How often do you check in with yourself and ask “How am I feeling?” or “What do I need right now?”
How can you support your body in feeling it’s best? Could you use more rest or more movement? Would some fresh air lift your spirits or a bit of stretching relax your muscles? Perhaps your body needs a specific type of food with certain nutrients to boost vitality and overall health.
Getting in touch with your body can be challenging sometimes, especially if you have spent years disconnected from it.
Most people tend to pay more attention outside of themselves, thinking about the past, worrying about the future, or wondering what other people think.
They haven’t developed the ability to focus their attention on what’s going on inside their own body and as a result, you miss out on valuable signals your body sends you about what to do for nutrition, energy and wellbeing.
Here are some simple steps to help you more easily connect to your body, so that you can start to tap into, focus on and apply the vast expanse of wisdom it has to share with you.
- Take a breath
Pause and take some deep breaths. You can do this anywhere, anytime. Your breath can help anchor you into your body. Just bring your awareness to your breath and follow it with your attention.
- Get out in nature and ground yourself.
Allow yourself to fully feel nature. Breathe in the fresh air. Feel the energy and glow of a sunrise. Connect to the earth and ground yourself by walking barefoot in the grass or sand. Get in the water. Play in the rain. Use all your senses to touch and smell the plants and trees around you. Relax fully into a sunset.
- Cultivate awareness & presence
Bring your awareness, (your attention and focus) into your body and feel your body. Being aware means noticing and being curious about your experiences, without trying to change or resist them. Awareness allows you to pause and get present with your body and yourself in the moment. Notice the subtle messages your body sends you.
This might be challenging or uncomfortable at first. However, sitting with your experiences and exploring how they show up in your body can be life changing, creating huge shifts in how you feel. Awareness and presence are powerful and transformative, giving you new perspective on life.
- Do a body scan
Close your eyes and begin at your feet, placing all your attention there. Then, move your awareness up through your legs, hips, belly, chest, shoulders, arms, head, etc. Go slowly, pausing at each point and breathing. Sense what’s going on in your body. Ask yourself, how does this part of my body feel today? Is it tight or relaxed, heavy or light, free or constricted, at ease or uncomfortable?
Keep in mind that pain is a signal. It wants to keep you safe and is alerting you to make the necessary changes to your movement, posture, daily habits, diet or life circumstances.
- Stretch and move your body in new and playful ways
Go dancing, try hula hooping, jump on a trampoline, or whatever may be calling to you. Get your circulation and digestion going, lengthen your muscles, release tension. Your body deserves this!
Try one or all of these steps and notice any changes or shifts. Please stay tuned for the next blog, providing you with more tips on how to connect with your body for greater holistic health and wellbeing.
