The first time I truly experienced my own body was during one-week silent meditation retreat. Up until that point, I was largely unaware of the full spectrum of sensations and signals that my body is constantly sending me. Sure, I knew that I had a bad migraine headaches from time to time, that sometimes I felt a small back pain after full day of sitting at my desk, and that muscle strain was not unusual after a longer walk. However, after about three full days of meditations, where my usual distractions were not available, I discovered that my body was almost constantly in low-level pain.
It comes with the territory – chronic conditions such as migraines often get worse with time. Aging process itself is not very kind to us and even the healthiest specimens will experience some level of wear and tear that is unavoidable. Finally, living in a large body is not easy on any part of that body, but while it would certainly make a difference to my back and joints to reduce the body weight, I also know that there is no safe way of doing it. That’s already covered in some of my previous posts though so let’s get back to the topic of awareness itself.
I am very grateful to the practice of mindfulness meditation for making me aware of my body and helping me experience the reality through direct sensations that only our bodies can provide. Our minds and hearts may be great at interpreting the inputs supplied by our senses – we make up stories and attach feelings to everything we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. Sometimes these interpretations are problematic, but mostly they serve us well; we avoid dangers and pursue worthy goals thanks to the capabilities of our amazing minds. Unfortunately, we can also fool ourselves that our body is a “simple mechanism” that has no real wisdom or insight to share.
We no longer listen to our hunger and satiety signals as we plan our prescription diets according to the latest “health” fads. We no longer notice the depletion of our energy as we overschedule our day with back-to-back meetings and after-work social events in pursuit of a career that perhaps our hearts no longer care for. We no longer detect the strain and pain in our backs or shoulders from the hours spent in front of computers, at our desks, driving, sitting, or standing. The need for rest is just as ignored as the need for nourishment or movement. The need for play and joy is put aside as the more serious activities of work and family responsibilities take precedence.
Our bodies suffer in silence for a while and if we do not learn to listen, they might take this mistreatment for a long time before we finally get their message. Our bodies will eventually shout and scream at us, demanding that we finally take notice and take care of them. It is then up to us to decide if we are ready to listen to the wisdom that our bodies are so desperate to share. If we are not one of the lucky individuals who have never stopped listening to their own bodies, we might have to re-learn this life-saving skill. We might have to take time to sit (or stand, or walk) in silence, reconnecting to all sensations we feel inside our bodies.
Reconnecting to the body’s sensations might not be pleasant at all (it certainly was not pleasant for me!), especially if one experienced any kind of trauma that might have been the cause of the disembodiment in the first place. For this reason, in some cases I would certainly advise working with an experienced meditation teacher, therapist or other healthcare professional. However, for most people trying out simple body scan practices and full body relaxations can be a good place to start.
May we all find freedom in returning home to our bodies, and may we all learn to appreciate and take a better care of them too 😊 Let me leave you with the lovely poem that made me smile today…
“HOMAGE TO MY HIPS”
these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!
You can listen to the author read and speak about this poem here
AGGA Coaching 
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