10:40

Body Scan

by MAP Study at SPU

Rated
4.1
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
615

A body scan is a journey throughout the entire body. It is a helpful practice for getting in touch with your body and listening for what your body has to tell you. This is one of the guided meditations included in the mindful parent training course for the Mindfully Aware Parenting (MAP) Study at Seattle Pacific University. Recording by Yvonne D. Hawkins (Healing for Black Folx). Adapted from Bogels (2020).

Body ScanMindful ParentingMindfulnessNon Judgmental AwarenessRelaxationGratitudeBody Mind Spirit ConnectionSensory AwarenessPhysical RelaxationBreathing AwarenessGuided Meditations

Transcript

Welcome.

I invite you into this practice of a body scan.

This practice really allows you to pay attention to every part of your body,

One by one,

Part by part,

And to your body as a whole as well.

And so in this practice,

You can lie down on your back,

Perhaps lie on a floor or on a bed,

Whichever is comfortable for you.

So I invite you to get in the space.

And as you lie down,

To let your legs lie next to each other and allowing your feet to fall out and your arms to lie next to your body and allow your palms to face up.

And just take a moment to notice your whole body,

The whole body lying right here,

Noticing the surface that holds you,

Noticing where your body touches the surface,

Where it holds you,

Just noticing you being held.

Notice your body is being supported.

And when you're ready,

Perhaps you become aware of your breath as it flows into your body,

As it moves around through your body.

Perhaps you notice,

Particularly your belly area where your breath feels your belly and perhaps you put your hands on your belly so that you can feel the sense of your breath,

Making your belly rise and fall as your breath goes in and out.

Perhaps you just practice being here,

Right here in your body.

And perhaps you begin to bring awareness and attention to different parts of your body one by one as you just notice what you experience here,

Notice what you might feel by judging it,

Just noticing,

Trying to change it,

Just noticing.

And if ever your mind begins to wander,

That's okay,

Not judging that either.

That's what minds do,

Just noticing that whenever you're applying wonders that you can return it back to the place where you've been noticing your body,

Little by little.

As you practice,

You can expand and hold your attention and your awareness.

And so I invite you to begin noticing your feet and just noticing any sensations that you have in your feet,

Notice your toes or the soles of your feet or the heels of your feet,

The front of your feet.

Perhaps you notice your ankles,

Perhaps you notice the touch of any socks that you might be wearing or the feel of your feet,

Any shoes you might be wearing.

Perhaps you allow your attention to move through your feet and your ankles to your legs and just noticing your legs and allowing your attention and your awareness to move from your legs to your knees and to notice your knees and to allow your attention to move from your knees to your thighs and noticing any points of contact between your thighs and the surface that's holding you up.

Maybe you notice and bring your attention and your awareness to your pelvis and to your hips and perhaps noticing how your body and your breath,

How your breath inside your body has been moving this whole time.

And so perhaps you allow yourself to return to noticing your hips or your pelvis,

Notice your buttocks and perhaps you begin to draw your awareness to your organs inside your pelvis.

Perhaps you draw your awareness to your abdomen and feel how your breath just really feels and flows through your abdomen,

How it rises and falls as your breath flows.

And perhaps you notice your whole torso,

Perhaps you notice and bring your attention to your spine and the back and your back and how you can bring your awareness to your shoulders.

Perhaps you notice and bring your awareness to the front of your body and your rib cage and perhaps you bring your awareness to your chest.

And perhaps you notice again how your body and your whole body is being supported with whatever you're laying on,

Whatever is supporting you.

And perhaps you notice your chest and how it's filled with your breath once again and you notice the rising and the falling of your chest.

Perhaps you notice your fingertips and you bring your awareness to your fingers and your hands and your wrists and your arms and your elbows and your upper arms.

Perhaps you bring your awareness to your shoulders and notice your whole upper body.

Perhaps you allow your awareness to move up through your shoulders to the back of your neck and then around to the front of your neck.

Perhaps you allow your awareness to move up to your head.

Perhaps you notice the back of your head and then the sides of your head.

Perhaps you notice your ears and then your face.

Perhaps you notice your eyes and your nose and your mouth and perhaps you bring your attention to your whole head and you notice the whole of your head.

And perhaps you just allow yourself to notice your whole body.

To feel the length of your body,

Notice from your head down through your toes the whole length of your body.

Perhaps you notice the width of your body.

Perhaps you notice your skin and how it holds your whole body on the inside.

Perhaps you notice how your body feels your skin and you notice your breath still here and that you are breathing your whole body.

Perhaps you just allow yourself to just be here for a minute.

Just be however you are right now.

Take a deep breath.

And as we begin to come to the end of this practice,

Perhaps you just notice allowing your body to be as it is.

The best you can,

Not judging,

Not trying to change it.

Just being right here.

Your body just as you are.

And perhaps you notice how your body is always here for you.

How your breath is always here for you.

Perhaps you can offer a moment of appreciation for this body that works for you every day.

Perhaps you notice you can be connected to your body.

Maybe you notice that you can learn from it.

Be aware of your feelings that are coming up through your body.

Be able to accept them just as they are.

Perhaps you practice allowing yourself to just listen to your body and hear what it will say.

Meet your Teacher

MAP Study at SPUSeattle, WA, USA

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© 2026 MAP Study at SPU. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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