Mindfulness-based Therapy (MBT)

• How do I feel physically and emotionally?
• Why?
• What I can do right now to make myself feel great or improve the next moment?
• Is doing this specific action an effective way of using my energy to move towards the things and people that are important in my life?
• Is this what a happy/successful person would do?

The traditional body scan meditation as taught in MBSR (Mindfulness-based stress reduction) lasts about 30—45 minutes. For this exercise, lying down is the best position, but sitting on a chair is allowed too. The founder of MBSR, Kabat-Zinn, purposefully chose to have the practitioner lie down since many of his initial patients were in too much discomfort to sit still for a 30-minute meditation.

The meditator is told to keep their body awareness during the entire period. If their awareness wanders or they become distracted, they are encouraged to just go back to a certain body part and start over.

A major element of body scan mindfulness is deep breathing. Due to breathing deeply and slowly, our body can relax, and the mind becomes more conscious. You should try to ignore external noises as you do a body scan. Start to turn your focus inward rather than outward. Simply be aware of this and return your attention to your breathing if outside noises in the space are distracting you.

The whole procedure of guided body scan meditation is simplified for you in a few steps.

The most comfortable position is lying down supporting your head, especially if you’re performing BSI right before sleep. You may also sit on a chair on the floor and keep your back straight but not stiff. Close your eyes or maintain a delicate glance while keeping them open.

Instead of breathing from your chest, use your belly. Put on hand on your tummy and the other on your chest. You’ probably notice that the upper hand is moving less than th bottom hand as you continue to breathe deeper. Breathe in via your nose, hold it in your abdomen for 5—10 seconds, an then exhale out through your mouth.

For the next step, bring your awareness down to your feet an pay attention to your sensations. If you experience pair accept it, along with any accompanying thoughts or feeling! and take a few more breath-ins and breath-outs.

Now, work your way up your body, focus on your legs, shoulders, arms, and neck until you reach your head. Stop for a few seconds at each body part and notice your sensation and feelings, both pleasant and unpleasant. Take a deep breath and observe what happens. Imagine the tension vanishing into the air as you breathe it out of your body, When you feel ready, continue, moving your attention to another body part.

After you’ve completed the exercise, take a moment to notice how your body feels overall. To end the meditation, take a few more breaths, move your toes and fingers to get back t reality, and softly open your eyes when you are ready.

It is a deep breathing technique that can help you feel calm and relaxed. It involves breathing in slowly through your nose, holding your breath, and then slowly exhaling through your mouth, while counting to four in each step. You can visualize a box and think of each count as one side of the box, completing a side with each step until the box is full.

Here are the steps for box breathing:

• Sit or stand with your back straight and feet on the floor.
• Close your eyes.
• Breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of four, feeling the air fill your lungs.
• Hold your breath for a count of four, trying not to clamp your mouth or nose shut.
• Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of four.
• Hold your breath again for a count of four.
• Repeat steps 1—6 for as long as you want, or until you feel re-centered. Some recommend doing four rounds.