Body scanning is a quick way to relax your body. It involves going from head to toe, looking for tension in different areas of the body, then letting go of that tension.
Begin by focusing on your scalp and noticing any tension, discomfort, tightness, or pain in that area of your body. Study the tension, then slowly let go of it. Let the scalp muscles smooth out. Now move your attention to your forehead and notice any tension, tightness, wrinkles, or discomfort. Slowly let go of the tension by letting the muscles smooth out and feel relaxed. Then move to your next area of your body, the jaw. Notice the tightness and tension in your jaw muscles and let it go by letting your jaw become loose and slack.
You can do the rest on your own by going through these parts of the body:
Shoulders
Arms & hands
Upper back, middle back, & lower back
Abdomen/stomach
Hamstring & thigh muscles
Knees
Calf Muscles
Ankles
Feet
Next, be aware of your entire body and notice if some tension has slipped back in to a part of the body. Passively focus on that part of your body, then let it go.
You can take as much or as little time to do a body scan as you want to. It can take 1 minute or 20 minutes, but either way, you should feel relaxed and refreshed afterwards.
