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1.1 | What have you observed about your mindfulness of body practice?
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The Mindfulness of body practice is clutch when I experience difficult emotions, usually related to (performance) anxiety in my role. I’ve started to default to remembering this is what happens to me when I get stressed for reasons A-Z and the overwhelming feeling(s) will pass. Easier said than done but the awareness of body helps with reeling it in and trying to respond appropriately in real time.
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I notice that I have a whole ocean of happenings in my body all the time. endless. happenings. my attention is fleeting. I see where my breath is a safe anchor and I have an appreciation for returning to it.
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I arrive in my body with a very soothing and now self-soothing arriving sequence that connects through the body to the earth element and becoming very grounded. At work I will stand and ground myself if I find myself flying about in anxiety. This grounding helps me capture, better, those gaps before reaction, and helps me modulate my responses.
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The body grounds it all! Being aware of the breath interacting with the body helps me to stay connected to the valuable wisdom of being grounded and centered in my body…and be aware of moments when I am suddenly knocked out of my grounding or am tightening up and squeezing my grounding which shrinks my energy or feel my mind “go blank”. It really helps to incorporate mindfulness of the body into daily mindfulness practice…mixing yoga and mindfulness is really helpful. The more I can move through my day as centered in my body as possible, the better. I notice when anger and fear infiltrate the body and I use the breath to move these energies through me rather than let them sit in me and “fester”. Fear freezes energy and cramps my muscles creating tightness in chest, arms, legs, hips. Anger creates tension. Breathing through the body helps to release and let go of these tensions and tightnesses. Often I will take a short walk around the office to “free” the blocked energy/release the tension after a difficult meeting or after grappling with writing up a challenging report. The body asks me to move and by moving, the energy moves! Sometimes the body likes to be still and sit and center. Knowing when to move and when to be still…mindfulness of the body helps to pay attention to this!
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I was recently listening to an episode of the On Being podcast with guest Bessel Vander Kolk. His insights about Western culture and how we think of the mind and body as distinct entities—-compared to other cultures where they are considered one—-made me think a lot about this question. During this past year and a half, being able to work remotely, I’ve felt more attuned to a mindfulness of body practice. I’m more inclined to walk around after a time, notice my posture + breathing more, desire to fill my space with a lavender diffuser, hydrate, and even just spend time looking out the window. Nearly all of these practices in my previous work environment (which I’m scheduled to return to in Jan.) felt limited or non-existent. By being able to focus more on my mindfulness of body practice, I’ve not only felt healthier, but together with meditation have felt more hopeful about life during difficult days.
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I noticed that my eyes play a big part in my sense of safety and serenity. If I just take a moment, to look left, and right, and “see the room” — really see the room — before I sit to meditate with eyes closed, if I take some time for my eyes, I’m more relaxed.
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The mindfulness of body practice is based on the embrace of the frailties that are present. The imperfections, along with the vulnerable, always show up in the body. Attention to the breath, and tuning into the feelings or emotions arising in the mind, these things bring deliverance from the pain and suffering of the body.
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I’m focusing on noticing when I disassociate from my body and bringing attention back to the physical sensation of breathing and noticing sensations rather than thoughts and emotions. This has enriched my practice by providing another anchor for my attention and helped me feel more embodied in general through my life.
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I have noticed that although I can be attuned to my body in movement, when I sit down for work/meetings, it often drops off my radar entirely. Trying to integrate brief check-ins throughout the day, and to practice body scans while in stillness, rather than my more-traveled path of body awareness through movement.
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This is my favorite. I love mindful walking, yoga nidra, your guided meditations. It really helps me ground into myself and I love them. I hope we’ll have access to your SoundCloud even after the course ends!
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Mindfulness of body practice feels like a refuge for me, a place where I feel settled, at peace, and a sense of completeness. Sitting helped reveal to me a stark contrast with my normal way of being- of always “leaning forward” into the future -e.g. to attain something in order to improve upon the current moment, or solve a problem, etc. I would like to set an intention to remind myself to come back to my body as I’m going about the day- in order to (viscerally) remind myself that life is sufficient, and to start loosening the conditioning of “grasping” slowly over time.
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I’m really enjoying reading others’ insights on this thread. Re: Joana- “the body is always responding to what is present without “me””- yes! the body knows before we catch on.
In my experience, holding emotions in awareness is akin to holding your emotion like a baby, soothing it, etc.. it allows it to ease, loosen, and dissipate over time…. You cannot command the baby to stop crying, you have to create an atmosphere of comfort/acceptance for it to calm down on its own. I feel the same is true for everything that is unpleasant that comes up in our mind and body. Moving from a place of aversion to “holding witness” of these energies begins to loosen them.
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