INNER BODY AWARENESS

One simple yet highly effective way to create space in your life is closely linked to your breath. When you feel the air entering and leaving your body as your chest and abdomen rise and fall, you also become aware of your inner body. In that moment, your attention shifts from your breath to sensing the aliveness within you.

Some people are so absorbed in their thoughts, so deeply defined by the voices in their minds, that they can no longer feel the aliveness within. Not being able to feel the life that flows through your physical body is one of the greatest forms of deprivation. When you lose connection with your inner vitality, you start seeking other things to feel good, but nothing can suppress the discomfort that arises from losing touch with your own aliveness. This search for relief often leads people to external stimulants, such as drugs, excessively loud music, thrilling or dangerous activities, or even sex addiction. The drama in relationships can also be used as a means to avoid this inner discomfort.

The most common way people seek to escape the background unease is through relationships: “A man or woman who will make me happy.” However, this is risky because when the discomfort reappears, individuals tend to blame the other person.

Take two or three conscious breaths now. Can you begin to sense the aliveness spreading through your body? As you do, can you feel your body? Try focusing on different parts—your hands, arms, feet, and legs. Can you feel your abdomen, chest, neck, and head? What about your lips? Is there life in them? Then, try to feel your entire body as a whole. You may want to close your eyes at first to deepen the practice. Once you start to feel your body, open your eyes, look around, and continue to sense your body as you do.

Some readers may not need to close their eyes; they may even be able to feel their body while reading this.