MBSR Body Scan

The following instructions are for the body scan meditation.

During this meditation,

Remember that you are aiming to fall awake,

Not fall asleep.

Allow this to be a nourishing time.

Don't try too hard to relax,

But just let yourself experience the meditation as it happens.

Allow things to be exactly as you find them.

Letting go of any judgmental or critical thoughts that might arise.

When practicing the body scan,

The key point is to maintain awareness in every moment.

An awareness of your breath and the sensations in your body,

Region by region,

As you systematically scan the body from your feet to the top of your head.

The quality of your attention and your willingness just to feel what is there and be there with it no matter what is much more important than imagining the tension leaving your body.

If you just work at getting rid of tension,

You may or may not succeed,

But you will not be practicing mindfulness.

If you practice being present in each moment with a willingness to accept whatever happens,

Then you are truly practicing mindfulness and tapping its power to heal.

So let's get started.

Lie down on your back in a comfortable place.

Allow your eyes to close and your arms to be next to your body with the palms facing upward.

Let your legs fall open.

Take a minute to feel your body as a whole from head to toe.

Now,

When you're ready,

Bringing your attention to the belly,

To the rising and falling of your belly with each in-breath and out-breath.

Not trying to manipulate the breath in any way,

But just letting the breath breathe itself.

Letting the abdomen expand as the breath comes in,

Feeling it deflate as the breath goes out.

Noticing the rhythmic movement of your belly as you breathe.

On each out-breath,

Letting go of any thoughts or tension that you might be holding onto and letting yourself sink deeper and deeper into the floor.

Bringing your full attention to your breathing and the movement of breath into and out of the body.

Now,

Shift your attention to the toes of your left foot.

Move your mind away from your belly,

Down your left leg to your foot and all the way down to your toes.

Become aware of any sensations in your toes,

Experiencing what is there and breathing with these sensations.

You might notice sensations such as tingling or warmth.

You might notice that you don't feel anything in your toes.

If so,

Just allow yourself to not feel anything.

Just stay with whatever is there.

See if you can feel each toe individually.

See if you can direct your breath to your toes so that it feels as if you're breathing into your toes and out from your toes.

Imagining the in-breath moving down from your nose into your lungs and then continuing through your belly and down the left leg all the way to the toes and then back again and out through your nose.

Now take a deeper in-breath and on the out-breath,

Let go of the toes and let them dissolve in your mind's eye.

Throughout this meditation,

Bring your mind back to the breath and to the region you are focusing on each time you notice your mind has wandered off.

Now move your attention to the bottom of your left foot and whatever you notice in this region.

Becoming aware of the sensations in the bottom of your left foot and breathing into them.

Imagining your breath traveling down your left leg to the bottom of your foot and then back up your leg and eventually out your nose.

Letting yourself sink deeper and deeper into the floor with every out-breath.

And when you are ready,

Letting go of the bottom of your foot and shifting your attention to your heel and any sensations that are there.

Feel the place where the heel is making contact with the floor.

Feel the sense of touch or pressure.

Imagine your breath traveling down to your heel.

And with your next out-breath,

Let go of your heel in your mind's eye and move your attention to the top of your left foot.

Not thinking about it,

But just being with it.

Breathing with the top of your foot and feeling sensations there.

And now letting your awareness spread to your ankle.

Directing your breath down to the ankle.

Breathing into stillness and awareness.

And with the out-breath,

Letting go of your ankle and your entire left foot.

Letting your awareness shift to your left lower leg.

Pay attention to the shin in front and the calf muscle in the back.

Not just the surface,

But deep into the bones,

Experiencing your lower leg as it is and not trying to make it any different.

Relaxing and sinking even deeper as you let go of your left lower leg and shift your attention to your knee.

Feel the sensations in your kneecap and the sides and back of your knee.

And breathing into whatever sensations you find here.

Noticing what's present.

And with your next out-breath,

Letting the knee go and shifting your attention to the region of the thigh.

Noticing the sensations present in your thigh,

Up to the groin on the inside and up to the hip on the outside.

Letting it be as soft and relaxed as possible.

And letting go of any tension on the out-breath.

And with the next out-breath,

Shifting your attention from the left leg and moving your attention to your right leg and the feelings in the toes of your right foot.

Feel the sensations in each of your toes.

Imagine the breath traveling down from your nose,

Through your lungs to your belly,

Down your right leg and to your toes.

Let your breath pass out from your toes and all the way back up through your nose.

And noticing whatever is present here in the toes of your right foot.

And with the out-breath,

Letting your toes dissolve in your mind's eye and moving your attention to the bottom of your right foot and whatever you notice in this region.

Becoming aware of the sensations,

Whatever they are,

In the bottom of your right foot and breathing into them.

Imagine your breath traveling down your right leg to the bottom of your foot and then back up your leg and out your nose.

Letting yourself sink deeper and deeper into the floor with every out-breath.

And when you're ready,

Letting go of the bottom of your foot,

Moving your awareness to your right heel.

Tuning into any and all sensations there.

Breathing in and out of your right heel as you relax even further.

On the next out-breath,

Letting your attention move from the right heel to the top of the right foot and ankle.

Moving in and out,

Experiencing this region of your body.

And when you are ready,

Just letting go,

Letting it relax and soften and dissolve in the mind's eye as you become aware of your lower leg.

This is a region we don't pay much attention to.

Notice the sensations there and breathe in and out of your lower leg,

The calf,

The shin.

Now when you are ready,

Letting go of the lower leg and bringing your awareness to the right knee.

Relaxing the right knee as it is,

Letting your breath pass in and out of this region.

Noticing sensations.

