Fifteen minutes, five segments. If the pace feels too slow while you're reading it, it's about right.
Settling
2 min[say early that this one is done lying down — otherwise they'll sit through all fifteen minutes]
Welcome. This is a body scan — fifteen minutes of moving attention slowly through the body, one region at a time. It's best done lying on your back, so if you can, find somewhere to lie down now. A bed, a mat, the floor. [pause for 15 seconds — they may genuinely be getting into position]
Let your arms rest a little away from your sides, palms up or down, whichever is easier. Let your feet fall open.
We're not trying to relax the body, exactly. We're trying to feel it. Relaxation tends to arrive on its own once you stop chasing it.
Take three slower breaths to mark the start. In through the nose. Out through the mouth, with a sigh if you like. [pause for three full breaths, about 20 seconds]
Feet and legs
4 min[name the region, ask one question about it, then leave silence — every region after this follows the same shape]
Bring your attention down to your left foot. All the way down. The toes first — see whether you can feel them individually, or whether they're more of a single blur of sensation. Either answer is fine. We're only looking. [pause for 20 seconds]
Now the sole of the foot, and the heel where it presses down. Notice temperature. Notice pressure. Notice if there's nothing much to notice — that counts too. [pause for 20 seconds]
Let the attention travel up through the ankle, the shin, the calf. Up through the knee. The whole left leg, resting. [pause for 25 seconds]
And now cross over to the right foot, and do the same. Toes. Sole. Heel. [pause for 30 seconds — don't shortchange the second side just because the instruction is shorter]
Ankle, shin, calf, knee. The whole right leg. [pause for 30 seconds]
Hips, back and belly
3 min 30[this is where held tension shows up — allow it rather than implying it shouldn't be there]
Move up into the hips and the pelvis. This is a heavy, solid part of the body. Feel its weight sinking down into whatever's underneath you. [pause for 25 seconds]
Now the lower back. If there's tightness here, you don't need to fix it or breathe it away. Just let it be known. Sometimes being noticed is enough for something to loosen slightly. Sometimes it isn't, and that's alright too. [pause for 30 seconds]
And the belly. Let it be soft. Most of us hold the stomach in without ever deciding to. Feel it rise and fall with the breath. [pause for 30 seconds]
Up through the ribs, and the chest, and the upper back where it rests against the ground. [pause for 30 seconds]
Arms, neck and face
3 min 30[both arms together — by minute eleven nobody wants another side-by-side comparison]
Let your attention spill out along both arms at once. Shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms. All the way down to the hands. [pause for 30 seconds]
Both hands. Palms, fingers, the space between the fingers. Hands often hold a faint buzz or warmth when you look closely. [pause for 25 seconds]
Now up into the neck and throat. Then the jaw — let it unclench. The tongue — let it rest away from the roof of the mouth. [pause for 25 seconds]
The cheeks. The eyes, and the small muscles around them. The forehead. Let the space between the eyebrows widen. [pause for 30 seconds]
And the crown of the head. [pause for 20 seconds]
Whole body, and closing
2 min[bring the voice up over the final three lines — if they've fallen asleep, don't jolt them]
Now let go of the parts. Feel the whole body at once, lying here, breathing. Head to feet, all of it, in one piece. [long pause — 45 seconds]
If you've drifted off at any point, you haven't done it wrong. The body takes rest where it can find it. [pause for 10 seconds, then lift the voice]
When you're ready, start to move. Wiggle the fingers and toes. Stretch if you want to. Roll onto one side before you sit up.
Thank you for giving this fifteen minutes. Take your time getting up.