Body Scan Meditation

Where the body scan comes from

The body scan most people learn today comes from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, the eight-week course Jon Kabat-Zinn began teaching at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. It is the first long practice on that course, usually done lying down with a recording for around 45 minutes. The idea is older than the course. Buddhist mindfulness teaching includes attention to the body, and yoga has its own rotation of awareness. What the modern version adds is a plain, secular set of instructions that anyone can follow at home.

What you are actually doing

A body scan is not a relaxation exercise, although it is often relaxing. You are not trying to loosen each part or make it feel a certain way. You are practising two skills. The first is placing attention on one small area and keeping it there. The second is letting go of that area and moving on, even if it felt pleasant or you were not finished with it. Sensations may be clear, such as warmth, pressure, tingling or the touch of clothing. They may also be faint or absent. Each of these counts as something noticed.

Common difficulties

• Sleepiness: practise earlier in the day, sit in a chair, or keep your eyes half open. If you wanted sleep anyway, let it come.
• Restlessness: it often peaks around the middle. Notice where the urge to move sits in the body, then move slowly and on purpose if you still need to.
• Pain: you can rest attention at the edge of a sore area instead of its centre, or skip it and return later. Change position whenever you need to.
• Wandering: when you find you have been thinking for a while, start again from the last place you clearly remember. There is no need to go back to the toes.
• Boredom: this is common in the second week. Treat it as one more thing to notice and see where you feel it.

A four-week plan

Short and regular works better than long and rare.

• Week one: ten minutes, legs only, then one breath for the whole body.
• Week two: fifteen minutes, legs and torso.
• Week three: twenty minutes, the whole body in order.
• Week four: thirty minutes, or keep twenty and add a quick sweep from head to feet at the end.

When to go gently

Paying close attention to the body can bring up strong feelings or memories, especially around areas linked to illness, injury or past harm. If that happens, open your eyes, look around the room and move. You can shorten the practice, skip an area, or keep attention on the hands and feet only. If you have a history of trauma, or the practice keeps leaving you unsettled, consider learning it with a qualified teacher or speaking to a clinician. A body scan is a way of paying attention. It is not a way of checking for illness, and it does not replace medical advice about symptoms.