The Top 10 Ways to Cultivate Body Awareness

Originally Submitted on 6/13/98.

Each of us operates a machine so incredibly complex that researchers are continually making new findings about it. We often read of things we should do to keep the machine, our bodies, running well. We less often hear about listening to the wisdom of this body. Does your stomach tighten as you enter an elevator? Unless you normally suffer from claustrophobia, personal security experts say you should pay attention to this and get off immediately. Does a usually favorite food suddenly not seem desirable? Perhaps there is a reason. Before we can benefit from body-wisdom, we must become aware of our bodies, something with which many of us have lost touch. Some suggestions for returning to body-awareness.

1. Breath consciously and deeply from the belly.

Forget the 'suck it in, chest out' formula, give your lungs a chance to become fully operational.

2. Stretch often, deeply, luxuriously.

Focus on how the stretching muscles feel, not on how long it will take, what you have to do next, or your plans for the day. Focus only on you, your body, at that moment.

3. Think like a dancer.

As you go about your daily activities, think of yourself as a dancer on stage. Think of each movement, as a graceful, balanced part of an intricate ballet. Focus on where each part of your body is, how it is moving. As you reach for something, be conscious not only of the goal (e.g., picking up the salt from across the table) but of the physical process of reaching for it and picking it up. Be consciously IN the body.

4. Take up yoga or a martial art.

Few activities so totally focus on the mind-body connection and on body awareness.

5. Get in the habit of including your body in your decision-making processes.

As you consider your choices, check in, see how your body is reacting. Notice how your step lightens and your head lifts when you make a decision that feels good. At another time feel your shoulders tensing, your jaw tightening, your stomach contracting. Perhaps there is a warning here to think again.

6. Have a time to take particular notice of your body sensations.

Focus on the change of texture under your feet as you move from carpet to hard floor, the sensation of pressure from clothes, from sitting, lying, the variation of water pressure and temperature on your body in the shower or bath.

7. Have a full body massage.

This is particularly important for people who, for whatever reason, are 'touch starved.'

8. Infuse your body with energy.

Lie relaxed and breath deeply. Imagine the energy of breath entering your body as a golden ball. Gradually, with each successive breath, move that ball of energy throughout your body, taking one extremity at a time and slowly moving the energy through it and up to your torso. Move it through your entire body, head and face. Feel it energizing and smoothing the energies. Feel the glow.

9. Exercise regularly.

By now you know all the reasons why exercise will improve your wellness and increase your longevity. It will also help you to become more body-aware.

10. When meditating, listen to your body.

In many forms of meditation we try to become unaware of our bodies. Under these circumstances our bodies often become insistently noisy, demanding to be heard. We hear the pounding of the heart, the thumping of blood in our arteries, the gurgle of our intestines. Instead of trying to move through that stage quickly, focus on it. Listen to the city that never sleeps, the community of constant movement that is your body. It is a wonder beyond anything we have ever invented. Get to know it.

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