Hey everyone. I am Shannon Gonter. I am a mental health counselor here in Louisville, KY and today I am going to guide you all through a type of meditation today called a body scan.
A body scan is a really good introductory meditation to do because it focuses on the body and the different body parts and sensations you are feeling in a gradual sequence from the feet to the head.
It will assist and allow you to bring awareness to every single part of your body, noticing any aches, pains, tensions or general discomfort that is often overlooked during our day to day because we are so busy and so many external things are demanding our attention.
Just some basic meditation tips and tricks before we get started in case this is your first attempt at meditation or mindfulness-based practices.
Don’t get so caught up in the “how” – just do. Pretty much everyone has thoughts of “I am doing this wrong”. Don’t worry, you aren’t. There is no right way to do it. Don’t stress about where to sit, how to sit, what cushion to use … this is all nice, but it’s not that important to get started. Start just by sitting on a chair, or on your couch. Or on your bed. On the ground. Whatever is most comfortable for you.
Don’t worry about clearing the mind. Lots of people think meditation is about clearing your mind or stopping all thoughts. It’s not. This can sometimes happen, but it’s not the “goal” of meditation. If you have thoughts, that’s normal. We all do. Our brains are thought factories, and we can’t just shut them down. Instead, just try to practice focusing your attention, and practice some more when your mind wanders.
Judgement free zone. When thoughts pop up or you and you find yourself distracted. That’s okay. Don’t judge yourself and be like “oh crap go away thoughts I supposed to be focusing on her voice”. Just thank those thoughts for being there, let them know you see or hear them and will check back in with them after. Bring yourself back to your breath and repeat when it happens again. Not if it happens again, but when. Because it will and that’s okay.
Meditation is not about clearing your mind and stopping all thoughts. It’s about giving your mind something to focus on and about the practice of bringing yourself back to that intention over and over again. Building that muscle throughout that meditation or mindfulness-based activity.
Okay, okay so let’s get comfortable and ready to begin. It is going to be about ten minutes long.
SCRIPT:
Okay. Let’s all take a deep breath in through our nose and out through our mouths.
Welcome to this body scan practice, you can either do this sitting or lying down. Whatever is most comfortable for you. If you are lying down, lie on your back and if you are sitting just settle in and get comfortable.
This is an internal practice so you are welcome to close your eyes while doing this practice, but you don’t have to. If you want to keep your eyes open just keep a dull gaze towards the floor or the ceiling so that you are not staring at anyone or anything in specific.
Let’s begin by taking a few deep breaths.
Pause
We do this to transition you from where you were to where you are now and welcome ourselves into the moment. Breathe in…breathe out.
Doing a brief mindful check in, getting a sense of the positioning of your body, becoming aware at this time of the day in this moment how your body is feeling, noticing if there is any tension or tightness anywhere.
Also being aware of how you are feeling emotionally at this moment. Is there a sense of calmness, or frustration or restlessness, or perhaps there is a lightness or a neutral feeling. Just exploring this with a curious mind and seeing what comes up.
Get a sense of how the mind is doing in this moment. Is it very busy or is it calm? Does it seem restless or grounded? Breathing in and breathing out. Reminding ourselves that none of this is about judgment but about getting to know where we are starting from.
Breathing in and breathing out. Allowing your breathe to flow throughout your body.
Pause.
Begin to get a sense of the breath. Bring a beginners mind to this practice, notice where
Maybe it is in the nose or the nostrils, perhaps the chest or the abdomen, just take note and notice where and how you feel this in your body.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Noticing this breath as if for the first time, this inhalation and breathing out as if for the first time. Just the awareness of the breath, as it comes in and as it goes out, breath by breath.
Short pause.
Bringing our awareness to the body. Noticing any sensations. There may be tingling at one point, heaviness, maybe a lightness, itchiness, warmth or coolness, pressure or pulsing, maybe a whole array of sensations that are occurring in the body.
Our work for the next few minutes is to notice these sensations and be curious about them. As if it is the first time we are noticing theses sensations at all.
Begin by bringing your attention to the feet, noticing any sensations in the soles of the feet, the toes, the top of the feet, and up until the ankle joints. Bringing awareness to the feet and the ankles, and whatever is being experienced just allowing it and letting it be. Not trying to change it, just noticing it.
Now bringing attention up from the feet and ankles and intentionally moving the awareness up into the legs. Noticing any feelings in the calves, shins, knees, hamstrings, quadriceps, feeling into the entirety of the legs.
Bringing a sense of curiosity to your legs. Picturing your breath flowing in and down your legs. Swirling around. Noticing any sensations along the way.
Pause.
Now shifting up from there, into the hips, noticing how with intention you can move your awareness from body part to body part. Focusing now on the hips. Simply just noticing what’s going on there. No need to analyze what’s going on, simply just letting things be and observing what’s going on.
Now once again in the space of awareness, moving the attention up from the hips into the torso. Noticing sensations in the back, lower back, upper back chest and the abdomen.
Knowing that this torso is home to so many vital organs and a place where we hold many of our emotions. Anxiousness, restlessness, frustration, joy, calmness and many more. Just spending a few extra moments sending out breathe to the torso and feeling into what is going on here. Just observing and letting it be.
Intentionally choosing to shift awareness from the torso into the arms and down into your hands. Feeling into the arms and hands, starting from the shoulders, and moving down into your biceps, triceps, forearms, wrists, hands and fingers. Maybe just bringing your awareness to the fact that you have arms at all. Breathing and feeling the arms and hands.
Short pause.
Moving back up the arms and shifting our focus into the neck, and from the neck to the face. Being aware of what’s going on in the face and any pressure felt here.
Breathing into what’s there, and breathing out and letting be. Settle in.
Now within this space of awareness, as you are hearing my voice right now, intentionally choosing to shift awareness to the scalp. The top of the scalp, the sides of the scalp, the back of the scalp, and even to your ears. Keep your focus on the scalp and notice what sensations there are, if any.
Short pause.
Breathing in and breathing out and starting to let go of any intentional awareness of the head and face and shoulders and arms and hands and torso and hips, and legs and feet. And just gently coming back to the breath. Focusing on the breath. Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and noticing how the whole body expands and breathing out noticing how the body contracts.
Getting a sense of this body and how it is connected and whole.
Last thing to acknowledge before bringing some movement back to the body is the choice you had to take this time our of your day to focus on yourself.
Short pause.
Bringing some gentle movement back into your body. Moving your toes. Wiggling your Fingers. Rolling your ankles and wrists. Stretching in any way that feels most comfortable for you. Ending this meditation with a long, deep cleansing breath and opening your eyes whenever you are comfortable and ready to come back into the room.
Pause.
Thank you everyone. Your body appreciates you taking the time to intentionally be with it for a few moments today.
Written by Shannon Gonter
I specialize in working young adults. I am passionate about my career and want to work with you to create positive change. I also strive to create a counseling environment where men and young adults can relate, feel heard, and find new solutions to their negative patterns. Some issues that I most commonly work with are stress, relationship issues, difficulty saying “no” to others, difficulties recognizing emotions and emotionally connecting to others, anger, and intimacy issues, among others.
The information and resources contained on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to assess, diagnose, or treat any medical and/or mental health disease or condition. The use of this website does not imply nor establish any type of therapist-client relationship. Furthermore, the information obtained from this site should not be considered a substitute for a thorough medical and/or mental health evaluation by an appropriately credentialed and licensed professional.