instructions

Step 1: the Body Scan begins with the lying on your backs with your palms facing up and their feet falling slightly apart. This exercise can also be done sitting on a comfortable chair with feet resting on the floor;

Step 2: Lie very still for the duration of the exercise, and move with awareness if it becomes necessary to adjust your position;

Step 3: next, bring awareness to the breath, noticing the rhythm, the experience of breathing in and expelling out. You should not try to change the way your are breathing but rather just hold gentle awareness on the breath;

Step 4: next, focus on your body: how it feels, the texture of clothing against the skin, the contours of the surface on which the body is resting, the temperature of the body and the environment;

Step 5: Bring awareness to the parts of the body that are tingling, sore, or feeling particularly heavy or light, note any areas of their body where you don’t feel any sensations at all or are hypersensitive.A typical Body Scan runs through each part of the body, paying special attention to the way each area feels.

The scan usually moves systematically through the body, e.g. starting at the feet and moving upwards as follows:

• Toes of both feet; the rest of the feet (top, bottom, ankle)

• Lower legs, knees, thighs, pelvic region (buttocks, tailbone, pelvic bone,genitals)

• Abdomen, chest, lower back

• Upper back (back ribs & shoulder blades)

• Hands (fingers, palms, backs, wrists)

• Arms (lower, elbows, upper)

• Neck, face and head (jaw, mouth, nose, cheeks, ears, eyes, forehead, scalp, back&top of the head)

After the Body Scan is complete and you feel ready to come back to the room, you can slowly open your eyes and move naturally to a comfortable sitting position. Drink a cup of tea and write down the about thing you felt.