Body scan Meditation technique for self-care

Not familiar with the body scan? It’s a form of meditation that can be super effective for getting in touch with your body, finding parts that feel uncomfortable or blocked and letting go of negative emotions. Body scanning can be an invaluable part of your self-care routine, especially if you’re new to meditation.

How to go about body scan meditation:

• Lie on the floor or if you prefer, lie on a mat or your bed.

• Decide whether you’ll start your body scan at the top of your body or the bottom. Either is fine – just choose what feels most comfortable for you. Whichever you choose, work your way from your toes up to the top of your head, or vice versa. I personally prefer to scan from head to toe, I like to think of the energy moving through my body in this direction. Starting from the head also helps me to clear the mind before moving through the body.

• Breathing deeply and slowly helps to clear the mind and bring the body into a state of relaxation. Focus your attention solely on one area of your body at a time, moving slowly throughout the body. Really check in with the sensations you notice in each part of your body. Don’t pass any judgement on this; just notice it, breathe deeply, let it go and move on.

• Your mind may wander and this is okay. As with any meditation exercise, just keep bringing your focus back to your breath and continue the body scan. The more you do it, the easier it should be to keep focused and stay present.

If you get chance to spend around 30 minutes on this, you can get more of the benefits. Not got that much time to spare? No worries! Even just 5-10 minutes can work really well. The really important part is that it becomes part of your self-care routine on a regular basis.