Each of us can think back to times when we have felt alive and electric in our bodies. What we were doing and what we were feeling had us so in touch with our sensations and vitality that we felt so at home inside ourselves and we knew then how good it was to be alive. It is times like these we are conscious of our connection with our bodies, and we are embracing all the aliveness, vibrancy, assurance, awareness, touch, and sensual contact with the world we can consume when we can live in that perfect embodied moment of bliss.
But these perfect moments don't last for long. All too often they are fleeting, never staying with us for as long as we would like, and always fading before we are ready to farewell them, always leaving us yearning for their return.
What is Body Awareness and Why is it Important?
So, what exactly is body awareness? How can we maintain the sensation of aliveness and fulfilment that it provides? Being conscious of your body means focusing your attention entirely on your body and living through it so that your mind and body are one. Much of the time in adulthood, our focus and energy are primarily in our minds, and we exist apart from the other parts of our body.
The Benefits of Being Embodied
When you are completely conscious of your body, you live as one person, delighting in a sense of integration and harmony. Your body motions are free, instinctive, and coordinated, and your sense is acute, like that of a wild animal, your body charged with excitement. You have the internal certainty, vigour, and response to the world around you that is the definition of true sensuality.
Discovering Your Body: An Exercise in Sensuality
When I first learned of body awareness or the concept of inhabiting your body by being embodied, I thought it was a ludicrous idea. But slowly, I began to grasp what was meant by performing yoga and, subsequently, Tantra, as well as studying massage and energy healing modalities such as crystals and Reiki. I noticed when I was living too much in my mind and I noticed different experiences where when I could sense with my entire body.
During Tantric bodywork sessions, I was often captivated by the differences in energy, colour, and vibration, that I could sense in different sections of their bodies. Slowly, I saw that the areas of the person's awareness seemed warmer and more alive, whereas the areas from which he or she was cut off or blocked were colder, sadder, and dulled.
How To Make Contact With Your Body
We all have some level of body awareness, but few of us are totally aware of our complete selves, and even fewer use our whole range of emotions and feelings. Most of us have a partial degree of awareness of our bodies. We may be acutely aware of our upper bodies but lack sensation in our pelvis, legs, or feet, or we may perceive sensation more on one side of the body than the other.
Barriers to Achieving Body Awareness and How to Overcome Them
One of the most significant barriers to discovering body awareness is that most of us are unaware of how numb and lifeless some sections of our bodies are. We are accustomed to living with aches, stiffness, and tightness, as well as responding to ourselves through the lens of how we appear rather than how we feel.
Sensual Living: Tips for Living in Your Body
Give this quick and simple exercise a try to find out how your body is right at this moment.
Sit down in a comfortable chair or lay on your bed. Slowly close your eyes.
Take your time to feel your body up against the chair or the mattress on your bed. Wherever your body touches something, move your attention to it and be aware of it. It doesn't have to be large; it can just as easily be a subtle feeling.
As you breathe in and out, notice what parts of your body move with your breathing.
Allow your attention to drift gently through your entire internal body. How much of what is inside you can you connect with this way? Are there any parts inside you that you can feel and sense clearly? Are there any that are dull or distant?
Do certain parts of your body seem bigger, softer, or warmer than others? Can you feel the base of your spine? Can you feel the back of your head? Can you feel the tips of all your toes?
Is there any distinction between your right and left sides? Are you aware of any tense regions or sensations of heat or cold, tingling, pleasure, discomfort, or even feelings of nothingness?
You might be astonished by the results of this little experiment. Many people discover that certain areas of their bodies are blank, cut off, or even numb. Others discover that instead of truly experiencing a part of their bodies, they prefer to imagine it, moving their imagination around a picture of their bodies.
Try repeating the experiment from time to time to see if anything changes.
We can all recall occasions when we felt alive and energised in our bodies. At a time when we were so in touch with our senses and energy because of what we were doing and feeling that we felt at home inside ourselves and realised how nice it was to be alive.
It is during moments like these that we become aware of our connection with our bodies, and we embrace all the aliveness, vibrancy, and assurance that comes with it. Little exercises like this are designed to remind us what is possible if we take the time to focus on the body.
This is why is it important to discover awareness in your body so that it may be opened for complete sensual fulfilment and why your embodied experience matters.
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The information contained above is provided for entertainment purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice on your personal situation and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. The Writer and Shoshin Therapies disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.
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