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Kindful Body Scan

This bodyscan meditation emphasises kindness and compassion towards your body. Ideal for getting out of your head and to help ease your stress and anxiety.

AM_SA_Kindful-Body-Scan [00:00:00] Welcome to this kindful body scan meditation. This meditation gives you the time and space to relate to your body and mind in a kind and friendly way. I invite you to practice in a way that feels right for you rather than having to follow my instructions exactly. My words serve as a gentle guide rather than rules. You get to decide what's best for you in any given moment.

Start by giving your body a little stretch. Check in with your body and stretch out any tensions, if you can. That can be your first act of kindness to yourself in this meditation. [00:01:00] You can stretch out your arms, your legs, your back, nice and gently. Now when you're ready, begin by finding a posture that's right for you today.

You could lie down your back, either on a mat, carpet or even on your bed, or you could be seated on a chair or a cushion. See which posture is right for your body today. Now try placing your hand on your heart. Feel the warmth of your hand against your heart. Your hand can represent a sense of kindness, [00:02:00] friendliness towards yourself.

And if you like that feeling, keep it there. Begin by taking a nice, deep breath in, holding it for a few moments and a slow, smooth breath out. You may like doing this a couple more times. Feel your lungs filling up with nourishing oxygen. And as you breathe out, have a sense of letting go.

When you're ready, let your breath find its natural rhythm, [00:03:00] which of course it does all day and all night. As you practice this body scan, if at any time you feel overwhelmed by sensations or emotions, remember, you can shift your attention back to your breath if that feels comforting to you. You can think of your breath as a refuge from the sensations that may seem too much for you at this time. Now feel your body as a whole as you sit or lie here. What is the range of different sensations? As we go through this meditation, also notice how your mind naturally wanders off to other thoughts and comes back.

It's perfectly [00:04:00] normal and part of the experience of meditation, whether you're a beginner or experienced. The mind always eventually wanders off and always comes back too. That's totally fine. Mindfulness is not about banning thoughts. We make space for all experiences kindly, including thinking.

Now when you're ready to do so, shift your attention down your body, down both your legs, all the way down to the toes and your feet. Feel any sensation that's present for you. If you [00:05:00] can't feel any sensation, feel the lack of sensation. We can try giving our toes that it'll wiggle. Now move your attention to the soles of both your feet, and the upper part of both your feet.

As you feel the sensations in your feet, bring a sense of kindness, friendliness to your experience. Now include your ankles and any sensations there. Feel both your feet as a whole now. You may like to play with the idea that your [00:06:00] breath can go down and into and ot of your feet, bringing a sense of care and compassion. And if that works for you, keep doing it.

If that doesn't mean anything to you, then no need to force it. Just feel any sensations you can in your ankles and feet. In this way may move your mindful, kindful awareness into your lower legs. And then your upper legs. And then both your legs as a whole, [00:07:00] together.

Imagining and feeling your breath going into and out of both of your legs. Bringing a friendly attention to all the sensations in your legs. If you experiment with gently smiling as you do this practice, you may find it easier to bring this affection awareness to your body. Just practicing as best you can in this moment. Now, gently moving your attention up.

Letting your attention rest in the area of your hips and pelvis, [00:08:00] buttocks and all the delicate organs in this part of your body. Being aware of how the sensations shift and change from breath to breath. You don't need to try to change any sensation at all. Just kindly noticing and exploring whatever you notice. Continue to work your way through your body in this mindful way, up to your belly.

Being aware of and sensitive to the rising and falling of your belly and any emotions that may be present in that area of your body too. Allowing your experiences to just be as they are [00:09:00] .Accepting them with that little smile, if you can. Grateful for your breath oxygenating all the cells in your body. If you're able to do so, making a kind and friendly and welcoming space for whatever feelings you want to arise for you as you feel this part of your body. Now moving up to your chest and perhaps around in your back.

Feeling the sensations in your back and your chest area. Feeling the movement of your rib cage as you [00:10:00] breathe in and out. Are you able to feel your heart beating? Get in touch with any emotional signals or sensations in your emotional heart, if that feels okay for you to do so. Imagine or feel your breathing going into each body part. So you increase your sense of awareness.

Feels sensations with an attitude of affection, the way you may look at something precious or someone or something you love. If possible, reflect on how fortunate you are for the parts of your body that are working okay. They are ensuring that in this very [00:11:00] moment, you are not only alive, but also present and mindful of them. Continue to move through your body with this kindly awareness as best you can. Feeling and accepting the sensations in your shoulders.

Including any tensions that didn't release. Then down your arms and into your hands and fingers. Feeling them with a sense of gratitude. Then moving your awareness gently up through your neck, including the back of your neck. Your throat.

Voicebox. And into your face. Perhaps giving your jaw a little wiggle to [00:12:00] ensure you're not holding any tension there. Feeling the surface skin of your face and the muscles underneath. Begin with the forehead.

Are you frowning? Try raising and lowering your eyebrows playfully. Move down to sense all the sensations in your face. Invite a gentle smile to arise on your face to remind you to bring a quality of kindness to yourself in this meditation. But if you prefer, you can also have a neutral face. Experiment to see what works for you.

You can now [00:13:00] even be mindful of your brain. Notice how that feels. You can be grateful for how hard your brain works for you, to care fo you and protect you. Making peace with your brain. Last but not least feeling the sensations in the top of your head.

And notice what it feels like now that we've mindfully and kindfuly scanned through our entire body. Feel the sensations and your body as a whole, in a wide and [00:14:00] spacious way.

