A Guided Body Scan

A Guided Body Scan

A few minutes to notice what your body already knows.

When your mind gets loud, especially at bedtime, a body scan gives it something gentle to do. This one-page script is written to be read slowly, out loud or in your head. There’s no right way to do it, and nothing you notice is wrong.

What’s inside

• Getting settled: simple, flexible cues for getting comfortable, eyes open or closed, whatever feels okay.
• The scan: six areas, top to bottom: head and face, neck and shoulders, chest, stomach and gut, hands and arms, and legs and feet. Each has a short, first-person script to read slowly, pausing 10 to 15 seconds.
• Noticing the feeling underneath: a gentle prompt to wonder what feeling might be attached to what you noticed, without needing the perfect word.
• A kind closing: one more slow breath, and the reminder that paying attention is itself something kind you did for yourself.

Who it’s for

Kids, teens and adults with anxious minds, busy brains or trouble winding down. It’s useful for therapists, school counselors and parents.

Ways to use it

• Make it part of a bedtime routine to help with sleep.
• Practice interoception in session, building awareness of body signals.
• Open a session with it to settle in before deeper work.
• Read it aloud to a child, or let a teen read it on their own.

Why it’s different

The language is gentle and gives permission at every step. The focus is on noticing, not fixing, and the eyes-open option and “nothing you notice is wrong” framing make it welcoming for trauma survivors and neurodivergent folks who find traditional mindfulness hard.

What you get

A one-page printable PDF, US Letter, available as an instant download. Single-clinician license included.

Pairs well with: Five Minutes of Deep Breathing, The Window of Tolerance, Anxiety & the Body