- A body scan is a meditation in which attention moves systematically through regions of the body, usually from the toes to the top of the head, while sitting or lying down.
- The body scan is one of the three main techniques of MBSR, with sitting meditation and simple yoga; MBSR grew from the Stress Reduction Clinic Jon Kabat-Zinn founded at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979.
- A standard MBSR course runs 8 weeks, with weekly group sessions of about 2.5 hours, a day-long retreat and about 45 minutes of daily home practice.
- In Kabat-Zinn's first published study (1982), 65 % of 51 chronic pain patients reported at least a third less pain after a 10-week programme; the study had no control group.
- A 2022 meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials (Gan and colleagues) found that a body scan practised alone has only a small effect on mindfulness (g = 0.27) and no clear effect on health outcomes.
- The timer on this page runs a body scan of 9 body areas, 2 minutes each, 18 minutes in total, with a soft singing-bowl strike at each change.
What is a body scan meditation?
A body scan meditation is a practice in which you move attention slowly through the body, region by region, and notice the sensations in each place: warmth, pressure, tingling, contact with the floor, or nothing at all. You do not relax the area on purpose or change anything; you only notice.
Usually the scan starts at the toes and ends at the top of the head, sitting or lying down. Each region gets a short stretch of time, then attention moves on, and at the end attention often widens to the whole body at once.
The skill is the same as in any attention practice: the mind drifts, you notice, you come back. The difference is that the anchor keeps moving, which gives the mind a fresh place to land every couple of minutes. For some people that is easier than staying with the breath for a whole session.
Where does the body scan come from? Jon Kabat-Zinn and MBSR
The body scan as it is taught today comes from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which grew out of the Stress Reduction Clinic that Jon Kabat-Zinn founded at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979 (Wikipedia, “Mindfulness-based stress reduction”).
The first published results (Kabat-Zinn, General Hospital Psychiatry, 1982) came from 51 patients with chronic pain who had not improved with usual medical care and took part in a 10-week programme. Afterwards 65 % reported at least a 33 % reduction in their pain rating and 50 % at least a 50 % reduction; mood disturbance also fell. The study had no control group, a limitation the author discussed himself, so it shows what happened to the participants, not what caused it.
MBSR later became the template for much of the mindfulness research. The body scan is introduced in its first weeks:
| Element | In a standard MBSR course |
|---|---|
| Length | 8 weeks |
| Group sessions | Weekly, about 2.5 hours each |
| Retreat day | About 7 hours of practice, between sessions six and seven |
| Home practice | About 45 minutes a day |
| Main techniques | Sitting mindfulness meditation, the body scan and simple yoga; walking meditation is also taught |
Course details as summarised in Wikipedia's article on MBSR, which cites a meta-analysis.
How to do a body scan meditation, step by step
To do a body scan, lie or sit comfortably, close your eyes, and move attention through the body from the feet to the head, spending a minute or two in each area and simply noticing what you feel.
- Lie on your back on a mat or a bed with your arms by your sides, or sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
- Close your eyes, or rest your gaze softly on one spot.
- Take a few breaths and feel the whole body resting on the surface beneath you.
- Bring attention to the toes and soles of the feet. Notice temperature, pressure, the touch of socks or air, tingling, or the absence of any sensation.
- When the bell sounds, let that area go and move to the next. Do not hurry ahead or go back.
- If the mind wanders, notice where it went, then return to the area you were on.
- In the last stage, feel the body as a whole: its outline, its weight, the breath moving through it.
- Before getting up, move your fingers and toes and open your eyes slowly.
Inner words matter little. Some people name sensations briefly (“warm”, “pressure”, “nothing”); others just feel. Both are fine.
