Day 1: Body Scan Meditation

I just completed the first day of my foray into mindfulness meditation, led by Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Guided Mindfulness Meditation. I did the first meditation which is called Body Scan Meditation.

I cleared out the furniture in my living room, which consists of square coffee table, so that I had enough room to lie down on the rug and spread my arms out unimpeded. I cued up the meditation audio track on my iphone, and put the earbuds into my ears while standing with my feet shoulder width apart. Then I sat down on the floor and tried to find the most comfortable position. I tried sitting indian style, then I tried the yoga Child’s Pose, then settled on lying down on my back with my arms spread out wide, and began the audio track. The first thing JKZ asks you to do is lie down on your back on the floor, so I was in a good position to begin.

The meditation consists of bringing your awareness slowly and fully to each body part, one by one, beginning with the tips of your toes, then moving up, part by part, up to the top of your head. JKZ asks you to direct your breathing at the body part, then let the focus on the body part dissolve away on a final out breath. I found that when I was instructed to let the awareness of a given body part dissolve away, I was able to do this best by focusing my attention on a cluster of colors in the middle my mind’s eye. As I exhaled, the colors would sometimes intensify gradually as the breath left my body, as if I was breathing color into the picture on the backs of my eyelids. At times my mind’s eye generated intense and vivid pictures totally unrelated to the meditation itself. I recall the vivid image of a stone cat statue sliding across the field of my mental vision at one point. When that happened I recall thinking that if these images were to happen consistently, it would be difficult to remain focused on the meditation.

My goal was to keep my body totally still, with the exception of the movement associated with my breathing. As he proceeded through the body scan, I found myself able to resist the urge to move the body part in question, though at times it was difficult. I also experienced periods of somewhat intense discomfort in the parts of the body that were in contact with the rug, especially the lower back and the back of the head. On at least two occasions, I adjusted my legs, bending at the knees or lengthening the legs, when the discomfort became a distraction. I also swallowed several times. At one point I felt a sharp level 5 pain in my right lower back, but it subsided immediately. Several times I found myself wondering how much time remained in the meditation, and even wanting badly for it to be over so that I could move my body to relieve the discomfort. At other times I recall hoping that it would go on for a while longer.

After the meditation was complete, I felt an intense sense of tranquility and presence, like someone had turned down the volume knob of my body and mind. I felt like I wanted to continue moving about at the deliberate, intentional pace of JKZ’s voice on the audio track. I think the entire meditation, including a couple of minutes before and after to prepare the physical space and ease the mental transition, took about one hour. After one session, I can see how this practice is not for the faint of heart. It was very difficult. I feel good about the effort I put forth in this first session, and I’m confident that my effort will bear fruit. I hope to be able to continue this practice tomorrow.