Breathing even further and letting go of your knee as you shift your attention to the right thigh and the entire region of your upper leg.

Be as precise as possible about the sensations that you find there.

You might feel a warmth or tingling,

A heaviness or lightness.

You might notice the blood flowing to your leg.

Bring the breath to this region.

And with the out breath,

Letting go of your leg and bringing your attention to the pelvis.

Becoming aware of the entire pelvis region from one hip to the other.

Noticing where your bottom meets the floor,

The sensations of touch and weight.

Become aware of the hips themselves breathing with the entirety of your pelvis.

Letting the pelvis soften and releasing any tension with the breath.

Being totally present in each moment and content to just be right here and as you are right now.

Breathing in and with your next out breath,

Letting go of the pelvis.

Now shifting your awareness to the lower back as it connects and comes out of the pelvis.

This is a region that gives many of us problems.

There may be some intense sensations here.

Allow the breath to penetrate and move through this whole region.

Breathing into this area on the in breath and letting go of any tension or tightness on the out breath.

Letting go of any holding on,

Any intensity.

And with the next out breath,

Letting this region dissolve in your mind's eye and shifting your attention to the upper back.

Feeling the sensations in this region.

You may feel the rib cage expand with the in breath.

You may feel the ribs in the back and in front going all the way around the spine.

Let any sensations of tiredness dissolve and sink deeper into stillness and relaxation.

You might notice an impulse to move during this meditation.

If so,

See if you can't just let the impulse come and go without having to act on it.

Just notice what this feels like.

Now shifting your attention to the belly again.

Feeling the rising and falling of the belly as you breathe.

Expanding your awareness to the chest as well.

Feeling the movement of the diaphragm.

Experiencing the chest as it expands and contracts.

The rhythmic beating of your heart within your chest.

And the lungs expanding on either side of your chest.

Imagining every organ in the body being nourished with oxygenated blood.

Starting with the out breath,

Let the belly dissolve and moving your attention to both hands at the same time.

Bringing your awareness to the fingertips.

Feeling the sensations at the tips of your fingers and thumb.

You may feel pulsations of the blood there.

Expanding your awareness to your whole fingers.

Feeling each one separately.

Bring your breath to travel out to your fingertips and back again.

And then letting your fingers dissolve as you bring your awareness to the palms and the back of the hands and wrists.

And feeling the sensations there.

Becoming aware of the sensations in your hands with openness and curiosity.

Now moving up to the forearms and elbows.

Feeling any and all sensations there.

Directing your breath into and out of this region of your body.

And then shifting your attention to the upper arms.

Be aware of your arms all the way up to your armpits and shoulders.

The shoulders are the reservoir of much accumulated tension.

Many stresses wind up creating tension in your shoulders and neck.

Breathe into this area of your body.

Relax to whatever you find here.

Breathe out,

Letting go of tension.

And if you notice that thoughts have carried your attention away,

As soon as you notice,

Just bring your attention back to the sensations in the body and the breath.

Now shifting your attention to the neck.

The back of the neck,

The spine in the neck region,

And the throat.

Experiencing what it is like to swallow and what it is like to breathe.

Breathing into the neck intentionally and letting go of the tension there.

Now shifting your awareness to the face.

The face often stores accumulated tension over the day and does all the work of expressing yourself to the world.

For now,

Just let it be as it is.

Bring your attention to your jaw and chin.

Breathing into this region,

Letting the jaw relax,

Letting the tongue fall down into your mouth.

Relaxing your lips and mouth.

Let your lips slightly part.

Being aware of your teeth and gums,

The roof of the mouth,

The back of the mouth and throat.

Now shifting awareness to the nose and the breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils.

You might notice coolness or warmth.

A tingling at the tip of the nostrils.

Noticing the sensations that are created by the breath as you breathe.

Now letting go of your nose in your mind's eye and becoming aware of your eyes.

Noticing the eye bones and the space between your eyes.

Noticing the entire region around the eyes.

Often there is tension in this region as well.

Letting the breath come up to your eyes,

Breathing into the area of your eyes.

And on the next out breath,

Letting go of this area and bring awareness to the sides of your head,

Your ears,

Your temples.

Letting this area relax and then dissolve and then becoming aware of your forehead.

Breathing into your forehead,

Letting it soften.

If you sense any tension associated with emotion there,

Just notice it and open to it.

Now breathing with the entirety of the face as if the breath is coming up from underneath.

On the out breath,

Letting the entire face dissolve,

Letting the face relax and be at peace.

Now becoming aware of the back and top of the head.

Breathing into and out of this region.

Focus on a spot at the top of your head about the size of a quarter.

Imagine that this spot can open up like the blow hole of a whale and that you can breathe through the top of the head.

Breathing in and out right through the top of the head,

Letting air and energy move in and out.

And now imagine that you are breathing from the top of the head right through the body and out the bottoms of the feet.

And then breathing in the bottoms of the feet and out through the top of your head.

Allow the breath to continue to move in this way the entire length of your body,

In and out.

With all the muscles in a state of relaxation,

Experiencing your entire body breathing.

Feeling your entire body as a whole,

Lying in a state of stillness and deep relaxation.

See yourself as complete and fully awake right now.

Feeling whole and complete in silence,

Stillness and peace.

Now allow your breath to become a little deeper as you slowly bring your awareness back to your surroundings.

But allowing yourself all the time you want to just be here.

When you're ready to arise,

You might want to start by wiggling your fingers and toes.

Gently opening the eyes when you're ready.

Feeling this calm and wakefulness to go with you as you resume the activities of your life.

Remembering this state is always accessible to you at any time by simply bringing your attention to the breath and to the body.

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