The Power of Conscious Breathing – Part 2

Continuing my series on breathing and relaxation techniques for the relief of stress and greater self-awareness, I offer you this highly effective body scan meditation inspired by the book Meditation: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world. 

This beautifully simple technique invites you to move your attention and focus around the body. It helps to develop your capacity to pay sustained attention. It takes less than 15 minutes to complete and is best done twice each day – my suggestion is to practice this while lying in bed upon waking and immediately before bed (it goes a long way to helping settle you for a good night’s sleep!). Set yourself the goal of doing this for the next 6 days to truly notice the benefits. These will likely include, as above, sleeping better, and becoming progressively more efficient in all areas of your life as you become more mindful of what you are doing at any point in time, instead of being caught up in old, unhelpful patterns of thinking.  

1. Lie on your back with eyes closed, legs uncrossed and arms relaxed by your sides. Focus on your breathing for a couple of minutes until you start to feel relaxed.
2. Now focus on the toes on your right foot. Notice any sensations you feel, while still focussing on your breathing. Imagine each deep breath flowing into your toes. Remain focussed on this area for about 5 - 10 seconds.
3. Move your focus to the sole of the right foot. Notice any sensations there and imagine each breath flowing through the sole of your foot. Now repeat for your ankle, the lower leg, the knee, the thigh and the hip. Repeat for the left leg. Then move up the torso, through the lower back and lower abdomen, the upper back and chest, the shoulders; the fingers, hands and arms; the neck, face and head. Pay close attention to any area of the body that is holding some tension, or causes you pain or discomfort, but don’t get caught up in commentary and analysis of any particular sensation. Just observe.
4. After completing the body scan, relax for a time in silence and stillness, noting how your body feels. Then slowly open your eyes and stretch if starting your day, or drift off into a peaceful sleep at night.

Brett Dengate – Senior L&D Consultant