After the practice, write down in your journal or notebook your observations.

During the Body Scan Meditation, what did you notice? What was your experience with sensations in the body? Did the Body Scan help you become more aware of where you carry tension or emotions in the body? Take a moment to note whether you felt stress, anxiety, elation, sadness, joy, anger, or any other emotion in the body.

Body Scan Practice

The Body Scan has proven to be an extremely powerful and healing form of meditation. It involves systematically sweeping through the body with the mind, bringing an affectionate, openhearted, interested attention to its various regions.

Experientially, we might describe what we are doing during a body scan as tuning in or opening to those sensations, allowing ourselves to become aware of what is already unfolding, much of which we usually tune out because it is so obvious, so mundane, so familiar that we hardly notice. And of course, by the same token we could say that most of the time in our lives we hardly know we are present, experiencing the body, in the body, of the body…

When you practice the body scan, first simply become aware of physical sensations by exploring their felt sense. This is distinct from thinking about your body. There’s no need to analyse or manipulate your body in any way; just feel and acknowledge whatever sensations are present.

Body Scan Benefits:

• Promotes body awareness
• Releases tension, pain and stress in the body
• Helps the mind to become more focused.

Tip:

If you don't have a lot of time, you can do an abbreviated version of this Body Scan meditation by just sitting and noticing any place in your body that you're carrying tension or stress. Practice for 3-4min.