I have a tendency to get stuck in my head when I’m busy, stressed, and spend lots of time starring at a computer screen. I obsessively think about some problem to solve, get lost in elaborate stories about this and that, judge myself and others, worry about the future, … I'm mentally overstimulated and disconnected from my body. Everything feels urgent and time seems to be never enough. Maybe you can relate?
During a recent stressful period, getting my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine brought me straight back into my body, into the present moment. My entire body felt achy and alive. It felt like an intense field of changing sensations – aching, warmth, throbbing, stabbing, tingling, … - which drew my attention.
I remembered a quote by Pema Chödron: “This very body that we have, that’s sitting here right now, with its aches and its pleasures, is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive.”
I took my achy body to a virtual somatics lab during which we practiced tuning in with our body’s intelligence. Slowing down and doing different somatic practices, I felt fully alive and present amidst the achy sensations and fatigue I was experiencing. My body and mind were in the same place at the same time. Listening inwardly and getting curious, my body told me what my mind hadn't wanted to allow: "Simply rest. Sink into comfort and ease."
The body knows what's needed. The body always lives in the present moment and can bring us back to reality. It can be one of our greatest teachers and guides. I'd trust my body over my thoughts any day.
Being more aware of our body can enable us to better engage with our family, partner, friends, colleagues, clients, and others. It can help us stay present and centered through moments when we get triggered, challenging conversations, and difficult decisions. It can support us in taking a stand for what we know to be true and better defining our boundaries.
And yet, it's difficult for many of us to be fully home in our bodies. Trying to control our experience as a survival instinct, we're not fully present to the aliveness that's here. With practice, we can become aware when we're lost in thoughts and turn our attention to what's actually happening inside of us.
The following questions have been helpful for me to get out of my head and bring curiosity to my embodied experience:
What is happening inside me right now?
Can I be with this?
Is there something the body (or a part of the body) is trying to say?
With love,
Sarah-Marie