Body Meditation

What is body scan meditation?

For many of us, stress not only has mental and emotional symptoms, it has physical symptoms too: headaches, back pain, and heartburn are just a few of the stress-related ailments we may experience. In fact, sometimes we are so caught up in our stress, we don’t even realize our physical discomfort is connected to our emotional state. That’s when a body scan meditation can be particularly useful and effective, allowing us to check in with our bodies.

By mentally scanning yourself from head to toe — many people imagine a laser copier scanning the length of their body — you are bringing awareness to every single part of your body, noticing any aches, pains, tension, or general discomfort. Staying present with and breathing into these sensations can help bring relief to our minds and bodies by evolving our relationship to pain, aches, and discomfort.

Beginner’s Body Scan Meditation

Before I taught scores of body scan meditations, I too had to learn it for the first time. And my first reaction was: no, thank you! This is what happened: The woman at the front of the room is saying that over the next eight weeks we would be “learning to reconnect to our bodies by doing a number of body scans.” Huh? Reconnect with my own body? Nuts to that, lady! Not that it’s any of your business, but my disconnected body and I like it that way. As far as I can tell, I mean, we haven’t spoken in years.

Then she tells us to lay down, saying we might want to put a pillow under our knees and maybe even cover ourselves with the nursery school blankets she handed us. The lights are dimmed and my inner child begins snoring. But the rest of me feels like a feral cat trapped in a dark alley looking for any way out.

The suspiciously calm-voiced lady relentlessly offers us something she calls, “silence” (it burns, it burns!). We are asked to notice any sensations we might be able to experience.  A sensation? What the heck is a “sensation”? She says sensations are things we might notice in the body, (not liking this noticing the body, business! Please stop saying this!). She mentions a menu of sensation possibilities we might notice, like tingling, tightness, heat or coolness, buzzing or pulsing or itching, or numbness—even nausea. What the heck? No wonder I avoid connecting with my body! Need I explain the concept of numbing out? The very idea of having to notice my body enraged me. And even worse, I had no clue if I was doing it right and that enraged me even more.

Our honey-tongued guide seemed to be ignoring my inner pleas for her to stop, “Look lady … if I listened to my body, right now, I’d leap up and throttle you!”

Apparently I was supposed to notice this too. Aright!omething was changing in my relationship to discomfort. I noticed that I could stay more present and tuned in, even if I didn’t like what I was feeling.

During the first few “body scans” I mostly thought about lunch and how my butt compares to other butts anywhere on the planet. Every so often I would notice a sensation in my body. When I did, I immediately became alarmed or bored or my mind just wandered off to Taco Bell.

Only after being guided through many, many body scans did I seem to have a “Hold on, call coming through!” moment. Was that me experiencing itches, twitches, cramps, and screams and just watching as they softened and settled?  Was I only imagining that I was increasingly able to be irritated without needing to find someone to blame…where’s the fun in that? Something was changing in my relationship to discomfort. I noticed that I could stay more present and tuned in, even if I didn’t like what I was feeling. Interesting.

That was a few years ago. Now, I notice that I am increasingly able to stay and examine sensations that show up in my body when I feel upset on its way. I can be with my stress-clenched butt, my indignant jaw, my quaking belly. By practicing the body scan, I am learning to stay softly present to the United Colors of Stress as it tries to hole up in my body. More and more, I can notice what I feel without having to hold on to it. I can let it go and return to the present moment over and over. Damn, I’m good.

The Benefits of the Body Scan Practice:

  • Enhances your ability to bring your full attention to real-time experiences happening in the present moment—helpful when emotions or thoughts feel wild.
  • Trains to explore and be with pleasant and unpleasant sensations, learning to notice what happens when we simply hang in there and feel what’s going on in “body-land” without trying to fix or change anything.

Body Scan Meditation for Beginners:

30-Minute Body Scan for Beginners

It is recommended you allow about 30 or 40 minutes to let yourself really investigate this practice. But if you don’t have that much time, utilize whatever time you have. You might want to lay down, but you can also do it sitting up, especially if that makes it easier for you to stay awake.

  1. Closing your eyes can be helpful to allow you to focus or, if you’d rather, you can always lower and half-close your eyes.
  2. Bring awareness to the body breathing in and out, noticing touch and pressure where it makes contact with the seat or floor. Throughout this practice, allow as much time as you need or want to experience and investigate each area of the body.
  3. When you’re ready (no rush), intentionally breathe in, and move your attention to whatever part of the body you want to investigate. You might choose to do a systematic body scan beginning at the head or feet. Or, you might choose to explore sensations randomly. Enjoy!
  4. Sensations might include buzzing, or tingling, pressure, tightness or temperature, or anything else you notice. What if you don’t notice any strong sensations or things feel neutral?  You can simply notice that, too. There are no right answers. Just tune in to what’s present, as best you can, without judgement. You’ll notice judgement puts a different spin on things.
  5. The main point is being curious and open to what you are noticing, investigating the sensations as fully as possible, and then intentionally releasing the focus of attention before shifting to the next area to explore.
  6. At some point, you’ll notice Elvis and your attention have left the building. Yup. Great noticing! You’ll quickly discover that you can’t stop your attention from wandering. Sorry ’bout that. But over time you can train it to stay for longer periods: train it, not force it, there’s a difference.
  7. Each time your attention wanders, simply notice that this is happening, then gently and kindly (it’s really important that you don’t try to force anything) direct your attention back to exploring sensations in the body. Rinse and repeat until you’ve finished your entire body exploration.
  8. And hey! Neuroscience tells us that noticing drifting attention, and gently returning our focus to wherever we’ve placed it, over and over, is how we create new pathways in the brain.
  9. At the end of this exploration of bodily sensations, spend a few moments to expand your attention to feeling your entire body breathing freely.
  10. Open your eyes if they have been closed. Move mindfully into this moment.

