20-minute guided body scan practice for

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 20 minutes of body scan for concentration, in a five-minute break. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: concentration

Concentration fails for two reasons: the task is uninteresting, or the body is too activated to hold anything steady. The second one is fixable in minutes.

It tends to show up as:

Attention sliding off within seconds
Jumping between tabs
Feeling physically unable to sit still

Lowering arousal raises the ceiling of what attention can hold. Practice first, then the task.

Doing this on a break

Leave the room if you can
Do not start anything else in the same gap
Set a timer so the break has an end

A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

0:00You don't have to empty your mind. Nobody has ever managed that, including the people who wrote the instructions.
0:16Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
0:31Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
0:42Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
0:54Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
1:08Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
1:22Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
1:34Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
1:45Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
1:58Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
2:09Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
2:22You do not have to win against the attention that keeps sliding off. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
2:40the urge to check something else may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
2:58Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
3:11Notice the space around the difficulty of staying with one thing. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
3:30When the attention that keeps sliding off presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
3:50Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
4:01If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
4:16If a region feels numb, that is a finding too. Note it and move on.
4:30A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
4:41Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
4:52Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
5:08Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
5:20If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
5:33We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
5:50Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
6:01Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
6:13Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
6:29Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
6:40Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
6:51No rush to move on.
7:00Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
7:13Feel the tops of your thighs.
7:23Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
7:35Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
7:46No need to open your eyes yet.
7:56Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
8:10Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
8:20Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
8:31Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
8:43Let the quiet do its work.
8:53If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
9:07Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
9:20I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
9:32If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
9:45Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
9:58Let the pause stretch out.
10:07If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
10:20I'll step back. You stay here.
10:30Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
10:43Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
10:57Keep following the air.
11:06Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
11:18Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
11:30Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
11:42Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
11:55Stay here a little longer.
12:04Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
12:17Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
12:27Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
12:39Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
12:52Just the breath, still.
13:01Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
13:15Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
13:27Stay with it.
13:35Feel your calves, front and back.
13:45Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
13:58A few seconds more.
14:07Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
14:21Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
14:35Let your body keep settling.
14:44Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
14:54Think of the urge to check something else as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
15:12Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
15:24You do not have to solve the difficulty of staying with one thing in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
15:44Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
15:55You are allowed to be unimpressed by the attention that keeps sliding off. Indifference is a legitimate response.
16:11If the urge to check something else is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
16:29Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
16:42If the difficulty of staying with one thing has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
17:01Imagine softening the edges of the attention that keeps sliding off. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
17:19Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
17:33Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
17:46If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
18:00If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
18:13Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
18:24Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
18:38Remain here for a few more breaths.
18:48Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.
19:00Take one last look at whatever your attention settled on.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Concentration fails for two reasons: the task is uninteresting, or the body is too activated to hold anything steady. The second one is fixable in minutes. Lowering arousal raises the ceiling of what attention can hold. Practice first, then the task.

Where and when should I do this one?

Leave the room if you can. A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

What actually happens during the 20 minutes?

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.