Body scan meditation for tight shoulders and neck (7 min), on a day off

About this practice

A 7-minute body scan session for tight shoulders and neck, on a day off. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: tight shoulders and neck

Shoulders rise towards the ears under sustained stress, and the muscles of the upper back shorten to hold that posture. The result is a stiff neck and a heavy upper back.

It tends to show up as:

• Shoulders up around the ears
• Stiff neck, especially after screens
• Headaches that start at the back of the head

Weight and gravity do the release. Noticing the contact points lets the shoulders stop holding themselves up.

Doing this on a rest day

• Do it without a reason or a target
• Later in the day, unhurried, in good light
• Let it be longer than usual if you want

Rest that has to be justified is not really rest. This one is allowed to be pointless.

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. 0:00Keep your eyes open if you like, resting on one point of the floor a metre or two ahead.
2. 0:16Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
3. 0:31Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
4. 0:45Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
5. 0:56If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
6. 1:10Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
7. 1:22Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
8. 1:35Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
9. 1:45Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
10. 1:57Let the shoulders up around your ears be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
11. 2:17If the stiff neck from hunching shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
12. 2:37Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
13. 2:49Just the breath, still.
14. 2:58Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
15. 3:11Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
16. 3:23A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
17. 3:34Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
18. 3:48Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
19. 3:59Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
20. 4:13I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
21. 4:26Nothing about the weight carried in the upper back has to be explained or justified in this room.
22. 4:42There is no correct amount of the shoulders up around your ears to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
23. 5:01Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
24. 5:12If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
25. 5:27If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
26. 5:40Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
27. 5:51We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
28. 6:08Notice if anything has loosened. Even slightly counts.
29. 6:19Notice the quiet you made, and let it close gently.
30. 6:31Stay 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.