The Importance of Body Mindfulness

As humans I think we sometimes forget that we only get one body with a beating heart that carries our soul, and works hard beyond its limits in performing daily tasks. We forget the importance of Body Mindfulness.

With every movement since childbirth, our body allows us to explore the depths and horizons of the world around us. The mountains we climb, the physical activities, marathons, heavy weight and lifting that we do in labour, for women- carrying another heartbeat for about 9 months and then bringing it to physical life and keeping it alive. The list goes on.

I invite you, before reading any further, picture your body sitting next you. Take a deep look at the curves, the imperfections of the perfection that was brought into this world by two other humans. The complexity of the DNA strands that grew to be, well, your body at this very moment.

Doesn’t it already bring about an appreciation for this creation that makes life around you happen? Not just physically and mentally, but also the experience it brings of feeling your emotions deep within. It’s quite remarkable don’t you think?

Now let’s continue, how often do we actually listen to our bodies? vs. how often do we do whatever it takes to shut the noise out? Suppress every little bit of pain to just keep going for that one more hour at work, through conflict, at the gym, on a night out, whatever it may be.

We do absolutely anything we can to push through until our bodies become immobilized. We are then forced to slow down. Even then, we blame it. It doesn’t quite make sense. How did it come to be this way?

For some, living with pain then becomes the new normal. I have found that not many of us talk about it, yet lately I’ve been meeting more and more humans during my travels who are experiencing pain and living with injury. The mindset is still to just keep pushing forward.

We can give every excuse in the book, and at the end of the day, the health of your body and your overall health couldn’t be labeled with a price tag. It is priceless.

To let yourself feel the aches and pains, to nurture them. Give time to heal. To finally come to understand that there is no quick fix to the problems, although there is temporary relief. I think first it is important to ask yourself if that is something that you want; to grow a new relationship with yourself.

Imagine living in a space with yourself and your body where you did not feel let down by it, or angry that you had to sacrifice your time to rest instead of work.

What would happen if you sat down with your pain? If just for a moment, allow your mind to let go and drop into deep breaths and give yourself permission to explore the sensations tingling all throughout this living organism which is your body.

Sometimes that is all it takes, to simply start paying attention and taking whatever comes up in that present moment, and working through it. This will range for every individual depending on their history.

Building a relationship takes time, however there are plenty of resources that can help put this into practice. Start small and make it a conscious goal each day. For instance it could be such as drinking enough water everyday, stretching after exercise, mindful eating, or favorite one is conscious deep breaths.

Massage is an excellent way of putting this to practice, not only does it require a practice of giving permission to another human to place their hands on your body and it also is a great way to start feeling the different kind of sensations in your body through touch and focusing your attention on that as well as breath.

This explains why some humans get emotional before, during or after massage. So next time you decide to book a treatment why not put this to a personal test and explore what happens for you. We hope you enjoyed this topic and found it helpful for your personal growth. Now that is the importance of body mindfulness!