How to use your body to soothe your mind.

Calm Practice

Hot-Spot Scan

‘Hot spots’ are places in the body that hold anxiety, anger, and stress. If you hold tension in your body, the body sends a message to your brain that you are in danger, keeping you stuck in a stress-tension feedback loop and creating long-term pain in your body.

A regular hot-spot scan can help you relax and begin to rewire your nervous system. 

Scan the following areas several times a day:

• Forehead: between the eyes
• Jaw: notice clenching 
• Shoulders: notice hunching and tension
• Chest: notice constriction 
• Belly: notice bracing and ‘sucking in’
• Glutes: notice gripping 

As you scan, ‘breathe into’ any tension then soften, drop and release. 

Reference

Ballagh, R. (2024). Hot-spot scan. 101 Ways to Find Calm: How to Use Your Body to Soothe Your Mind. P. 146-147.