With the hubbub and busy life everyone experiences, it’s no surprise that many people are stressed out these days. And with stress comes both physical and psychological discomfort.
You could be getting headaches, backaches, and tense muscles, and it’s probably due to all the stress you carry around on your shoulders.
But thankfully, there’s an answer to everything, and the one for stress is the age-old skill of meditation. Meditation ranges from breathing meditation to visualization meditation and everything in between.
One of these meditation techniques is body scan visualization, and this blog is here to tell you everything you need to know about it!
What is body scan visualization?
Body scan visualization is a meditation technique in which you step away from your busy life and start paying attention to everything happening to you and your body. You mentally try to scan your entire body from head to toe, noticing every feeling you experience on the physical plane.
This technique generally involves activating your awareness by feeling every sensation and releasing tension as you do so.
You could say that it’s another form of relaxing (though a much more effective version)!
How can you practice body scan meditation?
There is no fixed way to complete this practice, as it’s different for everyone. However, here are a few guidelines you can follow to streamline your visualization so that you can reap all the benefits.
1. Get into position
For this, you just need to find a comfortable position that lets you relax. You can do this by lying on your side or your back or in any other position that feels comfortable for you.
2. Breath in deeply
This step is self-explanatory, but let’s go through it anyway.
Bring your body to a complete stillness for a moment, and then release control of only your breath. Watch it, observe it, feel it as it moves in and out of your lungs and body.
Doing this for about two minutes should be enough to get you into the zone.
3. Bring your attention to your feet
Before beginning the full-body scan, you should probably start at your feet. While there’s no hard and fast rule, it is an option you can utilize.
4. Scan upwards (the front of your body)
It’s easier to do one side at a time, so start with your front. Bring the mental scan of your body upwards and slowly move along with it, from your feet to your legs, to your torso, and up, up, up, until you reach the crown of your head.
5. Scan upwards (the back of your body)
It’s time to go back to your feet and restart the process – this time for your backside.
6. Return your attention to your breath
You’re done with your body scan! It’s time to go full circle, and that means pulling your awareness back to your breathing.
Just relax and feel your body taking in oxygen, letting out carbon dioxide…
That was some ride, wasn’t it?
7 Benefits of practicing body scan visualization
Now you know how to practice body scan mindfulness, but you might still be wondering, what are the benefits that come with it? Of course, we’ve been talking about the probable benefits for a while, so we have compiled a list to make everything easy for you to understand.
1. It helps reduce pain
When people are in pain, they have trouble focusing on the world around them or other important things. That’s why body scan visualization is so necessary!
If pain is your undoing, practice this meditation and lessen its rage on your body.
Research shows that even one session reduces the amount of pain felt or at least helps manage it better, allowing you to focus on things other than the chronic or debilitating pain.
2. It helps you get better sleep
Have you ever been wracked with anxiety while sleeping? It isn’t easy to manage, and these days, not only is your amount of sleep compromised, but so is its quality.
Thankfully, you can improve the quality and quantity of your sleep with full-body meditation, making it restful and fulfilling.
3. It can help manage symptoms of PTSD
Trauma or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be difficult to manage at the best of times. Luckily, some therapists have suggested body scan meditation for better management of symptoms.
4. It promotes greater self-awareness
Meditation is a way to observe oneself without judgment. Because of this, body scanning is a great way to increase your self-awareness since you tend to learn more about yourself.
Your body is at your command, and you start to learn everything about it, and therefore, about yourself.
5. It increases self-compassion
With self-awareness and looking at your own body through a non-judgmental lens comes self-compassion and self-care. You learn why your body works the way it does, its limitations, its flaws… and you learn to love yourself despite all of them.
6. It improves focus
You must have started noticing that your focus is nowhere near as sharp somewhere in the middle of the day. Sometimes, you even tend to lose focus in the mornings when stress, anxiety, and fear weigh you down.
Fortunately, you can reset your inner clock and mind by giving yourself a break from all the work and distractions that surround you with a little bit of body scanning, improving your focus for the next few hours.
7. It reduces stress
The seventh benefit (but certainly the one everyone wants) is that body scan visualization helps lessen stress and anxiety. In fact, it can sometimes help you release the tension you didn’t even know you had!
From a chronic stress state to a relaxed state, a body scan is here to help you out.
Conclusion
Here you have it! A complete guide to practicing body scan meditation and relieving your stress. Relax, breathe out, and let go of your stress.
Now that you know how to practice body scan visualization and all the benefits that come with it, aren’t you interested in starting it?
While we made an entire blog for you to take advantage of, we know more information about this meditation technique that you might want to know. So if you’re looking for those extra details, you might want to visit Healthline or Dr. Axe.
Check out more of our articles here!
