5-Minute Body Scan Meditation
Welcome to this 5-minute body scan guided meditation designed to support you in beginning and strengthening your meditation practice. Many people I know are reluctant to try meditation because they feel they just too busy or they have tried it before and felt like they ‘failed’ because they could not stop thinking during the meditation. Here is the good news. You did NOT fail. In fact, noticing how busy your mind was during the meditation is normal and actually a part of the practice. The mind is always going to be thinking and meditation is not about stopping the mind. What a relief to know this.
So why meditate if not to stop our minds from thinking? Good question. Meditation has been around for over 2,500 years as part of many wisdom traditions and teachings. In the past 30+ plus years, modern science is finally catching up with what these wisdom traditions already know, meditation supports and improves our well-being. Having a meditation practice is not about becoming an expert meditator, it’s about waking up and paying wise attention to the life we are living. Living purposefully and authentically is what mindfulness is all about. We are affected mentally, emotionally and physically by the escalating stressors in our lives and in our world. Consistently practicing mindful meditation actually changes the structure of our brains causing us to be feel less stressed and anxious and better able to focus and make responsive decisions in our lives. And because of these positive changes in the structure of our brains, mindfulness meditation practices like the body scan practice are now being integrated into addiction recovery programs to support recovery and prevent relapse.
The body scan practice is a core practice in mindfulness meditation. I’ve created this brief 5-minute version to ease you into meditation if you are a beginner, or for days when you are really busy and feel you don’t have a lot of time.
Here are some options for working with this practice.
If you find you have more time and want to stay with a certain body part you may choose to hit the pause button on the recording at any time.
You may also choose to continue you body scan after the recording has ended.
If, at any time, you find that focusing attention on a particular body part is too challenging, you have the choice to move your attention to another part of your body that feels neutral or more easeful or open your eyes and take a break and then return to the guidance being given.
You may notice that each time your practice the body scan, your experience may change. This is part of the practice, noticing what is happening moment to moment.
And in this particular mindfulness practice, the body itself serves as an anchor for your attention. Other mindfulness meditation I will offer may use the breath or sound as an anchor.
Please know that the guidance in this recording is simply guidance and you are always in charge of what feels right for you. So follow the guidance as best you can and know that you can hit pause or stop at any time. Please respond to your own inner self-care guidance.
I hope you will explore this body scan practice with a big dose of curiosity and always practice good self-care.
Warmly, Mary