Lesson 3: Body scan

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is a very popular technique now in the West. We want to relax and have less stress (to work more for our capitalist overlords😉). This technique is not developed to ‘Awaken’ or have interesting experiences. It is a good fit for a busy lifestyle of work and career.

The technique that I introduced before is used for concentration. This is used to get altered states of consciousness or prepare the mind for ‘awakening’ experiences. I also want to offer a technique more similar to MBSR and helpful for one's psychology. This is a technique that helps with difficult emotions and also older traumas.

Getting angry instead of calm, why?

A lot of people try to get more and more concentrated, but often at some point in time, they stumble upon emotional content. This content can be a one-time thing but can also repeat itself over time. When it is repeating itself and ‘obstructing’ the meditation, we call it a purification. This purification is usually an emotional ‘trauma’. It can be very clear what it is or not at all. When it is not clear, it usually manifests as pure emotion or energy.

At one point my own meditation journey, I felt a tension and pain in my chest during the practice. It would wake me up at night and was quite an unpleasant sensation. After more meditation, it disappeared and became something pleasant instead.

One of the best techniques to deal with this is to do body scanning. This scan is aimed at slowly scanning your upper body (throat to genitals). When you slowly scan this area, you will feel more and more sensations over time. You will learn to feel emotions in your body and you can become very connected to your emotions. It can help you understand why you feel things and how to deal with them. It can also release those purifications and make your body ‘lighter’.

Subtle body

We want to connect with our so-called subtle body or energy body. This might sound very woo-woo. However, if you focus a lot on your body, you will feel an energy running through it. One form that is very familiar to people is sexual energy. This is also where the chakras come from. We will not go into that, but just to give you an image.

Body scan meditation

1. Use your breath in your belly as an anchor

2. Go slowly from your belly to your throat, really explore all the sensations going on. You do not have to zoom in as much

3. See where there is tension/pain/opaque feelings (make sure it is not due to posture). This is usually where there is emotional trauma. Start focussing there and around the spot. Return there if you get distracted.

4. The goal is not concentration here, but seeing whatever comes up. You might start analyzing, but in that case, return to the spot. However, it might also be that insights in your psychology arise. Try to be aware of those. This will feel very different to analyzing because it has an emotional feeling. It can also lead to a release of emotions

Practice: Meditation body scan (10 min)

Extra tips for the body scan

Antidote	Description
Half-smile	-
Leaning into the loveliness	When there is fear and loveliness at the same time, the emphasis naturally moves to the fear. See if you can let the fear just be there—not ignoring it, not pushing it away, not denying. And at the same time, see if you can lean into the loveliness.
Cradling	Difficulty is coming up—sadness, anger, etc. See if you can you cradle it and give it space. Like cradling a baby, holding it, surrounding it in warmth, in kindness, in love?
“It’s okay.”	You might be distracted, there might be difficulty. Just repeating to yourself quietly, “It’s okay.” Internalizing the voice, “It’s okay”, whatever’s going ok, “It’s okay.” Dropping that in in a gentle tone of voice.
Shared suffering	When there is difficulty, see if you can think/realise that someone else, somewhere, maybe even right now, is going through something very similar. Opening the heart, realising that you're not alone in this.
Soften the body	Sometimes just focusing on softening the body, even if it feels like stone and the heart feels like stone, just softening the body around what’s going on; softening the muscles, softening the belly. Over and over again.

Practice: Meditation working with the hindrances (10 min)

Think of a time you got angry or stressed

Doormat syndrome

Some people might develop an attitude over time of becoming a doormat, just accepting everything. This is not the goal of meditation. It is good to try to accept everything during your formal meditations, but outside of that is a totally different story. It might also be that you try to be a fun, go with the flow kind of person. This might cause you to suppress your anger and that will have negative results in the future.

A good story to illustrate this is from Sharon Salzberg, a well-known metta (loving-kindness) meditation teacher. She was on her way to a retreat in India when she got attacked by a drunk man. She managed to escape and told her teacher what happened. Her teacher said: You should have taken your umbrella and hit him on the head with all your metta.

Summary

1. This mediation is focused on emotions and the psychological self

2. Use the body scan meditation to scan for emotions in the body

3. Use the antidotes when you are dealing with hindrances

4. Being doormat is not the goal of the practice

Homework

Body scan meditation for 10 minutes a day