Tara Brach, a clinical psychologist and meditation teacher, leads this basic body scan meditation, a practice for checking in with the body part by part and noticing what is there, including tension, anxiety, or unease.
Basic Body Scan with Tara Brach
On the path towards a more mindful way of living, there are all sorts of tools at our disposal. When it comes to mindfulness meditation in particular, there are a lot of different approaches we might take. Depending on where you are in your own practice, different techniques may be more or less appropriate for you.
Someone who’s completely new to mindfulness meditation would likely have trouble with an hour of seated, silent meditation. If you’re just getting started with mindfulness exercises, a great way to become increasingly familiar with your own body is by engaging in a basic body scan meditation.
Being Mindful and Getting In Touch
We all experience unpleasant sensations in our bodies, but we’re not always aware of where they’re coming from or what their root cause might be. Have you ever found yourself walking around and feeling anxious, stressed, worried, depressed, or tense — and not been able to put a finger on why exactly you’re feeling that way?
It’s easy to assume that physical sensations are the product of other physical experiences. For example, we might attribute some tension in our shoulders to having slept in an awkward position the night before. While this is certainly the case in some instances, it can also be common to hold tension in the body in connection with mental and emotional preoccupations.
In this free guided meditation with Tara Brach, you’ll practice what’s called a basic body scan. After taking a moment to settle in and soften your body, you’ll check in with each part of your body — starting from the top and working your way down — and see how you’re feeling. Checking in with each part of the body may create space for tense areas to relax, and you may finish feeling a little more relaxed and at ease.
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