A body scan is a short practice where you move your attention slowly through the body, noticing physical sensations without trying to change them. To do one: settle somewhere comfortable, then bring attention to each area in turn, from the feet to the head or the other way, pausing a few breaths at each. It usually takes five to fifteen minutes.
A body scan is a mindfulness practice where you deliberately move your attention through the body, part by part, noticing whatever sensation is there.
You're not trying to relax on command or fix anything. The task is just to notice, warmth, tightness, tingling, or nothing at all, and move on. It builds interoception, the sense of your body's internal state, which research links closely to how we experience emotion (Critchley and Garfinkel).
1. Find a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, and let your eyes close or soften.
2. Take a few slower breaths to arrive. Nothing forced, just settle.
3. Bring your attention to one end of the body, usually the feet or the top of the head.
4. Rest your attention on that area for a few breaths. Notice any sensation, or the absence of one.
5. Move to the next area, ankles, calves, knees, and repeat, working steadily through the whole body.
6. If your mind wanders, that's normal. Gently return to where you left off.
7. When you reach the other end, take a breath and notice the body as a whole before you finish.
A body scan can take anywhere from about three to twenty minutes.
Shorter scans work as a quick check-in during the day; longer ones give you time to move slowly without rushing. Many people do one in the morning, before sleep, or whenever they notice they're wound up. There's no single right time, the one you'll actually do is the best one.
It's common to feel calmer or more settled after a body scan, and just as common to feel restless or to notice tension you'd been ignoring. Both are fine.
One honest note: how accurately people read their own body varies, and feeling more aware doesn't always mean you're more accurate (Clemente and colleagues). Treat what you notice as information to reflect on, not a precise readout. If you'd like a structured place to start noticing where tension tends to sit, Felti's 2-minute quiz maps where you hold stress to a likely emotional driver.
A body scan is a mindfulness practice where you move your attention slowly through the body, part by part, noticing physical sensations without trying to change them. It's often used to reconnect with the body and build awareness of tension.
Get comfortable, take a few settling breaths, then bring your attention to one end of the body and move through each area in turn, pausing a few breaths at each. When your mind wanders, return to where you left off.
Anywhere from about three to twenty minutes. Short scans work as a quick check-in; longer ones let you move slowly through each area without rushing. There's no required length.
Whatever is actually there, warmth, tightness, tingling, or nothing in some areas. You might feel more settled, or notice tension you'd been ignoring. Both are normal; the practice is noticing, not achieving a particular state.
A body scan is one type of meditation, focused on physical sensation, while meditation is the wider family that also includes breath-focused and open-awareness practices.