Today I would like to talk about one of the sad realities of the modern life – the disconnect from our bodies. Instead of feeling the sensations in our bodies, we seem to objectify them by forcing them into specific shape or size and controlling as many of their natural functions as we possibly can. We do not trust our body’s natural wisdom – even if they clearly call for rest, hydration or other nourishment. We even push through the physical pain, ignoring the body’s desperate call for attention.
The effects of such mistreatment and disembodiment can include fatigue and exhaustion, sickness, stress and anxiety and a range of escape habits I talked about recently. Disconnected from the body, we live our lives almost entirely in our own heads, our own thoughts and emotions. We often miss the wise messages our bodies send us… This is my own story unfortunately. I had to experience a full-blown job burnout before I realized how important it is to listen to my body. It had been crying for attention months before I finally broke down in literal tears after a long workshop on teams that ended late one Friday evening.
What about you? Can you feel the sensations in your own body. You can try doing a small experiment right now. Simply raise your own hands in front of your eyes and try to feel them. Are there any sensations in your fingers? Do you feel anything in the wrists or palms of your hands? Remember there are never correct answers here, just notice what this experience of feeling your own hands feels like to you. If you have not felt much, you can put your palms together and rub them for 10 seconds. Then raise them and feel from the inside out again. Can you feel more sensations now? Have sensations changed?
Most people will notice that it is not easy to feel many sensations in the body at first. We are simply not used to feeling our bodies – sometimes it is due to the presence of unpleasant sensations such as pain. More often though, we are simply keeping ourselves trapped in our busy minds, running from one activity to another. To experience relaxation, presence and a bit more insight, we need to return to our body. Our bodies are our connection to the reality – while our minds maybe stuck in the past or traveling to the future, our bodies are only living in the here and now. We can only be truly mindful of this moment, so our bodies are the most important gateway to mindfulness.
In today’s guided meditation, we will explore the practice of body scan. It is one of the easiest and most relaxing meditation practices. It does not require a prolonged focus on just one meditation anchor. It is still very effective in shifting attention away from the thinking process though. In time, it also helps us notice and accept both pleasant and unpleasant sensations. We will talk a bit more about the unpleasant sensations next week.
Few notes before starting the meditation:
- Make sure to first choose a pleasant meditation anchor (breath, sounds, sensations in hands or feet). This will be a place where you can return to at any point during the meditation if you get distracted.
- Always follow your own intuition when following instructions. If you encounter sensations that are too unpleasant, it is OK to shift attention to a more pleasant sensation or back to the anchor.
- Choose the most comfortable position possible so you can relax and let go of tension. However, if you get sleepy, it is best not to lie down. In order to stay aware, you may also slightly open your eyes to let some light in.
Eduardo Galeano in Walking Words writes…
“The Church says: the body is a sin.
Science says: the body is a machine.
Advertising says: The body is a business.
The Body says: I am a fiesta.”
I invite you to let yourself feel the fiesta – the music and dance of changing sensations in your body 🌸
AGGA Coaching 
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