Out of your head. into your body
Something I’ve come to terms with these last few months is how much time we spend in our heads: thinking/overthinking, needing to be stimulated/entertained, distracted. How much of our day is rushing from one thing to the next, thinking about what’s next - where you have to go/what you need to do etc etc.
We leave no time for body awareness. Our bodies come last in the scheme of life.
Think about this now - when was the last time you truly paid attention to how your body FEELS? Not what it looks like. Not how it moves. How it actually feels.
Are your shoulders up near your ears? Do you feel tension in your chest or stomach? Can you feel any pain or stiffness anywhere? Are you breathing into your belly or only your chest? Are your teeth clenched?
This is quite a foreign concept for a lot of people. It’s not until our body cries out in pain, gets super stiff, maybe you get sick or injured, can’t think straight or get a terrible headache. Maybe your digestions consistently awful - you feel bloated all the time but haven’t looked at your diet/lifestyle factors.
We genuinely don’t spend enough time being aware of our body and what it needs.
This is a really big reason I love my job so much. The hour that I have with clients is an hour out of their day where they are consistently paying attention to their body. How it feels, how it moves, what needs to be focused on. Do they need to be stretched, focus on mobility/strength training? Do they need to shift some energy and box for the session.
Our bodies and our bodies needs are different everyday. Which is why my sessions are never the same. I have so much gratitude for the time with my clients because our time together is solely focused on ‘what is going to have them leaving feeling better than when we started’. That is and always will be my intention with my work. Sometimes my sessions are predominantly coaching and listening, and I LOVE that. But being in a space where my clients feel safe and comfortable to work on their mind and body feels so incredibly special.
A few things I’ve been doing lately to FEEL more:
Training without any music or devices.
Going to the beach with nothing but my towel and drink bottle.
Surfing
Sitting outside in nature and just breathing.
Slow yoga
Stretching/mobility and trigger ball work.
