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1.1 | What have you observed about your mindfulness of body practice?
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Still trying to establish the best time of day. Tried mindfulness of body while driving one day – driving behavior directly reflected my internal state of calm: slowed down and wasn’t so concerned with where I was going. I hold significant tension in jaw, shoulders, neck. If I can focus on this area first, easier to fall into general body awareness and settle into meditation.Mind wandering goes towards frustrations and internal “arguments” with people, ideas and planning. Become very sleepy- I am resistant to body scan practices and natural preference for breathing meditations.
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Ive observed that I’ve made disassociation with my body second nature and have stored a lot of unresolved emotions and so do most people I encounter it seems. The mindfulness body practice has helped me become a lot more compassionate towards myself and as a result be more present or less reactive to those around me.
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I realize that I lose touch with my body when I am stressed, when I have things to do, and when I am speaking or listening. Sooo, I realize I have a lot of work to do to expand my mindfulness of body practice to when I am engaged with the world!
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After a considerable “gap” in my mindfulness practice—during which I have not practiced daily mindfulness for a few years—I loved bringing this back into my routine. For the first time in my practice, I found myself appreciating silent mindfulness meditations, and enjoyed the flexibility of choosing to meditate at times spontaneously and with no preparation.
As someone who suffers from chronic headaches, I notice that I often have resistance to focussing on physical sensations (my default is to deny or ignore them). However, when in a state of discomfort, through actively choosing to observe physical sensations, I can also observe that pain is not the only sensory feedback that my body is experiencing—allowing me to “tune in” to the whole in a way that helps me to remember that I am not my pain. This practice also helps to observe pain rather than just feel pain.
While I gain a lot from these sessions, one challenge I am working on is how to “hold onto” mindfulness throughout the day. I’ve been looking for organic “cues” to remind myself to be mindful. E.g. standing up, moments of transition (moving through a doorway), etc.
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I have not learned anything new, but I have been reminded of how I am a fully embodied creature. I am as much a body, as I am a mind. I have found it helpful to try and adjust my physical environment and actions to reflect this reality.
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I am being more loving and thoughtful to my body.
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During and after the workshop I did have a negative experience and noticed aches, and physical pain, that left me tired rather than energized when I focused on my body sensations. As I have continued the practices this have luckily subsided some and left to a more calm state, not always during, but often after the sitting practices.
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I can feel more love and compassion for myself just as I am from dropping into mindfulness of the body practice.
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Mindfulness of body practice is a gift that keeps giving if done regularly with cultivation. I am in the midst of multiple big life transitions right now, so each day brings new body-mind navigations that make a regular meditation practice hard to re-establish in a wholly new place. I am trying to cull mindfulness into new activities and other newnesses that require different attentions. The body practice is helpful, even if my mind takes more time to settle and make space for it. Hoping for deepening practice in the weeks ahead. My past practice has given me an appreciation of how mindfulness of body (both still and moving) supports wellness, pain management, clarity, a slowed sense of time, calm luminosity, centering, and other heartening qualities. Healing takes time, and the reminder of that process is slowly reviving my practice. I look forward to continuing on this path and am grateful to be part of this training.
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– When I give a negative emotion my full attention and observe it through mindful practice it dissipates/dissolves much quicker.
– The moment I experience the most negative emotions are usually when my mind feels stuck on a particular thought. Practicing mindfulness more has been helping me get those thoughts unstuck quicker.
– Just by practicing more, I’m finding myself more present. I’m also finding I have a more frequent and acute awareness of the breath and that is helping bring me back to the present moment. -
I’m able to access it much more quickly than I was years ago. When I’m resting in my body I feel a deep sense of love for all (especially when I’m in pain). It feels like being held. It feels like home.
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I’ve always used my hands as a touchpoint, in feeling embodied during the hectic work day. I’ve been practicing more of using my feet and butt-again-seat while listening to people in Teams meetings, and it’s becoming more and more easily accessible to speak, and to listen, while also attending to the body. It’s a wonderful exercise.
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I have gone back to basics and returned to mindfulness of the breath in ways I haven’t for some time. Practicing letting the breath come to me and feeling the experience in my body not my thinking mind. Remembering and experiencing the beauty of regular “practice”.
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I am practicing much more body mindfulness throughout the day. Especially combining it with the MOLS exercise. I am really digging the idea that “mindfulness” is really “bodyfulness”, as Nikki commented. I can see how this bodyfulness can connect to better listening, speaking and ultimately leadership. But for now, I focus on paying attention to what’s going on in my body.
Additionally, I’ve been noticing how, when I tune in to my body, most of the time I go right to my gut/core. I had an experience this past week where, when I was talking with my wife about some tough subjects, I could really feel the emotional response at different parts of my core. Sadness was experienced more in my upper chest, shame and regret was experienced in my gut, and at one point, I had a flash of anger, which moved up into my head and back.
For me, I’m making breakthroughs on the attunement to my body.
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there are particular parts of my body that hold tension as a habit. my right shoulder, my buttocks, my toes. and it is a reminder that habits are patterns — like well worn paths that your body just takes because that is what it has ‘always done’ — it makes me think of policies at work that seem non-sensical or ones that can cause harm – -just because it was always done this way – does not mean we cannot notice, observe, change and grow in a new direction
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