Do a 5-Minute Body Scan

Quick Win

Tired of living in your head? Shift your focus to your body with this relaxing practice.

Try This Today

• Sit in a comfortable, upright position on a chair or on the floor. Close your eyes, or let your gaze fall to the floor about a foot in front of you. Take a few long, slow, deep breaths.​
• Notice how your body feels. Feel the sensations of your back against the chair, your bottom pressing into the seat and your hands resting on your thighs. Move your attention to your shoulders. Are they tense or tight? Let them relax. Shift your focus to your arms. Move from your biceps to your forearms, from your wrists to your hands, then your fingers, releasing the tension as you go. Now, focus on your stomach. Is it tense or tight? Let it soften and relax.
• Continue your mental body scan through your legs, feet and toes. Keep breathing deeply, slowly and steadily. Once you’ve covered the length of your body, slowly open your eyes.

Why

​This exercise is a beginner’s version of a body scan, a mindfulness practice that helps you focus on what’s happening in the present moment. In a study of 48 adults ages 60 to 80 published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences in 2025, 83 percent of people who did mindfulness techniques like body scans for 12 weeks said they had low levels of stress. Just 13 percent of participants who didn’t practice mindfulness said the same. The mindfulness group also had fewer symptoms of depression at the end of the trial.