Body scan meditation to reduce stress

While there are many specific meditation techniques that can be used to help us find stability of mind and cultivate mindfulness over time, one of the most accessible practices is a body scan meditation, during which you bring attention to your body, noticing different sensations, as you mentally scan down, from head to toe. Here’s everything you need to know about body scan meditation — including how to do it.

Try this three-minute body scan

Sitting comfortably, take a deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. As you breathe out, close the eyes. Notice how the body feels right now. Starting at the top of the head, gently scan down through the body, noticing what feels comfortable and what feels uncomfortable. Remember, you’re not trying to change anything, just noticing how the body feels as you scan down evenly and notice each and every part of the body, all the way down to the toes.

Body scan meditation benefits

Research shows that mindfulness meditation — and body scan meditation in particular — has many mental and physical benefits including reducing stress, increasing focus, and improving sleep. According to research that did not involve Headspace, practicing body scan meditation was associated with greater levels of mindfulness (for example, observing thoughts and feelings while not reacting to stress) and increased psychological well-being.

Here are 3 additional benefits of body scan meditation:

1. Reducing stress

As mentioned above, reducing stress and tension is one of the primary benefits of body scan meditation, which in turn can have many positive physical benefits including reduced inflammation, anxiety, and insomnia. What’s more, through regular mindfulness body scan meditation, you can train your mind to respond more effectively to stress. Instead of ruminating on or battling with stressful thoughts and feelings, we learn to gently lean into them, essentially diminishing their power over us.

2. Grounding

Often, our body is doing one thing while our mind is elsewhere. A body scan meditation can help to sync our mind and body, pulling us away from the noise in our mind and into the present. Plus, regularly checking in with our body can help us identify aches and pains early on, before they become too serious.

3. Increasing self-compassion

Often during body scan meditation, we may notice something that feels bad in our body, or we may become frustrated when we notice our mind wandering. Regular practice can help us approach these situations with gentleness and acceptance; eventually we learn how to approach situations in our everyday life with the same compassion.

How to do a body scan guided meditation

With your eyes closed, start at the top of your head and mentally “scan” down your body. Bring your awareness to your head and neck, and notice if you feel any feelings, sensations, or discomfort. Does that area feel relaxed or tense? Comfortable or uncomfortable? Energetic or tired? Repeat this practice for your shoulders, arms, hands, chest, back, hips, legs, feet, and so on — taking about 20-30 seconds to focus on each body part.

When you encounter areas of tension during the scan, don’t struggle. Instead, focus your attention on them and breathe. Try to visualize the tension leaving your body. Take note of your observations and when thoughts or feelings arise, return to the area of the body where you last left off. Don’t try to change anything — you are simply building a picture of how the body feels right now, in the moment.

How to Do a Body Scan Meditation (and Why You Should)

At this point, you’ve probably heard all about the benefits of meditation. But with so many types of meditation to choose from, getting started can feel overwhelming.

Enter the body scan, a meditative practice that involves mindfully scanning your body for sensations of pain, tension, or anything out of the ordinary.

Developing greater awareness of bodily sensations can help you feel more connected to your physical self and gain greater insight into potential causes of unwanted feelings.

This knowledge can make it easier to address what’s wrong, leading to improved wellness in body and mind.

Why it’s worth trying

Experts have found evidence to suggest meditation can promote physical and emotional wellness in multiple ways, such as:

Here’s a look at some of the most heavily researched benefits.

For sleep

A 2019 review Trusted Source suggests mindfulness meditation may help reduce the impact of some types of sleep issues and improve sleep quality.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a regular body scan practice just before bedtime can be particularly helpful at relieving insomnia.

What makes meditation so effective for sleep problems?

Many people have a hard time getting restful sleep when they feel worried or stressed. Because meditation can help you relax, let go of troubling thoughts, and feel calmer overall, a regular meditative practice can often ease distress that’s keeping you awake.

For stress and anxiety

Research from 2013Trusted Source suggests that mindfulness meditation has the potential to reduce general anxiety symptoms. The researchers also noted mindfulness-based stress reduction practices could have a positive impact on the ability to manage stress.

A 2014 review Trusted Source of 47 clinical trials also found support for mindfulness meditation as a helpful approach for coping with anxiety and stress.

For pain

If you’ve ever experienced significant pain, you probably had trouble thinking about anything else. This is the daily experience of many people living with chronic pain. Understandably, this type of pain can have a significant negative impact on your life.

Meditation may not necessarily stop pain. But outcomes of meditation, such as increased awareness of your body and emotional state, can help change the way you think about that pain. Increased awareness and acceptance of pain can lead to an improved outlook.

A 2017 review-trusted Source of 13 studies suggests mindfulness meditation can help reduce effects associated with chronic pain, such as depression or decreased quality of life.

These benefits may have-trusted Source a longer lasting impact than standard care for chronic pain.

Jon Karat-Linn, a meditation teacher and expert on stress, recommends body scan meditations as the most helpful type of meditation for pain.

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