What Is a Body Scan?

A closer look

The body scan was popularised by Jon Kabat-Zinn as part of his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme in the late 1970s. It draws on older contemplative practices but is framed in a way that is entirely secular and accessible. The idea is straightforward: by moving attention slowly through each region of the body, you begin to notice what you have been carrying without realising it: tension in the jaw, tightness in the shoulders, a knot in the belly that has been there all day. What makes the body scan valuable is its directness. We spend much of our lives in our heads, thinking about the body rather than feeling it. A body scan reverses this. It asks you to drop beneath thought and simply sense. This can be revealing. You may discover that your body has been telling you something all day: that you are tired, or anxious, or holding grief, and you simply had not been listening. In the evening, a body scan becomes a kind of gentle inventory before rest. The day leaves traces in the body, and noticing them is its own form of reflection. Body-awareness prompts can help you put these sensations into words. You are not trying to relax, though relaxation often follows. You are trying to pay attention, and that attention is itself a form of kindness.

Putting it into practice

Lie down somewhere comfortable, or sit with your feet flat on the ground. Close your eyes and begin at the top of your head. Move your attention slowly downward: forehead, eyes, jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, belly, hips, legs, feet. At each place, pause. Notice what is there. Warmth, tension, numbness, tingling, whatever you find is fine. Spend ten to twenty minutes, or as little as five. A body scan before journaling can help you write from a different place, not from the mind's summary of the day, but from what the body remembers. Our guide to journaling for mindfulness explores this body-centred approach to reflection. In Nightbook, you might find that your evening reflections become more honest when you have first taken a moment to listen to what your body is holding. The stars you record may glow a little differently when they arise from felt experience rather than thought alone.

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