Welcome to our second mindfulness exercise, the "Body Scan".
This time, you will hear the voice of Kristin Neff guiding you – she is the founding mother of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) concept.
Choose a quiet place where you can lie down. Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket – make yourself as comfortable as you can! This is your precious time to yourself.
I personally find this exercise most effective when I feel the ground beneath me. Therefore, I typically lie directly on the floor (on my yoga mat). But you can also lie down on your sofa or on your bed. Also, try if it’s more comfortable to you if you place a small pillow underneath your head.
Like with the raisin meditation, it is important that you are not going to be interrupted for the duration of the Body Scan. So please make sure that you will be undisturbed for the next 25 minutes.
I recommend that you repeat the body scan at least 2-3 times in the next few days. You will notice that the effect intensifies with each repetition. Also your sensations will change every time.
At first, you might find it difficult to stay awake for the entire body scan. However, it is important that you try to stay alert. The objective of this exercise is to learn how to remain anchored in the "here and now" whenever our mind drifts off. Falling asleep would give our mind the opportunity to continue its habitual “drifting away” pattern. That's exactly what we want to avoid. So you are welcome to relax, but please try not to fall asleep. If it helps, you can keep your eyes open during the exercise.
Now enjoy the next 25 minutes on your journey through yourself! Observe carefully whether it is rather difficult or easy for you to remain anchored in the "here and now". Each time you have to bring yourself back to the present moment, you will be training your mindfulness skills. So it isn’t bad at all if you have to do this several times – it is good practice and completely normal.
After the exercise, take a few minutes to reflect on your experience of the body scan in your notebook. Write down what and how you felt, and what insights you gained from this exercise.
When you're ready, click the recording to start.
— Annegret Hannawa