Your body is speaking to you all the time. Your body is your interface, that thing that connects your inner world – your thoughts, feelings, emotions – with the outer world. Your body can be an amazing tool to help guide your choices. Your body can also tell you what is best for your health, and what is not. Learning to communicate with your body can be one of the most effective tools for your health and your happiness. The longer you go on ignoring the signals of your body, the quieter they become until you end of feeling that your body does not communicate with you at all. These steps are meant to help you start to bridge the gap that may exist between your mind and your body.
5 Easy Ways To Connect To Your Body
1. Rest when you are tired: We are so used to being on the go, that we often neglect our bodies cries for rest. If you begin to take rest, even just for a short period of time to catch a few deep breaths, you will being to open up the channels of communication between your brain and your body.
2. Eat when you are hungry: This is another one that may seem simple, but how many of us really do it? Many times we eat on a schedule, when we feel it is time to eat instead of waiting for the body to signal that it is time for food. Or we feel hungry, and brush it off. The more you listen to your hunger cues, the more you will be in tune with when you are actually hungry, and when you are satisfied.
3. In times of stress, try some movement: In our hunter gatherer past, we developed adrenaline and cortisol which are two hormones secreted in times of stress. These two hormones will mobilize stored glucose from the muscles and tissues and put it into your bloodstream to give you a burst of energy. This helped us to turn and run or to stay and fight. It gave us extra ordinary strength and speed in times of danger.
The chemical reactions that take place in our bodies when adrenaline and cortisol are released were life saving in the past.The blood sugar was burnt off through the activities of fighting or running, and then the body was returned to its natural state. Now when we have this stress reaction many of us are lying in our beds at night, or sitting in our offices. The adrenaline and cortisol that your body produces when you are under mental stress or physical stress is the same. Adrenaline that is not “burned off” through some sort of activity can actually do the body more harm than good. Short term stress can lead to lowered immune function, poor recovery and repair and a slowed metabolism.
Over time stress that is not managed can lead to things like mood swings, depression, rapid aging and unexplained weight gain. Moving when you are in a state of stress will help you to manage some of these chemical and hormonal reactions which will help to you be more balanced and more in tune with your body and its cues.
4. Spend time outside: Your body is technically more a part of nature than it is a part of you. You body is intimately connected to the physical world around you – it is made up of the same elements it is connected to cycles and rhythms of the earth and is very much affected by the environment in which you keep it. Getting outside and connecting with nature will help you to connect with your nature – your body. Take a walk through a forest, dip your toes in a river, play in a field. Whatever makes sense for you is fine, just find some time to connect.
5. Journal: Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper can be one of the most connecting things you do. Often times you may have so many thoughts spinning around in your head that you have a difficult time connecting with your body. There are just too many other things crowding out a connection with the body. Take 5 minutes to just free write whatever is on your mind, all the thoughts, as they are. Then try to take 5 minutes to write down what you are feeling in your body. Write down any sensations you feel, any numbness, pain, tingling, anything. As you do this, you will make a stronger and stronger connection to your body – remember that your body cannot speak to you in works, but it can through feelings.
Do you practice body communication/awareness on a regular basis? Do you feel connected to your body?
Ali Washington
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