Practice this body scan, seated, standing or laying flat on your back. This practice can be done at anytime you need to find calm: during a break from work, at the dentist, after a fight, or before a presentation. Noticing what is happening in the body is also the foundation of mindfulness. It can help you become more aware of your emotions and thoughts and how you feel them in the body.
Take a breath in and allow your spine to extend tall and your chest to open to by drawing your shoulders back and down along the back. Exhale all the way to empty.
Inhale, allow the belly to expand.
Exhale, notice the belly deflate.
We are now ready to begin. A body scan is about observing the body and noticing any sensations, tension or joy happening in the body.
With your eyes open or closed, begin at the crown of the head. Just notice. Now bring your attention down towards the forehead, the eyelids, the cheekbones, the nose, the ears, and the jaw. Exhale, release any tension in the jaw. Inhale, notice the belly expand, for 3, 2, 1, Exhale, notice the belly deflate, for 3, 2, 1, release any remaining tension in the jaw.
Now notice the back part of the head, the back part of the neck, the front part of the neck, and the throat center. If you’d like, take an audible sigh out of the mouth, “ahhhh.”
Notice the shoulders: Inhale lift the shoulders, exhale release the shoulders down away from the ears.
Observe the heart, the chest, the front rib cage, and the back rib cage. Notice the upper back, and the lower back. Observe the spine. Inhale, exhale.
Observe the stomach, the abdomen, the solar plexus, the pelvis, and the hips.
Now notice the upper legs, the lower legs, the ankles, the heels, the feet, and the toes.
Now notice the right side of the body. Inhale, notice the right side of the body. Exhale. Next, notice the left side of the body. Inhale, notice left side of the body. Exhale.
Take one more breath in, exhale, slowly, 4, 3, 2, 1, all the way to empty. Notice how your body feels now.
Stay here for as long as you’d like.
When you are ready, open your eyes to a soft gaze and notice what feels different in the body.