Body scan order: nine areas, two minutes each
The timer on this page scans nine areas in a fixed order, from the feet up to the head and then the whole body, with two minutes for each and a soft singing-bowl strike at every change: 18 minutes in all. The current area is shown on screen, so you do not need to remember the sequence.
| Stage | Area | Minutes | What to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feet and toes | 0 to 2 | Contact with the floor or the bed, temperature, each toe if you can |
| 2 | Calves and knees | 2 to 4 | The weight of the lower legs, the backs of the knees |
| 3 | Thighs and hips | 4 to 6 | Pressure where the body meets the surface |
| 4 | Belly and lower back | 6 to 8 | The movement of the breath in the belly |
| 5 | Chest and upper back | 8 to 10 | The rise and fall of the ribs, the shoulder blades |
| 6 | Arms and hands | 10 to 12 | Fingertips, palms, the weight of the arms |
| 7 | Neck and shoulders | 12 to 14 | Any tightness, without trying to release it |
| 8 | Face and head | 14 to 16 | Jaw, eyes, forehead, scalp |
| 9 | The whole body together | 16 to 18 | The body as one field of sensation |
This order is one common pattern, not a rule. In MBSR the scan usually runs from the toes to the top of the head; some teachers start at the head or move one limb at a time. For a shorter scan, use the meditation timer with interval bells every minute and move through the same nine areas in nine minutes.
Does body scan meditation work? What the research says
As part of a full mindfulness course the body scan sits within a reasonable evidence base, but practised on its own it has only a small effect: a 2022 meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials (Gan, Zhang and Chen, Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being) found a small improvement in mindfulness compared with passive control (Hedges' g = 0.27) and no clear benefit for health outcomes.
The quality of the included studies was low and their results varied widely. The authors' conclusion was blunt: “A sole body scan meditation is not effective enough to improve health-related outcomes.” That does not make the practice useless. It means the effects reported in mindfulness research come from whole programmes, where the body scan is combined with sitting meditation, movement and weeks of practice; those programmes are summarised on the meditation timer page.
| What was studied | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10-week mindfulness programme for chronic pain, 51 patients | 65 % had at least a third less pain; no control group | Kabat-Zinn, 1982 |
| Body scan alone, 14 randomised trials | Small effect on mindfulness (g = 0.27); no clear effect on health outcomes; low study quality | Gan and colleagues, 2022 |
| Body scan for sleep | One single-patient case study; no controlled studies | Iliakis and colleagues, 2024 |
The honest reading: the body scan is a good way in and a useful part of a routine, but not a stand-alone remedy.
Should you lie down or sit for a body scan?
Both are used: MBSR introduces the body scan sitting or lying down, and lying on your back is the classic position, though it makes falling asleep more likely.
Lying down lets every part of the body rest, so contact and weight are easy to feel. The cost is drowsiness. If you keep falling asleep halfway through, sit in a chair, or lie with your knees bent and feet on the floor, a position some people find keeps them more awake. If you want the scan to lead into sleep, lying in bed is the obvious choice.
No study has compared postures for meditation outcomes, so choose by purpose: sitting for an alert daytime practice, lying down for rest.
What if you feel pain, itching or nothing at all?
Whatever you find in an area is the right answer, including nothing: the body scan asks you to notice sensations as they are, not to produce particular ones.
- Nothing: blank areas are part of the scan. Note “no clear sensation here” and stay with the area until the bell.
- Itching: notice it first, where exactly it is, how strong, whether it changes. If you decide to scratch, do it slowly and with attention, then return.
- Tension or discomfort: you do not have to fix it. Notice its edges and how it changes. If it becomes painful, change position; the practice is not an endurance test.
- Pain from a health condition: the 1982 study worked with chronic pain patients, but the body scan is not a treatment for pain. Skip or shorten areas that are too intense, and follow your doctor's advice.
- Strong emotions: sometimes an area brings up a feeling or a memory. You can open your eyes, move attention to the feet or the breath, or stop. In a 2020 review of 83 studies (Farias and colleagues), about 8 % of meditation participants reported an unpleasant effect, most often anxiety.
How long should a body scan meditation be?
