Chapter 10: The Body Scan in a Chair

Tonight's Lesson

Last evening we took our first real step into meditation. We chose an anchor, such as the breath, sounds or the feeling of the chair, and we practised noticing when the mind wandered and returning to the anchor kindly. Many of you found that you rarely counted all the way to ten, which is exactly how it goes for everyone.

Tonight we build on that work with a practice called the body scan. In a body scan, attention moves slowly through the body, one part at a time, usually from the feet up to the head. At each place, we simply notice what is there: warmth or coolness, pressure, tingling, tightness, ease, or nothing much at all. We do not try to fix anything. We look, we feel, and we move on. Many of you may find it one of the most restful parts of the course.

The body scan matters for sleep for a simple reason. At the end of a busy day, attention usually lives in our thoughts: plans, conversations, lists, things we wish we had said. The body is there, but we hardly feel it. A body scan brings attention down from the thinking head into the whole body, slowly and in order, and that slow, orderly journey is calming in itself. It is also a practice you can take to bed, and at the end of the lecture I will show you a short version for the moment you lie down.

What a Body Scan Is

Let us begin with what we mean by attention to the body. All day long, the body sends us small signals: the weight of the feet on the floor, the touch of clothes on the skin, the warmth of the hands, the movement of the breath. Most of them pass by unnoticed. A body scan is a way of turning toward these signals on purpose. It uses the same skill you practised in the last lesson, choosing where to place attention and returning when it drifts, but instead of staying with one anchor, the anchor moves slowly from place to place.

The order is simple. We usually start at the feet, because they are far from the busy head and because they have clear sensations: the floor beneath them, the socks around them, perhaps warmth or cold. From the feet we move to the ankles and lower legs, then the knees and thighs, then the hips and the seat on the chair. From there we travel up through the belly and the lower back, the chest and the upper back, then out along the arms to the hands, back up to the shoulders and neck, and finally to the face and the top of the head. Tonight I will guide you, and after a few evenings the order will feel natural.

The heart of the practice is noticing without changing. When your attention arrives at the knees, for example, you are not asking the knees to relax or to feel a certain way. You are only asking, "What is here right now?" Perhaps there is the press of the fabric, a little ache, a feeling of heaviness, or warmth from the hands resting nearby. Whatever you find is the right answer, because it is simply what is true at this moment. Most of our day is spent judging and correcting; in a body scan, nothing needs to be improved.

It often happens, though, that a part of the body softens on its own when we give it attention. Shoulders that have been lifted toward the ears all evening may drop a little the moment we notice them. A tight jaw may loosen. This is welcome, but it is not the goal. If we make softening the goal, the body scan turns into another task, and we start to feel that we are failing when a part stays tight. So we hold it lightly: if a part softens, good; if it does not, that is also fine, and we move on.

Why do we learn this in a chair rather than in bed? There are two reasons. First, sitting upright helps us stay awake enough to learn the practice. Many people who first try it lying down fall asleep before they reach the knees, and so never learn the whole journey. Second, the chair gives clear sensations to notice: the seat under the hips, the chair back behind you if you lean on it, the floor under the feet. These points of contact give the attention something steady to hold. Once you know the practice well in the chair, you can use a short form of it in bed, where falling asleep is exactly what we hope for.

Meeting Tension and Discomfort Gently

When you start to pay attention to the body, you will not only find pleasant feelings. You may notice tension you had not been aware of: a tight neck, a clenched hand, a stiff lower back after a long day. Usually the scan has not made you more tense; it has simply shown you tension that was already there. Tension we do not notice tends to stay with us into the night; tension we notice can at least be met with a little care.

Here is a gentle way to meet tension. When you find a tight area, pause there for one or two breaths. Notice its size and its edges: is it a small point or a wide area? Is it sharp, dull, warm, buzzing? Then, on a slow breath out, you may invite that area to soften slightly, the way you might loosen your grip on a cup. If it softens, notice that. If it does not, simply notice that too, and move on to the next part. You are not fighting the tension; you greet it and let it be.

Discomfort and pain are a little different. If you notice mild discomfort, such as an ache in a knee or stiffness in a hip, you are welcome to change your position: move the foot a little, shift on the seat, lean against the chair back. That is part of looking after yourself. If you find real pain, there is no need to keep your attention on it. You may move your attention to a comfortable part of the body, such as the hands or the feet on the floor, and rest there for a while. Pain that is new, strong or lasting deserves care outside the practice, and if you are unsure whether a movement suits you, ask a doctor.

You may also reach a part of the body and feel nothing at all. Perhaps the shins or the upper arms seem silent. This is very common, and it is not a sign that you are doing it wrong. "No clear feeling here" is a perfectly good thing to notice. You can rest on that part for a breath or two, perhaps noticing the touch of clothing or the air on the skin, and then move on.

