Anxiety is not only a thought. It lives in your body — in the tightness across your shoulders, the hollow in your chest, the clenching you didn't notice until now.
A body scan is a mindfulness practice that moves awareness slowly through the body, from feet to head, noticing sensation without judgement. It does not demand that you relax. It simply asks you to notice.
Practised consistently, the body scan teaches you to detect the early physical signals of anxiety before they escalate. You begin to notice the tension arriving before it becomes a wave.
That is not a small thing. That is early warning. That is agency.
Start with just five minutes. There are many free guided body scan meditations available online. The goal is not to achieve anything — simply to arrive in your own body, however it feels right now.