Meditation

4.6

Kindful Body Scan

This bodyscan meditation emphasises kindness and compassion towards your body. Ideal for getting out of your head and to help ease your stress and anxiety.

Duration

Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.

AM_SA_Kindful-Body-Scan [00:00:00] Welcome to this kindful body scan meditation. This meditation gives you the time and space to relate to your body and mind in a kind and friendly way. I invite you to practice in a way that feels right for you rather than having to follow my instructions exactly. My words serve as a gentle guide rather than rules. You get to decide what's best for you in any given moment.

Start by giving your body a little stretch. Check in with your body and stretch out any tensions, if you can. That can be your first act of kindness to yourself in this meditation. [00:01:00] You can stretch out your arms, your legs, your back, nice and gently. Now when you're ready, begin by finding a posture that's right for you today.

You could lie down your back, either on a mat, carpet or even on your bed, or you could be seated on a chair or a cushion. See which posture is right for your body today. Now try placing your hand on your heart. Feel the warmth of your hand against your heart. Your hand can represent a sense of kindness, [00:02:00] friendliness towards yourself.

And if you like that feeling, keep it there. Begin by taking a nice, deep breath in, holding it for a few moments and a slow, smooth breath out. You may like doing this a couple more times. Feel your lungs filling up with nourishing oxygen. And as you breathe out, have a sense of letting go.

When you're ready, let your breath find its natural rhythm, [00:03:00] which of course it does all day and all night. As you practice this body scan, if at any time you feel overwhelmed by sensations or emotions, remember, you can shift your attention back to your breath if that feels comforting to you. You can think of your breath as a refuge from the sensations that may seem too much for you at this time. Now feel your body as a whole as you sit or lie here. What is the range of different sensations? As we go through this meditation, also notice how your mind naturally wanders off to other thoughts and comes back.

It's perfectly [00:04:00] normal and part of the experience of meditation, whether you're a beginner or experienced. The mind always eventually wanders off and always comes back too. That's totally fine. Mindfulness is not about banning thoughts. We make space for all experiences kindly, including thinking.

Now when you're ready to do so, shift your attention down your body, down both your legs, all the way down to the toes and your feet. Feel any sensation that's present for you. If you [00:05:00] can't feel any sensation, feel the lack of sensation. We can try giving our toes that it'll wiggle. Now move your attention to the soles of both your feet, and the upper part of both your feet.

As you feel the sensations in your feet, bring a sense of kindness, friendliness to your experience. Now include your ankles and any sensations there. Feel both your feet as a whole now. You may like to play with the idea that your [00:06:00] breath can go down and into and ot of your feet, bringing a sense of care and compassion. And if that works for you, keep doing it.

If that doesn't mean anything to you, then no need to force it. Just feel any sensations you can in your ankles and feet. In this way may move your mindful, kindful awareness into your lower legs. And then your upper legs. And then both your legs as a whole, [00:07:00] together.

Imagining and feeling your breath going into and out of both of your legs. Bringing a friendly attention to all the sensations in your legs. If you experiment with gently smiling as you do this practice, you may find it easier to bring this affection awareness to your body. Just practicing as best you can in this moment. Now, gently moving your attention up.

Letting your attention rest in the area of your hips and pelvis, [00:08:00] buttocks and all the delicate organs in this part of your body. Being aware of how the sensations shift and change from breath to breath. You don't need to try to change any sensation at all. Just kindly noticing and exploring whatever you notice. Continue to work your way through your body in this mindful way, up to your belly.

Being aware of and sensitive to the rising and falling of your belly and any emotions that may be present in that area of your body too. Allowing your experiences to just be as they are [00:09:00] .Accepting them with that little smile, if you can. Grateful for your breath oxygenating all the cells in your body. If you're able to do so, making a kind and friendly and welcoming space for whatever feelings you want to arise for you as you feel this part of your body. Now moving up to your chest and perhaps around in your back.

Feeling the sensations in your back and your chest area. Feeling the movement of your rib cage as you [00:10:00] breathe in and out. Are you able to feel your heart beating? Get in touch with any emotional signals or sensations in your emotional heart, if that feels okay for you to do so. Imagine or feel your breathing going into each body part. So you increase your sense of awareness.

Feels sensations with an attitude of affection, the way you may look at something precious or someone or something you love. If possible, reflect on how fortunate you are for the parts of your body that are working okay. They are ensuring that in this very [00:11:00] moment, you are not only alive, but also present and mindful of them. Continue to move through your body with this kindly awareness as best you can. Feeling and accepting the sensations in your shoulders.

Including any tensions that didn't release. Then down your arms and into your hands and fingers. Feeling them with a sense of gratitude. Then moving your awareness gently up through your neck, including the back of your neck. Your throat.

Voicebox. And into your face. Perhaps giving your jaw a little wiggle to [00:12:00] ensure you're not holding any tension there. Feeling the surface skin of your face and the muscles underneath. Begin with the forehead.

Are you frowning? Try raising and lowering your eyebrows playfully. Move down to sense all the sensations in your face. Invite a gentle smile to arise on your face to remind you to bring a quality of kindness to yourself in this meditation. But if you prefer, you can also have a neutral face. Experiment to see what works for you.

You can now [00:13:00] even be mindful of your brain. Notice how that feels. You can be grateful for how hard your brain works for you, to care fo you and protect you. Making peace with your brain. Last but not least feeling the sensations in the top of your head.

And notice what it feels like now that we've mindfully and kindfuly scanned through our entire body. Feel the sensations and your body as a whole, in a wide and [00:14:00] spacious way.

Meditation

4.6

Duration

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