13 | Body Scan Head To Toe 1 (With Mini-Class)

G'day,

My name is Rachel Grace.

Thanks for joining me for this practice entitled Basic Body Scan for Beginners.

This session starts with a mini class for about three minutes before we get into a 12-minute practice.

Many of us live in our heads and are disconnected from the sensations in our body.

When we're not aware of how our body feels a lot of the time or how it's responding to different situations,

Our capacity to be self-aware is compromised and we miss out on receiving vital information that can help us respond wisely to the circumstances that we face.

Research indicates that body scan mindfulness practices build up the neural networks that are responsible for self-awareness and self-regulation.

Given how fundamental these two qualities are for our relationship with ourselves and with others,

It's no wonder that the body scan is considered by many to be one of the most helpful types of mindfulness practices that there are.

As you'll experience in the body scan,

We pay attention to all the different areas of the body one by one.

This strengthens the awareness aspect of our mindfulness capacity.

But importantly,

In the body scan,

You will also be building and strengthening the non-reactive and accepting part of your mindfulness muscle.

Because inevitably during a body scan,

You will encounter a mixture of pleasant,

Unpleasant,

And neutral or numb sensations.

And the habitual reaction to these experiences is pretty much universal.

It's natural to want to stick with the pleasurable,

Avoid the unpleasant and vague out with disinterest from the neutral and numb sensations.

However,

This habit pattern which pervades our reactions to just about all of the circumstances we face in life comes at a cost because it undermines our capacity to remain steady and calm and present in the face of all different kinds of situations.

This is how our emotional balance and focus gets hooked to the highs and lows of how pleasant or unpleasant things are.

So in this practice,

As we move through the body with awareness and acceptance,

Just for how the body sensations are,

We are actually building a powerful capacity,

Not only for being self-aware,

But for responding to whatever arises in our field of awareness with a balanced mind,

Both in our practice and out in life.

So in this practice today,

You will scan your body with awareness from head to toe.

So let's prepare for the practice.

I invite you now to take a moment to find a posture that allows you to be both relaxed and alert.

Let your awareness be to take in the space around you now,

Gently seeing the environment you're in,

Noticing the sounds that are around you.

I now invite you to join me in taking a deep breath,

Filling your lungs.

And then as you let go with a long out breath,

Allowing your eyes to gently close or softening your gaze down to the floor if that feels right for you.

If you would like to,

You can set an intention now for how you want to approach this valuable practice time.

And we'll start the practice with the ring of a gong.

I invite you to settle into this practice now by bringing a relaxed and focused attention to your preferred anchor,

Whether that be paying attention to the sensations of the flow of breath or awareness of sounds arising and passing away,

Feeling into all the different kinds of physical sensations in your feet and hands right now.

Whatever your preferred primary anchor is,

Focus your attention there now.

And each time your mind wanders,

Gently return your attention there and start again.

I'll give you a few moments to set your anchor right now.

As we commence the body scan,

It's important to know that if an emotional or physical pain in a specific part of the body creates a sense of overwhelm,

You're more than welcome to shift your attention at any time during this practice onto the next part of the body in the scan,

Where you can simply return your attention back to your anchor of choice.

You can do this to allow your body and mind to come back into a state of rebalance and just rejoin the practice if and when you're ready to.

So let's begin the practice of paying attention to the sensations or absence of sensations in the different areas of the body one by one,

Starting now with the top of your head,

Feeling the sensations there,

Whatever they might be.

For example,

There might be tingling or pressure or warmth.

Perhaps there's no sensations there.

Numbness counts as a sensation in this practice.

There's no need to try to look for any other sensations.

If what you find is numbness or blankness,

These are sensations too.

That's okay.

So just feel the sensations in the top and the back of your head now.

Now slowly let your attention move down the front of your face.

Aware of the sensations happening right now throughout your forehead,

Your eyes.

Noticing sensations in the nose,

Cheeks,

Ears,

Mouth,

Jaw and tongue.

Paying attention to whatever sensations are actually there,

Not what you think you should feel.

Feeling the sensations throughout the face.

Now move your attention down through your neck to the tops of your shoulders.

You don't have to judge any sensations or try to swap them for any different ones.

