When I was new to yoga, I was curious about what my teachers meant by “listen to your body” when they would say this phrase in class.
It may seem intuitive, but to a disembodied 25-year-old me, it was confusing.
It may take some practice to notice how our bodies communicate with us, it does this all the time through symptoms and sensations.
The thing is, the demands of our modern lives have taken so much head and heart space that we are unable to take a pause to hear and listen to our bodies. We are so used to pushing down feelings so we can function and be productive.
Even productivity has taken a definition of being financially profitable. If you are not doing something that can contribute to the financial gain of your business, like resting, taking a break or doing an alignment audit, you are not productive.
The result — disembodiment.
When disembodied, we live out of alignment and imbalance. It is not honoring the integrated parts of us instead we act in separation from our beliefs, true emotions and the Truth. There is a lack of union of the mind, body, spirit.
One easy to understand example is saying yes instead of no. While it may not seem like it, this small decision can have a big impact on how you experience your life.
So how do we become embodied?
The first step is to listen to your body.
Here are a few ways that you can develop this listening skill:
Be open to feel. Make space for silence and solitude in your daily life. It may not seem like it, but you can make time for yourself. Make this a somatic experience where you become open to your body to listen to its language (symptoms and sensations) of communication.
Feel what you feel. Acknowledge what you feel instead of denying it. I’m all for optimism and we can all choose to think positive. However, we can also fall into toxic positivity which leads to denial. That wouldn’t lead us to finding the enlightened solutions, instead the problem may get bigger.
Accept what you feel. Adopt a non-judgement attitude towards your feelings. Act as an observer instead of problem solver, which as high-achievers we often fall into. This doesn’t mean that you are allowing it to become worse, instead surrendering with kindness and compassion.
Value what you feel. While your body changes in every stage of your life, trust that it changes for your good. These feelings are feedback to inform you when your body needs rest and activation so it is in balance or homeostasis. Only in balance that your body can be optimized and healed.
Your yoga practice, or any movement or somatic practice, can help you become more connected with your body and deepens body awareness that will help you in creating a sustainable movement habit. In consequence, improving how you experience your life moment to moment.