Your body "remembers" stress. Tense shoulders, clenched jaw, shallow breathing. Often, you don't even realize you're tense until you lie down. A Body Scan is a mindfulness journey through every part of your body, from head to toe, that teaches you to "let go" of tension.
How to Do It?
You lie comfortably and slowly move the "spotlight of your attention" to individual areas:
- Feel the big toe on your right foot. Is it warm? Cold? Tingling?
- Move to your ankle, calf, knee...
- Don't judge ("my leg is fat"). Just feel ("I feel the touch of my pants").
This exercise grounds you and often leads directly into the arms of Morpheus.
Scientific Sources:
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). "Full Catastrophe Living". (Creator of the MBSR method).
