We have been living in this body of ours our whole life, but how many of us live every day with a deep awareness and appreciation of our body? We spend so much time learning to care for the bodies of other people, but very little of that time is spent learning to care for our own. So how about we take a moment to focus on our body and to deepen our appreciation of it?
To begin with, it can help to sit quietly or lie down, to give yourself the time and space to really feel your body.
Gently settle yourself and close your eyes, then take a moment to focus on your breath, breathing gently in and out through your nose, bringing your mind into line with what your body is doing.
Then once you feel more settled in your body, start to bring your awareness to it. Feel your toes and the soles of your feet. Can you actually feel your feet or are you still so busy in your head that you cannot feel yourself in your body? Once you can feel your feet, slowly and gently move your awareness through your whole body, feeling each part. Are there any parts that feel tired, sore, dull, bloated, heavy, aching, numb … any parts that you cannot feel at all? Keep breathing gently and feeling your body, until you can feel yourself in all of it.
And when you are ready, bring your awareness to your heart. We have been living as if our body is just a vehicle for our brain, and we live very head-centred lives, but the centre of our body is actually our heart. So take a moment to appreciate it, this organ that beats every moment of the day, for the whole of our lives. Feel your heart and allow yourself to deeply appreciate it and the service it provides.
And as you do, you may notice that deeper than your physical heartbeat is a steady inner pulse, which is the essence of you. Within this precious body there is a being, the essence of who we truly are. And bringing our awareness to our body and to our heart opens us up to feeling the being within, the essence of who we are. The quality of this being determines the quality of our thoughts, our feelings, our movements, the quality of our lives. And the more we connect to this quality, the more inspired we are to care for ourselves, our body and our being.
Anne, thank you for this self care moment – “A moment with our body”, I truly enjoyed the brief moment of reflection and nurturing. Please cotinue your wonderful work, it is much appreciated.
Thank you Carol, I really appreciate you taking the time to write and it is lovely to hear from you, with love, Anne
Thank you Anne. That is a gorgeous way to start the day.
Thank you for ‘A moment with our body’.
I find it is so important to feel all of the body; I always do a scan of my body before I get out of bed in the morning because ‘it sets me up for the day ahead’