Another technique that helps us be in the present is the body scan. Imagine a light going from the top of our head to our toes. As it travel downwards that muscle drops and relax. This brings our attention immediately into the body and we realize we’ve been tensed up in the shoulder or clench our teeth or hold our breath or tighten the stomach. This technique will unclench and unknot those muscles. Once the body is relaxed, we’re in the present again.
As we scan the body regularly every few hours in a day, we have a better awareness of the interplay between our thought activities, feelings and body.