughout this region of the body.

And with a deep breath in.

Allow your exhale to move throughout your whole body.

As you allow for the image of your head and your skull to gently dissolve from your mind.

And bring your focus now to a sense of your body as a whole lying here.

Noticing your whole body breathing in and breathing out.

Allowing for a full breath in through the nostrils.

Feeling the breath into the throat and the chest.

Perhaps even deep into the belly.

And with each exhale,

Feeling the muscles relax away from their bones.

Sensing your whole body breathing here,

Simply being with the breath in and out.

Perhaps noticing a deeper breath as you begin to notice each point of your body that is in contact with the ground or perhaps a pillow or the surface that you're lying on.

And perhaps noticing the way that the breath inspires movement in the body,

With the belly or the chest as it rises and falls with each cycle of breath.

And if it feels right to you,

Perhaps bringing some movement now to the toes or the fingers,

Gently waking up the body.

Beginning to sense your body in this physical space,

The way the air feels in the room around you.

And in your own time,

Perhaps beginning to flutter the eyes,

Gently open,

Receiving the light gently.

And taking a moment to sense how you feel in your body and in your mind.

And perhaps offer yourself a breath of gratitude for being in this practice,

Being here and present with your body and with your breath.