Week Three

In the third week of this program you will nonjudgmentally pay attention to your bodily sensations in the present moment. The recordings for this week will involve scanning your body to observe any sensations which you experience.

Body Scan Practice

The body scan involves observing each part of your body in a nonjudgmental manner. Your goal in this practice will be to focus on each part of your body for some amount of time, and become aware of how doing so affects your mind. Aim to keep your focus on the present moment and refocus your mind as in wanders (as you did last week).

Nonjudgmental Awareness

A major key to effective mindfulness meditation practice is to avoid judging the sensations you observe. To go back to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition, “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” This entails keeping your mind on your body and breath, even when it is inclined to engage in thought patterns which judge what you observe.

In the first practice for this week you will focus on your present moment bodily sensations. As you scan your body, try not to dwell on the past or anticipate the future, but rather just observe your sensations in the present moment. If you notice your mind has drifted away from the practice, acknowledge that it has gone awry and refocus it to your body.

Bodily Sensations Awareness Practice

Click the button below to access a Bodily Sensations Awareness recording

Bodily Sensations Awareness Exercise

Review of Bodily Sensations Awareness Practice

Did any body part stand out in this practice?

As you completed the body scan, did any part of your body occupy your mind and draw it’s attention more than others? If there was anything that clearly drew your attention, please note it in the tracking sheet for this week. A key step to recognizing what draws your attention as you practice mindfulness is to identify the regions of your body that are most conspicuous. As John Kabat-Zinn wrote, “With the help of body scan meditation, you can better pinpoint the different physical sensations you feel in your body and identify why you have those sensations. Once you have those physical and emotional sensations identified, it can help you increase your self-awareness and might make you feel better from the negative thoughts and feelings you have” (Kabat-Zinn).

Was is hard to refocus your attention when you mind was drawn to something?

When you noticed your mind wandering, did any thought pattern hold on to your attention more firmly? Was anything you came across in your practice particularly hard to stop thinking about? In the tracking sheet for this week, please note anything that stood out as particularly captivating to your mind.

Practice Goals for this Week

For this week of practices, I recommend you prioritize connecting your bodily sensations to your thought processes. Continue to note any bodily sensations that stand out, and note how they draw and hang on to your attention.

Try to be mindful if there something productive you could do before your next practice to make it more peaceful.

I like to say that the practice doesn’t start when you sit down and start to breathe. Rather, it starts in the day ahead of your practice when you have an opportunity to get a good night of sleep, eat nutritious meals, get some exercise, or do anything else which will improve the state of your body. The next week of this program will focus on being mindful of what you do in the hours ahead of your practice, so you will especially focus on doing that after this week. But for now, begin to explore how your choices before you start the practice affect how you feel during it.