Finally, let us talk about the body scan in bed. Once you are lying down, with the light off, you can do a short scan in five steps, taking a few slow breaths at each. First, the feet and legs, feeling their weight on the mattress. Second, the hips and the back, resting on the bed. Third, the belly and chest, rising and falling with the breath. Fourth, the hands, arms and shoulders, letting them be heavy. Fifth, the face: the jaw, the eyes, the forehead. If you are still awake at the end, you can begin again at the feet, more slowly. If you fall asleep somewhere along the way, that is not an unfinished practice. That is the practice doing its quiet work.

The Thirty-Minute Practice

Tonight's practice has a shorter moving part, so that the body scan can have a little more time. Please prepare as usual: your sturdy chair, without wheels, on a non-slip floor, ideally with its back against a wall; your feet flat on the floor, or on a folded blanket or firm block if the seat is high. Choose soft light, comfortable clothes and perhaps warm socks, since the feet are the first stop in the scan. Keep a glass of water nearby. As always, if you feel pain, dizziness or shortness of breath at any point, stop, rest and breathe normally, and come out of every movement slowly.

Minutes 1 to 3: Arriving. Sit down and let yourself arrive. Place both feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart, with the knees roughly over the ankles. Feel your weight resting on your sitting bones, the two firm points at the base of the pelvis that touch the seat. Let your hands rest on your thighs, palms down or up, whichever feels better tonight. Let the spine be long without being stiff, and let the shoulders be soft. Close your eyes, or let them rest softly on the floor a little in front of you. For these first minutes, simply notice that you are here, in the chair, at the end of the day. Nothing else is needed yet.

Minutes 4 to 8: Breathing. Let the breath come through the nose if that is comfortable. For the first minute, just notice the breath without changing it: the cool air coming in, the slightly warmer air going out, the belly and ribs moving. Then begin to let the breath out become a little longer than the breath in. If it suits you, breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of six, counting softly in your mind. If that is too long, try in for three and out for four, or just let the breath out be slightly slower. Never hold the breath, and if counting makes you tense, let the counting go and breathe naturally. Continue like this for about four minutes, letting each breath out feel like setting something down.

Minutes 9 to 17: Moving. We begin with the neck and shoulders, from Chapter 5. Sit tall with the hands on the thighs. On a breath out, lower the chin slowly toward the chest, only as far as is comfortable; on a breath in, bring the head back up to level. Do this slow nod five times. Then turn the head gently to the right on a breath out, as if looking over your shoulder, only as far as is easy, and bring it back to the centre on a breath in; then turn to the left. Do three turns to each side. Next, on a breath in, lift both shoulders up toward the ears, and on a breath out, let them drop softly down. Repeat four times. Finish with four slow shoulder rolls backward, drawing circles with the tops of the shoulders, then rest.

Now the spine, from Chapter 6. Bring both hands to rest on your knees. On a breath in, gently lift the chest forward and up, letting the lower back arch a little, while the chin stays level and the head does not drop back: this is the cow. On a breath out, round the back softly, letting the chin come toward the chest and the belly draw in a little: this is the cat. Move slowly between the two for six breaths, keeping the movement small and easy. Then return to sitting tall. Rest your left hand on the seat beside you. On a breath in, lift your right arm up only as high as is comfortable; on a breath out, lean gently to the left, making a soft curve along the right side. Stay for two breaths, then come back up on a breath in and lower the arm. Do the same to the other side.

Next, the feet, from Chapter 7. Keep your left foot flat on the floor. Lift the right foot a little, or slide it forward so that only the heel touches the floor. Slowly draw circles with the right ankle, five in one direction and five in the other. Then point the toes away from you on a breath out and draw them back toward you on a breath in, five times. Lower the foot slowly and do the same with the left foot. If lifting the foot is tiring, keep the heel on the floor the whole time; the movement can be very small. When you finish, set both feet flat and notice how they feel. This will help you begin the body scan in a few minutes.

Last, the hands, from Chapter 8. Hold the forearms in front of you with the elbows bent and relaxed, or rest the elbows on the thighs. Make slow wrist circles, five in each direction. Then spread the fingers wide on a breath in and gently close the hands on a breath out, five times. Let the hands rest on the thighs again, palms up or down. Take two natural breaths. If at any point during these movements you felt strain, let the next movement be smaller, or simply sit and breathe; that is a full part of the practice.

