Fieldnotes - 4

Body Scan Meditation

Body Scan Meditation is a great way to relax, get grounded and experience the liveliness and ever changing aspect of your body, especially when you feel disconnected from your body for whatever the reason it might be. This mediation also helps opening the door for new understanding about how our bodies are always in constant change despite its solid appearance.

With this practice, you scan your entire body from top to bottom with your open awareness. The objective is to feel the sensations on the parts of your body, whether they are disturbing or tempting, and just stay with those sensations without carried away with them. Being an observer and creating a space between yourself and the sensations without any interpretation or labelling is the core principle of this practice. In the end, you may feel more centred, connected, grounded and more importantly present.

You generally practice this meditation by lying on a comfortable spot with your arms by your sides and your eyes closed.

During this meditation practice, we go back and forth between certain parts of our body, especially head, neck and throat regarding as the starting-returning point. The sequence of the body scan starts with your back, and then moves to the top of your head. Then, comes the front of your face, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, lips…then your head again and so forth until you reach to your feet on the ground. Remember that your awareness is like a scanning machine that leads the way.

How to practice Body Scan Meditation

To begin, just breathe naturally and try to feel the surface you’re lying upon whether it is a floor, bed, or couch. Drop every inch of your body on the surface and let it support and carry you.

Now, let’s begin by bringing your attention to your back. When you feel a spot that’s tense or uneasy, take a deep breath, relax, open up, and see if you can be with the sensation without holding on to it. If you find yourself holding or resisting any sensations, try to release them and return to the direct experience of the very moment. You’re like putting any sensations on your awareness table and just watching their tendencies with an objective eye. Whatever the actual sensation of the pain or pleasure, try to feel it directly, without any interpretation or judgment.

Then, as the next move, bring your attention to the top of your head, and observe what sensations you may feel…any tingling, itching, pulsing. You are not noticing any sensations? That’s fine, keep going and move to the next part…

Now, bring your attention to the front of your face by gently moving down. Be mindful of any sensations like tightness, relaxation, looseness…whether pleasant, painful, or neutral. In your forehead, nose, mouth, cheeks…Next, bring your awareness to your eyes and feel the weight of your eyelids…How do your eyeballs move in their sockets? Do you feel your lips? And your skin…any softness, moisture, coolness?

Judgement comes with labelling. You don’t need to label these sensations, but rather just feel them. You can even go further and try to ignore any definition or concepts, like nose, jaw, etc. and choose to stay with the direct sensation.

Now, you may bring your attention to the top of your head again. Then, this time move down the back of the head, the facade of your head. Feel your neck, any knots or any tense spots.

Then again, return to the top of the head. Your next stop of your attention is down the sides, feeling your ears, the sides of your neck and shoulders.

Just feel them; no labelling. Gently move your attention to the upper arms, the elbows, the forearms. Your attention rests for a moment on your hands, the palms, the backs, fingers, each fingertip.

Now, your attention goes back to the neck and throat, and slowly moves down through the chest. Noticing any sensations there? Next stop is the rib cage, the abdomen with a gentle and receptive awareness. You’re not expecting anything special to happen. Just stay open to whatever feelings arise. Just notice them.

Return your attention to your neck, and now let your awareness move down the back of your body slowly. From shoulder blades to the mid back, to the lower back. You may feel stiffness, tension or pain. Whatever you may encounter, simply pay attention to it. Now, bring your awareness into your pelvic area and see what sensations there are. Gently move your awareness down your thighs, knees, calves, and all the way down your legs. Sense your ankles. Rest your attention on your feet…

When you feel ready, you may open your eyes. You can continue to feel the world of sensation and all of its changes moment by moment, as you move into the activities of your daily life.

If you like, you can also practice a 45-minute guided body scan meditation by clicking below via UCSD Center for Mindfulness: