Body scan for the inner critic: 10 minutes, on a break

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for the inner critic. A body scan session you can do on a break. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the inner critic

The inner critic often formed as a protective strategy, keeping you small to keep you safe. It is loudest where you feel most exposed.

It tends to show up as:

• A judge commenting on everything
• Anticipating criticism before it comes
• Difficulty accepting praise

You can notice the voice without obeying it. Distance between the voice and the response is the whole gain.

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

1. 0:00Let your next exhale be a sigh, if a sigh is what's waiting there.
2. 0:14Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
3. 0:30If your mind is loud, that's information, not failure.
4. 0:41We're going to move through the body in order, roughly from top to bottom.
5. 0:55Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
6. 1:08Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
7. 1:21Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
8. 1:33Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
9. 1:45Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
10. 1:58Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
11. 2:10When the voice that grades everything arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
12. 2:29When the judge in your head presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
13. 2:48If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
14. 3:01If a region feels numb, that is a finding too. Note it and move on.
15. 3:15A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
16. 3:26Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
17. 3:38We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
18. 3:55Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
19. 4:06If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
20. 4:20Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
21. 4:34No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
22. 4:45Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
23. 4:56Let your body keep settling.
24. 5:05Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
25. 5:17Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
26. 5:32Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
27. 5:42Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
28. 5:56Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
29. 6:09No rush to move on.
30. 6:18Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
31. 6:31Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
32. 6:43A short silence. Let it be empty.
33. 6:53If the running commentary on your flaws is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
34. 7:11You do not have to like the voice that grades everything to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
35. 7:28Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
36. 7:42Let the exhale carry a little of the judge in your head with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
37. 8:01If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
38. 8:15Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
39. 8:26Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
40. 8:37Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
41. 8:53Stay here a little longer.
42. 9:02Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
43. 9:15Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.
44. 9:28Stay with it.

Questions people ask

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