Minutes 18 to 27: Stillness, the body scan. Settle into your sitting position. If you like, shift back so that your back rests against the chair back, while the feet stay flat on the floor. Close your eyes or let the gaze rest on the floor. Take three slow breaths. Now bring your attention to your feet. Notice the soles pressing on the floor, the toes, the heels, the tops of the feet in your socks. Notice warmth or coolness, pressure, tingling, or nothing much. Stay for a few breaths. Then let attention rise to the ankles and the lower legs, the shins in front, the calves behind. Then the knees, and the thighs, feeling the weight of the hands resting on them. Then the hips and the seat: the sitting bones on the chair, the whole weight of the body held up by the chair. Take a few breaths here, letting the chair do the work.

Now move up to the belly. Feel it gently rising on the breath in and falling on the breath out. Notice the lower back, perhaps touching the chair back, perhaps not. Move up to the chest and ribs, widening a little with each breath in, and the upper back between the shoulder blades. If you find tension anywhere, pause for a breath or two, and on a breath out, invite that place to soften slightly. If it stays as it is, let it be and move on. If the mind wanders to the day or to tomorrow, notice where it went, and kindly bring it back to the part of the body where you left off, just as you returned to the breath in the last lesson.

Now let attention travel to the hands. Feel the palms, the backs of the hands, each finger, perhaps the warmth where they rest on the thighs. Move up through the wrists and forearms to the elbows and upper arms, then to the shoulders. Notice whether the shoulders are lifted, and let them be heavy if they wish to be. Bring attention to the neck, front and back. Then to the face: the jaw, letting the teeth part slightly and the tongue rest; the cheeks; the lips; the eyes, softening behind the closed lids; the forehead; and finally the top of the head. For the last minute or two, widen attention to take in the whole body at once, sitting here, breathing, from the soles of the feet to the top of the head.

Minutes 28 to 30: Closing. Let the breath become a little fuller for two or three breaths. Wiggle the fingers and toes gently. If your eyes were closed, open them slowly and look at something nearby in the soft light. When you are ready, place both hands on the thighs or the seat and come to standing slowly, pausing for a moment before you walk, in case you feel light-headed. Take a sip of water if you like. Then go to bed without turning on bright lights or picking up a screen, and once you are lying down, try the short five-step body scan from tonight's lecture.

Common Questions

A common question is, "Should I go from the feet to the head, or from the head to the feet?" Both are practised, and either is fine. In this course we go from the feet upward, because the feet have clear sensations and are far from the busy head, which helps the mind settle. Many people also find it restful to end at the face and head, because the face is where much of the day's tension shows. What matters is that the attention moves slowly and in some order, so that the mind has a clear path to follow.

Another question is, "My mind wandered so often that I lost my place. Did I do it wrong?" No. The wandering mind we met in the last lesson does not stop because we are scanning the body. When you notice that you have drifted, simply return to the last part you remember, or to the nearest part that is easy to feel, such as the hands or the feet on the floor. There is no need to go back to the beginning; each return is the practice. Some evenings the scan will be smooth; on other evenings it will be full of returns, and both kinds of evening count.

People also ask, "I became very sleepy in the chair. Should I keep going?" If you are so sleepy that your head drops, that is a clear message from your body. You may shorten the scan, take a few breaths, and come to the closing, then stand slowly and go to bed. Sleepiness in the evening is welcome. In the chair, though, please do not let yourself fall fully asleep sitting up, since you could tip to one side or wake up stiff. Save the falling asleep for bed, where the short version of the scan is waiting for you.

Finally, some ask, "The scan made me more aware of an ache. Is that a problem?" Noticing is not the same as causing. Usually the ache was there already, and the scan simply showed it to you. You can change your position, rest your attention on a comfortable part of the body, and continue. If an ache or pain is strong, new, or stays with you for days, please do not practise through it; rest, and talk to a doctor about it.

Summary

A body scan moves attention slowly through the body, usually from the feet to the head, noticing what is there in each part. It uses the same skill as our meditation in the last lesson: placing attention, noticing when it wanders, and returning kindly.

The heart of the practice is noticing without changing. Warmth, pressure, tightness, ease or no clear feeling are all good things to notice, because they are simply what is true right now.

When you meet tension, pause for a breath or two and, on a breath out, invite the area to soften slightly. If it softens, notice that; if not, let it be and move on.

Discomfort can be met by changing position, and pain by moving attention to a comfortable part of the body. Pain that is strong, new or lasting deserves care outside the practice.

Learning the scan in a chair helps you stay awake enough to learn the whole journey, and the points of contact with the chair and the floor give attention something steady to hold.

In bed, a short five-step scan can help you settle: feet and legs, hips and back, belly and chest, hands, arms and shoulders, and the face. Falling asleep along the way is the practice doing its quiet work.