Body scan meditation for insomnia (15 min), on a Saturday morning

About this practice

When insomnia shows up on a Saturday morning, this 15-minute body scan session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: insomnia

Insomnia is often maintained by the fear of not sleeping. Anticipating a bad night raises arousal at bedtime, which produces the bad night.

It tends to show up as:

• Dreading bedtime
• Hours awake with a busy mind
• Sleeping worse as the week goes on

Removing the pressure to sleep is the active ingredient. This gives you something to do that is not trying.

Doing this at the weekend

• Do it without a schedule to justify it
• Later in the morning, in better light, usually works well
• Let the length be open-ended if the time allows

Recovery is not something you have to earn first, and treating it as a reward keeps it conditional.

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. 0:00Put both feet flat on the floor and let them take some of the weight.
2. 0:14Let this be easy, if easy is available.
3. 0:25Let your breathing find its own pace. We're only going to watch it.
4. 0:38Feel the small movements your body makes to keep you upright. They're happening without you.
5. 0:52Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
6. 1:06Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
7. 1:17Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
8. 1:31Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
9. 1:42Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
10. 1:55Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
11. 2:09Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
12. 2:21You do not have to win against the counting of hours until morning. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
13. 2:39When the frustration of not sleeping presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
14. 2:58Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
15. 3:11You are allowed to be unimpressed by the wide-awake mind at 2am. Indifference is a legitimate response.
16. 3:26You do not have to like the counting of hours until morning to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
17. 3:43Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
18. 3:55Let this one be unhurried.
19. 4:04Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
20. 4:16Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
21. 4:29Let it be this simple.
22. 4:38Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
23. 4:52Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
24. 5:02Let the pause stretch out.
25. 5:11Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
26. 5:24Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
27. 5:35Take the next breath slowly.
28. 5:44Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
29. 5:57Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
30. 6:10No need to open your eyes yet.
31. 6:20Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
32. 6:34Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
33. 6:45Nothing changes for a moment.
34. 6:54Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
35. 7:08A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
36. 7:19There's no need to try harder than this.
37. 7:30You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
38. 7:42Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
39. 7:53You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
40. 8:06If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
41. 8:19Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
42. 8:31We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
43. 8:41Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
44. 8:53A short silence. Let it be empty.
45. 9:03If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
46. 9:16If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
47. 9:29Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
48. 9:40Small efforts are the whole method.
49. 9:50If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
50. 10:02Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
51. 10:13Nothing here needs to be efficient.
52. 10:23If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
53. 10:37Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
54. 10:50Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
55. 11:01If the frustration of not sleeping is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
56. 11:18You do not have to solve the wide-awake mind at 2am in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
57. 11:37Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
58. 11:50There is no correct amount of the counting of hours until morning to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
59. 12:09Imagine softening the edges of the frustration of not sleeping. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
60. 12:27Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
61. 12:40If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
62. 12:53Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
63. 13:06Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
64. 13:20I'll step back. You stay here.
65. 13:30We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
66. 13:44Let the quiet do its work.
67. 13:54Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.
68. 14:09Notice the quiet you made, and let it close gently.
69. 14:21Stay 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.