Befriending the Body

by Beth O'Hara

In our fast paced lives, it is easy to lose touch with the body. Can you actually feel your toes right now? The bottoms of your feet? If you can feel them, do they feel alive and infused with energy? Or do they feel dull and distant? It seems the quicker we move through life, the more we disconnect from the body. The more we disconnect from the body, the more the body aches in an appeal for connection.

What does it mean to be fully alive? To me, it means allowing life energy, which is often called chi or prana, to flow freely through all parts of the body – including the mind, heart, gut and even the fingers and toes. We can even call that life energy consciousness.

Try this: just wiggle your toes, flex your ankles, and stretch your arms and legs. Take some deep inhales as you stretch your arms up and deep exhales as your bring your arms down. For a really exhilarating experience, take 5 minutes to rub the bottoms of your feet. Then rub all along the outside of your ears and include your ear lobes. Every organ in the body has nerve connections to the bottoms of the feet and the ear lobes. Just by rubbing your feet and ear lobes, you can enliven energy in your entire body.

What does that do for you beyond just feeling better physically? The mind, heart and gut centers are physically located within the body. Consciously stretching, breathing, and relaxing allows the mind, heart and gut centers to create new pathways, to soften, and to relax.

The body and the breath are always present in the here and now. No matter where we go, as long as we are in physical form, the body and the breath are with us. And so it makes sense that just by connecting the body and breath with awareness, we can immediately become more present. Life force energy is only available in the here and now. When we are caught in the past or future, we disconnect from the body and that life energy. To feel fully alive means finding ways to allow that energy to flow.

I’ve noticed that when I’m judging (myself or others), blaming, repressing my needs, feeling like I’m not enough, or feeling lack in my life, I grip my body and tighten my muscles. My breath gets shallow. And I’ve also noticed that just by taking a few breathing and stretching breaks during my day to consciously relax and stretch my body, I’m able to be more present with those feelings with compassion and allow them to loosen so that they can pass.

Take time right now to breathe and awaken your body. It only takes a moment. And it makes a tremendous difference in the ability to feel awakened and alive.

Check out Events and the School of Conscious Living for opportunities to become more connected to your body.