Body Scan

or BODY ROTATION OF AWARENESS MEDITATION

Yogis and sages have long recognized a connection between subtle sensations and the state of mind. As a result, they created practices that both helped people to become aware of subtle sensations and bodily tension, and — at the same time — to train the mind to remain unmoved by them. In yoga there is the practice of rotation of awareness that involves taking the conscious mind systematically from one body part to the next. Rotation of awareness can be done either as a standalone practice or as part of broader exercises such as Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep,) or Antar Mouna (literally, “Inner Silence.”) In the Buddhist tradition, systematic scanning of the body is done in Vipassana (Insight) meditation.

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You feel the burning heat of the sun against your skin. Sweat trickles down your spine, setting nerves on edge. Itching sensations flare up on dry patches of skin, feeling like insect bites. After a while, maybe you find yourself irritable or anxious, seemingly without explanation. You may even start holding tension in your body, tension that you aren’t even aware of, tension in your jaw or your feet or your shoulders, tension that may bring headaches or backaches. Those prone to anxiety are even more likely to experience sensory overload.

especially when the sensations are subtle, but a flood of slight sensations can trigger mental or emotional agitation. Often, we don’t understand what is happening. While evidence is yet inconclusive, there is reason to believe that those with anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder may have particular issues with processing sensory information (Bailliard.)

between subtle sensations and the state of mind. As a result, they created practices that both helped people to become aware of subtle sensations and bodily tension, and — at the same time — to train the mind to remain unmoved by them. In yoga there is the practice of rotation of awareness that involves taking the conscious mind systematically from one body part to the next. Rotation of awareness can be done either as a standalone practice or as part of broader exercises such as Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep,) or Antar Mouna (literally, “Inner Silence.”) In the Buddhist tradition, systematic scanning of the body is done in Vipassana (Insight) meditation. 

they all share a couple common characteristics: a.) systematically moving one’s awareness from body part to body part; b.) acknowledgment of sensations without judging or reacting. Over time, the body becomes less intensely reactive to sensations, and there is a corresponding quieting of the mind and emotional responses. The cultivation of non-reactivity (the ability to observe a thing without responding to it) is an important element of any meditation practice, and is central  to developing a quieter mind.

(and consciously relax it) is one reason why scans of the body are frequently done at the beginning of (or early in) many meditation practices. This allows one to clear the slate before the tension and other sensations become a point of unrest in the mind. Otherwise, this unrest will have a stimulative effect on the mind that will make it more difficult to achieve a state of mind that’s conducive to productive meditation. Any time one needs to quiet the mind, for example if one is having trouble falling asleep, a round or more of body scans can help calm a skittish mind.

Bailliard AL, Whigham SC. (2017.) Linking Neuroscience, Function, and Intervention: A Scoping Review of Sensory Processing and Mental Illness. Am J Occup Ther. 71:5. 1-18.

Gibson J. 2019. Mindfulness, Interoception, and the Body: A Contemporary Perspective. Frontiers in psychology , 10: 2012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02012

Szekeres, Roberta A.; Wertheim, Eleanor H. 2015. Evaluation of Vipassana Meditation Course Effects on Subjective Stress, Well-being, Self-kindness and Mindfulness in a Community Sample: Post-course and 6-month Outcomes: Vipassana, Stress, Mindfulness and Well-being. Stress and Health. 31 (5): 373–381.