A body scan can take from a few minutes to three quarters of an hour; the 18 minutes on this timer sit between a quick check-in and the long sessions of MBSR, where daily home practice is about 45 minutes.
No research has found an ideal length for the body scan. Since the 2022 review found it not effective enough on its own, what you combine it with matters more than how long you scan.
| Length | Format |
|---|---|
| 3 to 5 min | Quick scan of feet, belly, shoulders and face, between tasks |
| 9 min | Nine areas, one minute each, with interval bells every minute on the meditation timer |
| 18 min | This page: nine areas, two minutes each |
| 30 to 45 min | A slow, detailed scan, toe by toe and finger by finger; MBSR home practice is about 45 minutes a day |
Body scan meditation for sleep: does it work?
Many people use a body scan at bedtime, but this is common practice rather than a tested treatment: the only study found on a body scan for sleep is a single-patient case report (Iliakis and colleagues, 2024), and there are no controlled trials.
If you use it at night, lie in bed with the lights off, keep the scan slow, and let it be fine if you fall asleep before reaching the head. For the research on mindfulness and sleep in general, and a 15-minute bedtime routine with a rain background, see the meditation for sleep page.
How to combine the body scan with other meditation
Because the evidence favours whole programmes over the body scan alone, it works best alongside other practice, the way MBSR combines it with sitting meditation, simple yoga and walking.
- Alternate days: a body scan one day, a seated breath meditation the next.
- As a warm-up: five minutes of scanning to settle, then sitting with the breath.
- After movement: a body scan after yoga or a walk, when sensations are vivid.
- As a check-in: a three-minute scan in the middle of a working day, then back to work.
Breath-counting meditation and zazen and walking meditation each have their own page with a timer set up for them.
Questions people ask
What is the purpose of a body scan meditation?
To train attention by moving it through the body and noticing sensations without changing them. It is one of the three main techniques of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, alongside sitting meditation and simple yoga.
How long should a body scan take?
Anything from 3 to 45 minutes. The timer on this page uses 18 minutes, two for each of nine areas; MBSR home practice is about 45 minutes a day.
Is it better to do a body scan lying down or sitting?
Both are used in MBSR. Lying down makes sensations of contact easy to feel but invites sleep; sitting keeps you more alert. No study has compared the two.
What if I fall asleep during a body scan?
In the daytime, try sitting up or lying with your knees bent. At bedtime, falling asleep is fine; the meditation for sleep page has a routine built for that.
Who created the body scan meditation?
The body scan as taught today comes from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which grew from the Stress Reduction Clinic Jon Kabat-Zinn founded at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979.
Does the body scan reduce stress?
On its own the evidence is weak: a 2022 review of 14 trials found only a small effect on mindfulness and no clear effect on health outcomes. Full mindfulness courses that include the body scan have stronger evidence for reducing stress.
Is a body scan the same as relaxation?
Not quite. In a body scan you notice sensations as they are and do not try to relax each area, although many people do feel calmer afterwards.
Can I do a body scan in bed to fall asleep?
Yes, many people do. It is common practice; there are no controlled studies of a body scan for sleep, only a single-patient case report.
What should I feel during a body scan?
Whatever is there: warmth, coolness, pressure, tingling, tightness or no clear sensation. Noticing a blank area counts as much as noticing a strong one.
- Kabat-Zinn J. An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 1982, 4 (1), 33–47.
- Gan R., Zhang L., Chen S. The effects of body scan meditation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 2022, 14 (3), 1062–1080.
- Iliakis I., et al. JMIR Formative Research, 2024, 8, e55408 (single-patient case study).
- Farias M., Maraldi E., Wallenkampf K. C., Lucchetti G. Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2020, 142 (5), 374–393.
- Wikipedia, “Mindfulness-based stress reduction”, read 1 October 2026.
On this page the timer guides a body scan of nine areas, from the feet and toes to the whole body together, two minutes each (18 minutes), in silence: a soft singing-bowl strike marks each move and the current area appears on screen, after a 10-second countdown to settle in.