You just need to feel them.

So noticing how sensations there in your neck and shoulders arise and change and pass away.

Feeling sensations in the neck and shoulders.

Now I invite you to move your awareness down the upper arms,

Through the elbows and down the forearms.

What do your arms feel like?

There's no need to name the feelings.

You can just feel them.

You can relax the thinking mode to allow the being mode of direct physical experience.

Feeling the sensations in your arms right now.

Then let your attention rest for a moment on your hands.

Feel the palms and back of your hands.

See if you can feel the sensations in your hands from the inside out.

Feeling whatever sensations are there,

Cold,

Warm,

Tingly,

Numb.

Sensations may grow in intensity or they may decrease in intensity.

Not asking anything from the body.

Our awareness is just receiving the sensations as they are.

We're bringing a kind and gentle awareness to feeling the sensations in your hands right now.

Now bring your attention back up to the neck and throat before once again moving your attention downward through the chest,

Noticing any sensations you find there.

You're not looking for anything special.

You're just staying open to whatever feelings you find.

There's no need to do anything about any sensations you find.

You're just noticing them.

Right now just feeling the sensations throughout the area of your chest.

What's there to be felt right now?

Sometimes sensations can spark a story or worry.

This can add psychological suffering on top of physical discomfort.

There's no need to turn physical pain into emotional suffering.

See if it's possible to just let go of any stories or worries that may arise,

Letting them go and bringing awareness simply to noticing the physical sensations in the body just as they are.

Keep moving your attention down to the belly,

Letting your awareness be gentle and receptive,

Noticing any pleasant sensations without grasping for more of them,

And noticing any unpleasant sensations without trying to avoid them or push them away.

Feeling the sensations throughout your chest and your belly right now.

Now returning your attention back up to the neck before once again letting your awareness move down,

But this time all along the back of your body through your shoulder blades,

Mid-back,

Lower back.

There may be stiffness or tension or pain.

Whatever your encounter,

Simply notice it,

Feeling the sensations throughout your back right now with a receptive and kind awareness.

Bringing your attention into the pelvic area now and see what sensations you feel there.

Can you be mindful of the quality of the sensations throughout the pelvic area right now?

Moving your awareness down through your upper legs,

Through your knees,

Down to your calves,

And all the way down your legs,

Feeling your ankles,

Noticing that thinking about an area or picturing it in your mind's eye is different from actually feeling it.

So right now,

Feeling the sensations in your legs with a gentle and accepting awareness.

Now settle your attention into your feet,

Noticing right now what your feet feel like,

How they make contact with the floor,

Whether they're warm or cool,

Feeling heavy or light,

Feeling the sensations in your feet.

Now opening up your awareness to take in all the sensations throughout the entire body,

Noticing the sensations throughout the body changing moment by moment,

Asking yourself,

What is happening inside of me right now?

What do I feel?

And can I let this be?

As we approach the end of our practice now,

I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath,

Filling the lungs right up,

And then relaxing your body and your mind as you breathe out.

Let the corners of the mouth rise ever so slightly into a gentle half smile,

Savoring this moment.

And to conclude,

I'll ring the gong three times.

In your own timing,

Allow your eyes to open,

Gently bringing your attention back up into the environment around you.

Take a moment to stretch or sit back and notice how you feel.

Do you feel the same as you did before this practice or has something changed?

By practicing the body scan,

You are developing the capacity for being aware and keeping a balance of mind in the face of life's many ups and downs.

This capacity instills in us a deep confidence that we can handle the stuff of life with more skill and ease.

The more you practice,

The more benefit you get,

So keep practicing whenever you can.

A wonderful time to do a body scan is when you first wake up in the morning or when you go to bed at night.

Also as you move throughout your day,

You can pause and do a mini body scan,

Scanning through the whole body in just a matter of seconds.

You can use this technique on demand to regain a sense of groundedness and balance whenever you need it.

And finally,

Just take a moment to appreciate yourself for the dedication that you've shown to your own well-being.

Each time you practice,

You are changing your brain for the better and you're building your capacity to handle life more skillfully.

So well done.

May mindfulness positively impact you,

What you do,

And all of those around you.

Thank you for practicing with me.

I hope you will join me again.