BODY AWARENESS BY VICTORIA

Developing Your Body's Consciousness
Beginning the Journey to Body Awareness

Having a healthy sense of Body Awareness is extremely important if your goal is to live and move pain free, because it enables you to monitor, improve, and effectively, heal yourself.

Personally I believe that Body Awareness is a goal or destination; it is a sense, similar to the touch/feeling sense, can be developed if the connection is compromised. As such, a great gateway to an increased sense of Body Awareness lies in actively noticing and observing the sensations in your body. This entails practicing an ongoing and working relationship with your Body's Consciousness (or point of view). 

To be blunt, I'm saying that you need to personify your Body, and listen to what "he" or "she" has to tell you. I know you may think this sounds like a strange thing to say, but bear with me for a moment.

Consider this - that through the persona of your Body's Consciousness, you set an intention of (re)discovering another layer of your Self, and as your relationship with this information / personification develops, so will your sense of Body Awareness. Play with it, and don't knock it 'til you try it!

But let's take a step back for a moment. How often now do you ignore the signals your body sends you through physical sensation?

Most people prioritize sensations of ache or tightness as less important than enacting their preconceived goals for the day. For example, ignoring the pang of hunger spreading in your abdomen at work, because you just have to answer that email (and another, and another), ignoring the tightness in your neck that nags quietly - or loudly, at times - behind you as you sit at the computer, or perhaps even ignoring that dryness in the pit of your throat after shaking hands with someone who has a dry cough. These low-level pain signals are all warning signs that something is brewing systematically in your body, and although they may have not yet bumped you out of your comfort zone, they can, if left unaddressed, stop you in your tracks.

But, of course we all know to wash our hands after touching icky people.

Here's the problem: all of those examples are of you only noticing, and ignoring, pain in your Body. Watching your pain doesn't lead to a functional sense of Body Awareness, instead it leads to an endless Pain Cycle: if you don't feel pain, you look for it, and what you seek, you'll find. This limits the language of your Body's Consciousness to only communicate with you through pain, and it is dependent on you being Reactive to pain. To build a truly functional sense of Body Awareness, you must have balance between Proactive as well as Reactive communication with your body.

So what do you do to be Proactive? Meditate. Regular meditation focusing on feeling mundane body sensations is a Proactive way of cultivating your relationship with your Body's Consciousness. This is the easiest way to expand its "vocabulary" to inform you how you are when you are healthy and relaxed, instead of just when you are in pain, or sick.

In meditation you relax, and in that relaxed state you can dedicate your focus to observing mundane sensations, such as the sensation of your feet on the ground, how your shoulders stack on your hips, or how a deep breath physically feels versus a shallow breath, et cetera. Also, in a relaxed state your sensitivity to these sensations is heightened naturally, which causes you to more vividly experience them, and in turn, recognize and acclimate to them. 

As you regularly focus on re-connecting with experiencing non-pain signals from your body in meditation, over time, your Body's Consciousness not only learns, but even remembers them during your normal waking state. These "muscle memories" of your Body's Consciousness can and will inform your daily activities, such as running at the gym or receiving a stressful phone call, when you least expect it, to focus on more than just searching for the pain. For example, while running you will be more Aware of how your feet feel in your shoes as they hit the ground, which gives you mental space to adjust and correct your foot placement. Or, as another example, when the person on the other end of the line is screaming into the phone, you breathe deep into your belly, rather than holding their emotion in your chest with shallow breaths.

Not sure how to meditate? Or perhaps you feel like you can never find time? That is where we at Evolve come in.

A great way to start is with a Reiki Session!

Reiki Sessions immerse you in a meditative state, not only through the use of one-on-one coaching and guided visualization, but with the additional benefit of flooding your body with Ki (or "Chi" as the Chinese say; it means "healthy energy"). Ki accelerates your relaxation process, which helps you move into that meditative space faster and cleaner than you can on your own. And by having a regularly scheduled session, you set time aside for cultivating your Body's Consciousness, rather than scrambling to find the time. It's also easier to focus when you have someone guiding you.

And remember, having a healthy sense of Body Awareness is necessary if your goal is to live and move pain free, because it enables you to monitor, improve, and effectively, heal yourself. This way, you can break free of the Pain Cycle, and move into the greater journey of Self healing and discovery.

Call (908) 233-2226 to book your Reiki Session and start your healing journey today!


Sensei Victoria Whitfield is a Master Teacher of Usui-Tibetan Reiki and member of The International Center for Reiki Training and The International Association of Reiki Professionals. She teaches Reiki and Meditation at Evolve Restorative Therapy in Westfield, NJ and Interweave in Summit, NJ.