Practice a Body Scan Meditation

Top 10 Benefits of Meditation:

• Reduced Stress.
• Emotional Balance.
• Increased Focus.
• Reduced Pain.
• Reduced Anxiety.
• Increased Creativity.
• Reduced Depression.
• Increased Memory

Carve out time in your schedule to practice a 15-minute body scan meditation practice. You will thank yourself afterwards. Set an alarm for 15 minutes or longer if you care to. As the wise old saying states “if you don’t have time to meditate for an hour everyday, you should meditate for two hours”. We can make time to do the things we prioritize if we care to do so.

Lay flat on a couch or flat comfortable surface allowing yourself to go through a progression from physical awareness to mental realization, and then to an emotional release to become present in the moment. Become aware of your body becoming a bit heavier as you put your focus into your body instead of everything outside of your physical being. From here focus on your breathing becoming deeper and longer with pauses between each inhale and exhale.

Start at your head and work your way towards your feet. This allows you to release muscular tension as you move downwards ending in your toes and then out and away from your body. Become aware of the tension in your eyelids, eyebrows, jaw, and lips allowing you to relax these same areas by first tensing and then releasing the muscles.

Feel the tension in your upper back, and move your neck and shoulders a little side to side, and up and down to feel the contrast between tension and relaxation of these areas. Stressful emotions of anxiety or frustration develop in your neck and shoulders. Once you direct your focus on these muscle areas, you may be able to engage them with your thoughts to relax them and the surrounding muscle areas.

Work your way down through your torso, letting your skin and muscles hang and sink into the couch beneath you. Your hip bones (pelvis) sink into your glutes. Once you are comfortable with the physical awareness of your body, move on to becoming aware of your senses and what is occurring in your immediate environment. Your fingertips and toe tips may tingle when you focus more so on your breathing, all while relaxing of muscular tension throughout your whole body.

When your alarm goes off, open your eyes slowly and re-enter into seeing what is around you. The rest of your body may be more relaxed and comfortable, while feeling calm and refreshed thereafter. The room may appear slightly brighter and sharper. You usually will feel better during and after these practices. Sensations of feeling more refreshed, more calm, more aware, and even more energetic after each session. This session allowed you to “reset” your tension in your body, while releasing mental stress. When your body is relaxed, your emotions become neutral or calm once again.

These practice sessions may become priceless for some people. With these methods, you can have control over your well-being on the levels of physical (body), mental (mind) and emotional (self-awareness). Often, I see people who are constantly seeking the goals of achieving pleasure, peacefulness, joy, love, compassion, ecstasy, and bliss but not being aware that we ourselves are in control of gaining and maintaining these aspects of our lives.

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Qigong, tai chi, baguazhang, and yoga are not the only methods that can be used within this formula but have proven the test of time as methods to cultivate harmony of the mind, body and spirit. These exercise practices offer a wide spectrum of physical wellness benefits, stress relief as well as means of self-awareness.  Not all teachers nor students practice these for the same goals.

For more info, contact Jim Moltzan at info@mindandbodyexercises.com, 407-234-0119 or through my site at http://www.mindandbodyexercises.com