Body Scan
This body scan session, along with the last session on the breath, are two examples of what is called focused attention meditation. In this type of meditation, you direct your attention towards some object. In the last session, the object was a constant for the entirety of the practice: the breath. Throughout this body scan session, your focal point will instead shift multiple times as you concentrate on various parts of your body. But the fundamental principle of focused attention meditation remains the same. Strive to center your focus as closely as possible on each individual body part as directed.
During a body scan meditation, you may find that in certain areas of the body, you can’t feel any vivid sensations at all. For instance, it's often difficult to distinguish the individual toes of the feet, the sensations of each toe merging together. If this is the case with any body part for you, don’t be concerned. Notice the difficulty in feelings these sensations. What does it feel like to lack vivid sensations in an area of the body that you know exists?
Call to Practice: Try this body scan guided meditation.
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To deepen your practice, you can experiment with longer body scan meditations, where each body part gets the length of a complete inhale and exhale. As you breathe in, imagine the air rushing into the body part. As you exhale, imagine tension leaving the body part. If desired, you can devote more time to areas in which you feel pain or discomfort.
Since a body scan meditation helps to relax the body and mind, you can also practice one as preparation for sleep.
Click here to continue to the next meditation: Open Monitoring.