Our Body, Our Home
Let’s admit this: most of the time we inhabit our minds and not our bodies. We like to spend time and be carried away by our thoughts, and we tend to ignore the place we live in -unless we feel pain or discomfort. Of course, it’s not wrong to be in our head -we need to plan, to stay safe, to take care of our home and others, to think about the future (of ours and the world), to contribute, to succeed, etc.
But the more time we spend in our head, the more likely it is to feel strangers with our body, and when we come to “meet” it, we might not like it very much and think that “I’m not tall”, “I’m not as thin as her”, “I won’t have friends because I’m not attractive”, etc. Even worse than that, when this happens, we start treating our body as enemy, ignoring it, and allowing it to let us down.
In order to be whole, we need to come to peace with our body, befriend it, take care of it, and listen to its warning signals when it comes to stress or unhappiness before they arise. A way to learn to pay attention to our body is the Body Scan meditation. With this practice we “travel” within our body, bringing awareness to the different parts, noticing what’s happening there, even when nothing might seem to be happening.
You can do the Body Scan sitting, lying down or standing. Here are the main steps which you may follow on your own.
Settle in a comfortable position, feeling relaxed, yet alert.
You may keep your eyes closed, or leave them open with a soft gaze.
Bring your awareness to the points of contact between your body and the chair, or the floor.
Rest for a few moments, and pay attention to the natural rhythm of your breathing. On each out-breath, allow yourself to sink a little deeper into the surface you’re sitting or lying, letting your weight up to gravity.
Bring your attention to different parts of your body. You can start from the head and go down, passing from the different parts of the face, the throat and the neck, the shoulders, the arms till the fingers, the chest and abdomen, the upper back, middle back, lower back, the pelvis, the hips, the thighs, the knees the lower legs, the ankles and then the different parts of the feet. You can also start from the toes and go upwards.
In each part, linger for a few moments to notice the different sensations there -if any.
Every time you notice that your mind has wandered, bring your attention back with kindness to the part of the body you last remember. Don’t give yourself a hard time; that’s what minds do. And you may need to do this again, and again, and again.
If you fall asleep, that’s ok. You might be tired or maybe that’s an expression of resistance to become aware of your body. Next time try to practice at a time that you are more likely to stay awake.
If you need to move during the practice to prevent pain or discomfort, you may do so.
Do this practice regularly and consistently, and you will discover how enjoyable it can be.