One of the secrets to staying healthy and vibrant is by paying attention to our bodies. We all have one. It is speaking to us all the time. And yes, sometimes yelling at us! In this feature you will be invited to be curious about how your body actually talks to you. When we listen to what our bodies are saying, we support our ability to deal with stress.
So how is this done? The first step is by paying attention. What are you experiencing in your body right now as you read this article? Pause for a moment and check in with yourself. How does your stomach feel? Are you breathing easily? Is there any tension in your shoulders or somewhere else? Are you experiencing any pain? This process of checking in with ourselves is called “tracking”. We are noticing our body’s responses through sensations. Some words that we can use to describe what we feel in our body are: tightness, warmth, burning, buzzing, tingling, lightness… etc. You get the picture. The reason this is important is because tracking sensations in real time helps us be in tune with our body and how our body is responding to its current environment. When we notice tension patterns we can soften them, slowly and steadily with practice.
The problem is that many of us have been conditioned to ignore body sensations and the emotions associated with them. “Have another coffee!” “It’s almost wine o’clock!” “When the going gets tough the tough go shopping!” “There’s no problem that another beer can’t solve!” These solutions may work as a short-term strategy. But not for the long haul. Improving life satisfaction and health, in a sustainable way, begins when you bring your attention to your body, its sensations and the emotions that show up … not pushing them away or sweeping them under the rug so to speak. It may seem counter-intuitive, but “not feeling” will actually get in your way down the road. There isn’t anything wrong with feeling sensations and emotions. However, it is common for folks to feel uncomfortable, or judge themselves harshly as sick, wrong, or weak when emotions surface. Probably because we have been told to “Buck up”. “Be tough”. “Don’t be a ______.” Tracking sensations in our bodies and giving ourselves space and time to experience them, offers us valuable insight so that we can take better care of ourselves.
Give it another try. Imagine a scenario or a time when you recall feeling the most like yourself or the person you want to be. Perhaps a time when you felt amazing… (your wedding day, snuggling a pet, a hike, playing your favourite sport, a sunset or sunrise, the birth of a child etc.). As you remember that past event or experience, notice how your body is responding. Locate where in your body you are feeling something. See if you can name the sensation in your body. Is there an accompanying emotion(s) in your experience right here, right now? Interesting, isn’t it? How just remembering might bring a smile, brightness to your eyes, warmth in your stomach or heart area, and your shoulders might soften a bit. Just by paying attention to what’s happening in your body! Bringing a positive event into our awareness even for a moment, tends to relieve tension in our bodies. And tension reduction is good for us.
Here is a 4-step sequence for tracking sensations: This can be done anywhere, anytime, throughout your day!
1. Pause and notice how you are feeling in this moment? (calm, tense, frustrated, pissed off, meh?)
2. Where in your body do you feel this? Describe the body sensation?
3. Is there is an emotion associated with the body sensation? Just let it be there for a few seconds.
4. Using your imagination think back to that event or experience that made you feel amazing. Notice how your body feels now.
Developing body awareness and tracking is like learning a whole new language! However, once you give your body an opportunity to “speak,” and you listen to your body’s responses, you are literally tuning into yourself like you would tune into a radio station that you want to listen to. It’s the foundation for ultimately working WITH ourselves instead of against ourselves!
And this is a secret to living a more fulfilled, healthy and vibrant life!
Patricia Berendsen
RMFT, RSW, RP, SEP