What Is Body Scan Meditation And What Is It For?

T hese past two covid-ridden years have been incredibly hard on all of us. No matter who you are or where you’re from, these 2 years have been extremely stressful and have really put our mental health in shambles.

This excess stress can manifest itself in many ways including headaches, back pain, joint pain, and muscle aches. 

In times like these, we must look towards different methods which can help us relieve ourselves from stress in a positive way. 

One of these ways is meditation, specifically body scan meditation. This form of meditation can be incredibly useful to not only those under immense amounts of stress but really anyone who practices it. But what is body scan meditation, and what is it for?

What Is Body Scan Meditation?

Body scan meditation is one of the most effective forms of meditation there are today. The purpose of meditation is to align yourself with your body, to tune your body as a whole. The practice involves you noticing and paying attention to every aspect of your body and reconnecting with yourself on a deep level. Meditation aims to increase your sensory awareness about your body. Even though it may seem relaxing, the goal is to increase your awareness, focus, and make you a more attentive and focused person in your everyday life.

How To Do Body Scan Meditation

Body scan meditation is a fairly simple method of meditation. It involves a few simple steps that make it easy to practice daily. Here is a step-by-step list of how to do body scan meditation.

Get In a Relaxed Position

The best position to start body scan meditation is by lying down in a relaxed environment, as it is the most relaxed and grounded method. However, if you’re more comfortable sitting, you can also meditate while sitting as well.

Start Taking Deep Breaths

Next, start this breathing exercise. Begin by slowing your breathing down and start breathing from your diaphragm rather than your chest. To do this, try pushing air up from your belly area instead of just your chest as you would regularly. To know whether you’re doing it right, make sure to check if your abdomen expands and contracts with every breath. Breathing like this may be hard to perfect if you haven’t done it regularly before but once you get going and practice it every day, it becomes much easier to do.

Bring Attention To Your Feet

After continuing the breathing exercise for a while, start bringing your focus towards your feet. Then, try feeling your feet, not with your hands but try to acknowledge every sensation you feel within them. Focus on any pain, tingling, or any sensation you feel in them and try to breathe through them.

Breathe Through The Negative Sensations

If you notice any negative or uncomfortable sensations within your feet, try focusing on them. Breathe through your feet and try to visualize this pain or sensation. Next, visualize this pain and imagine it flowing through your feet, leaving your body entirely, and let go of it. Breathe out with each bit of pain you relieve from your body as you visualize it. Continue this exercise until you feel you've successfully let go of the pain and move on.

Scan Yourself

Now that you’ve successfully rid your feet of this negative energy, try doing it with the rest of your body. Scan every part of your body, from your feet moving up towards your legs, then your abdomen, all the way to your head. Feel yourself through every one of these parts, breathe through them and visualize every negative emotion or sensation you feel inside them. Then visualize yourself expelling all these negative thoughts and sensations until you feel completely relieved inside.

What Are The Benefits Of Body Scan Meditation?

This form of meditation has incredible benefits. It is a very low-maintenance meditation that can be done multiple times a day if needed. Practicing this form of meditation can make a stressed person feel much more relieved after they’re done since the meditation aims to rid the person of all their negative feelings by removing them one by one from every part of their body. 

Now that you know what is body scan meditation and what is it for, you can rest assured that it is a great and quick practice that can release so many of the negative feelings and stress we pack inside our bodies every day. It is an effective method that all of us should try so that we can become better versions of ourselves. 

• This post is tagged in:

• Exercise
• Meditation
• breathing exercises