Bringing Self-Awareness and Some Love to Our Bodies
Self-awareness is a key concept I discuss often in terms of thoughts, emotions & behaviours. Another component to self-awareness is being in tune with our bodies. However, with all the stressors in our day to day lives we can easily become out of tune and disconnected from our bodies. Then not realize when we are holding tension in places or breathing shallowly. My valued colleague and friend, Ara Good, is an RMT & Integrative Wellness Specialist. The segment below has been taken from her blog, Becoming A Crusader-of-Calm. It also includes two body awareness exercises that have been adapted from the book “The Art of Effortless Living”. If you are feeling up to it, perhaps you will give them a try.
Body Scan
- Wherever you are right now, close your eyes and take a moment to scan your body.
- Start from your feet. Feel them on the ground. Can you feel the socks or shoes on your feet? Are they hot, cold? Just get a good sense of what sensations you feel in them.
- Now move to your calves and shins.
- Then the knees.
- Thighs.
- Hips and bum.
- Stomach (a big storehouse for stress). Is it clenched? Is there tension here?
- Chest and ribs.
- Now the back. How is the lower back, the middle and the upper back?
- Shoulders. Are they raised? Can you let them fall?
- Neck. The front, sides and back. How’s it feeling at the base of the skull?
- Scalp.
- Face. Is there tension around the mouth, or around the eyes, or brows?
- Were you surprised by some of the sensations you came across?
- Just taking the time to scan the body focuses the mind and allows the nervous system to relax a little.
- Scan again, but now try to allow your body to soften or “melt” if you come across tension.
Breathing Check-In
- Close your eyes.
- Bring your attention to the sensation of your breath. Can you feel the air move through your nostrils, past your throat into your chest? How far does the air go?
- Watch your breath for a minute or two. You will notice it become deeper. Yay! Deeper breathing = relaxation.
Do a check in as often as you can throughout the day to get an idea of how your body is doing and to calm it down. You don’t need to close your eyes. You can do it while you drive, or while in conversations with people etc. You can also incorporate EFT/tapping to add to the relaxation effect.
Remember, we are generally so out of touch with our bodies that it may take practice, but if you continue to work on this, you will start to improve your ability to not only feel, but also relax your body at will.
Let me know how the exercises above worked for you. Were you surprised at where you were holding some tension or how high up your breath actually stays?
I would love to hear from you. You can join the conversation on Facebook, or you can send me a private message here.
Nicole