The Benefits of Body Scans: Understanding Your Health from the Inside Out

Do you ever feel detached from your bodily experience? Maybe you have a partner who often asks why your shoulders are hunched. Maybe you notice lower back tension only after an intimidating conversation. Often, our thoughts take precedent over noticing and engaging with the messages our bodies communicate to us through sensations.

Body scan—what is it?

First, a body is not a metal detector, MRI, or scale looking for some definable evidence of flaw. Rather, a body scan is like a warm hug from a best friend, a good meal shared with family, refreshing workout, or a manicure at a spa. A body scan reconnects us with the organism which gives us life and creates connections with others.

A body scan can be brief. Nevertheless, it is a tool to notice oneself. Scanning observes sensations rather than judging thoughts or emotions. Scanning opens one’s eyes to new ways of feeling the world and empathizing with those in it--especially ourselves.

So, do not think of a body scan as something to notice danger. The body scan opens us to a new language our whole selves communicate with--sensations. These sensations may be connected to thoughts and/or emotions. Sesnsations are not dangerous. Sensations simply are. Take the time to notice, feel, observe, and sit with the sensations. What might your body be communicating to you? And, if they feel as if they are getting carried away within your body, take a few deep breaths in through your nose and deep in your stomach and out through your mouth like you are gently blowing a dandelion on the first day of Spring.

How do I engage with body scanning?

A body scan can be done at home, at work, school, sitting in a parking lot, or waiting for someone before a coffee meeting. First, try the scan in your bed. Maybe it is before you go to sleep, after you wake-up, or even after an exhausting day at work. Set a timer for 10-minutes. Breathe deeply through your nose into your abdomen and release slowly through mouth as if you are blowing those dandelions in the wind. As you do so, imagine the breath moving through your body. Start with the base of your feet--What do you feel? Slowly, gently, and at your own pace, move from your feet to your ankles, to your shins, knees, and all the way up your body. Take inventory of particularly curious sensations. We are not diagnosing. We are noticing. Once you have completed the scan, consider journaling, recording a voice memo, or sharing with a loved one your experience.

The purpose of a body scan is to connect with oneself and with others more deeply. If you do feel concerning sensations, contact a medical provider, mental health counselor, and/or trusted relationship. If I can be of support to connecting to your fullest self, please reach out for a discovery call or intake session.