On Cultivating Body Awareness

{May 24, 2022} 

- 2 Ideas from others -

“…our bodies hold on to past memories and experiences [and] it shows in our body language, posture, and our expressions. Physical manifestations of trauma can cause an upset stomach, migraines, hormone imbalances, and other medical conditions.  Studies have shown that there is a relationship between trauma and our bodies…Realizing your own breathing and other physical sensations foster a pathway for changes in responses to overwhelming feelings. ”

- Melody Wright, LMFT
Source: The Importance of Body Awareness

“Physical self-awareness is the first step in releasing the tyranny of the past… In my practice I begin the process by helping my patients first notice and then describe the feelings in their bodies— not emotions such as anger or anxiety or fear but the the physical sensations beneath the emotions: pressure, heat, muscular tension, tingling, caving in, feeling hollow, and so on.”

- Bessel van der Kolk
Source: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

- 2 Coaching Prompts -

• As you’re reading this, what sensations are you feeling in your body?

Coach nudge: Focus on the pressure in your seat. The cool air as you inhale, and the warmth as you exhale.

• Where do you feel tension in your body? What would it feel like to soften that area? What comes to mind as you do this?

- 2 Affirmations -

• I feel safe in my body.

• I sensations I feel is my body’s way of communicating with me.