The Mind Lies, The Body Never Does

The mind lies, but the body never does.  The way our minds lie for instance when we are tired, we can override the fatigue by drinking caffeine to stay up.  Another way our minds can lie is that when we feel tightness in our neck or shoulders, we can tell ourselves we do not feel the pain and pretty soon, “voila,” poof the pain disappears.  It never disappears, all we have done is disconnect from our bodies ignoring the tightness and pain.

The Body’s Wisdom

Our body constantly gives us many signals for us to become aware.  The 3 things that we can trust with our body is first our breath, second is touch, and the third is movement.  When we are either scared, angry or upset our natural instinct is to hold our breath and stop breathing.  The sensation of touch never lies and we know how it feels when someone that we love or loves us gives us a hug or places their hands on us, we just melt and never want to lose that connection.   The worse type of touch is when we get one of those fake hugs where there is no energy or sincerity in the hug that we receive.  The last is movement never lies.  When someone is in pain, their movement is labored; when a child is happy, we can feel their excitement and energy.

How do we connect with our bodies?

What can we do to connect with our bodies?  The first step is to start taking time to recognize when our breathing is not as full as we would like it to be.  When breathing becomes short or we find ourselves holding our breath is the first indicator that our body is under stress.  The next thing we can do is pay attention to any tightness or any restrictions that we feel in any of our movements.  Anytime there is a limitation in our range of motion or we experience tightness, it is the body’s response to any added stress that we are under.  By the time we experience pain it is too late, since we disregarded all the body’s attempts to get our attention.  Pain is never fun, but is a great motivator for us to make the necessary changes that we normally wouldn’t do.

Where do we go from here?

It has taken many years for us to develop ways we deal with stress; some good and some not so.  Human nature does not like change and even when we experience even a positive shift we perceive in life, it can create tension and stress for us.  Take baby steps in becoming more aware of choices that you make and how your body responds or reacts to certain situations and circumstances.  Observe if you find yourself holding your breath or feeling any restricted movements or even pain surfacing in different parts of your body.  This is your body’s automatic response to stress and by being aware of your body will give you greater clarity of what is creating tension in your life.  So the first thing to do is “BREATHE!”  Breathing brings us back into the present moment and allows us to connect with our body.

Hope this Life letter has brought some awareness and I welcome any feedback or comments.

Topic for next Life Letter – “Listening”