Body Awareness
The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci
The ability to recognize how your body reacts to the stressors in your life can be a powerful skill. Most people are more aware of the weather, the time of day, or their bank balance than they are of the tension in their own bodies of their personal stress response. Your body registers stress long before the conscious mind does. Muscle tension is your body’s way of letting you know that you are under stress, and body awareness is the first step toward acknowledging and reducing stress.
You inevitably tense your body when you experience stress. When the stress is removed, the tension will also go away. Also, chronic muscular tension occurs in people with particular beliefs or attitudes and tends to tighten specific muscle groups. For example, a woman who believes that it is bad to express anger is likely to have chronic neck tension and pain, while a man experiencing a lot of anxiety about the future may develop chronic stomach problems. This chronic muscular tension restricts digestion, limits self expression, and decreases energy. Every contracted muscle blocks movement.
Differentiating between your external awareness and internal awareness in order to separate the world from your physical reaction to it is important. External awareness includes all stimulation to the five senses from the outside world. Internal awareness refers to any physical sensation, feeling, emotional discomfort, or comfort inside your body. Much of the tension in your body isn’t felt because most of your awareness is directed toward the outside world. Below, you will learn about Gestalt exercises designed to locate and explore your body tension.
Background
The importance of body states, their effect on consciousness, and their relationship to stress have been emphasized for many centuries by eastern philosophies such as Zen, yoga and Sufi. During this century, the work of Wilhelm Reich, originally a student of Freud, kindled Western psychiatry’s interest in the body’s interaction with emotional conditions. Two modern therapies that concentrate on the body and its relationship to emotional stress are Fritz Perls’ Gestalt therapy and Alexander Lowen’s bioenergetic therapy. Both of these therapies work closely with the mind-body relationship.
Body Inventory
The following exercises promote body awareness and will help you identify areas of tension.
Internal versus External Awareness
- First focus your attention on the outside world. Start sentences with, “I am aware of.” (For example, “I am aware of the cars going by outside the window, papers moving, coffee perking, the breeze blowing, and the blue carpet.”)
- After you have become aware of everything that is going on around you, shift to focusing your attention on your body and your physical sensations – your internal world. (For example, “I am aware of feeling warm, my stomach gurgling, tension is my neck, nose tickling, and a cramp in my foot.”)
- Shuttle back and forth between internal and external awareness. (For example, “I am aware of the chair pushing into my buttocks, the circle of yellow light from the lamp, my shoulders hunching up, the smell of bacon.”)
- Used at free moments through the day, this exercise allows you to separate and appreciate the real difference between your inner and outer worlds.
Body Scanning
Close your eyes. Starting with your toes and moving up your body, ask yourself, “Where am I tense?” Whenever you discover a tense area, exaggerate it slightly so you can become aware of it. Be aware of the muscles in your body that are tense. Then, for example, say to yourself, “I am testing my neck muscles… I am hurting myself… I am creating tension in my body.” Note that all muscular tension is self-produced. At this point, be aware of any life situation that may be causing the tension in your body and what you could do to change it.
Letting Go of Your Body
Lie down on a rug or a firm bed and get comfortable. Pull your feet up until they rest flat on the floor and close your eyes. Check yourself for comfort. (This may require shifting your body around.) Become aware of your breathing… Feel the air move into your nose, mouth, and down your throat into your lungs. Focus on your body and let all your nose, mouth, and down your throat into your lungs. Focus on your body and let all of the parts come into your awareness spontaneously. What parts of your body come into awareness first? What parts are you less aware of? Become aware of which parts of your body you can feel easily and which parts of your body have little sensation. Do you notice any difference between the right and left side of your body? Now become aware of any physical discomfort you are feeling. Become aware of this discomfort. It may change… Scan your body and residual tension or discomfort and let it go with each exhalation. Continue letting go for five to ten minutes, allowing your body to take over.
