It’s kind of crazy the many ways we as humans are able to escape our bodies, and how synonymous those things are with a good time or relaxing, like binge-watching shows, exorbitant amounts of bad food or drinking, all easy and completely accepted activities in society. I’m not saying that these are bad things, I’m just wanting to bring up the topic of why we do any of this in excess or even veer towards it instead of things that bring us back to our bodies.
An example, having a glass of wine at the end of the day instead of breathwork or maybe even working out to release some anger or frustration, one probably sounds like a better choice to you than the other and I’m guessing it’s the glass of wine. And you know what, there are some moments I totally agree, this is something I've been asking myself often because I know what is on the opposite side of these activities, but why am I still watching 7 hours of TV? For me, it’s because things are changing, it feels uncomfortable and hard and I don’t want to be within this body while it’s happening, but I do recognize that I actually have to be present to move through these things and get through the uncomfortable. So I completely understand the side of avoidance, but I also know that there is something better for us.
You’re probably thinking… “I’m in my body all day, working, stressing, running errands, taking care of my life, why is it that at the end of this exhausting 12+ hours, you’re asking me to question why I would want to escape for the last couple hours of my day?”
Yes, I am. Because none of that was within your body.
If I could ask you how your heart felt as you were rushing through those errands, could you tell me? Beyond maybe annoyance, what was your body feeling, did you sense any parts of your muscles tensing up? Were you taking full deep breaths? My guess, probably not. We are often so outside of ourselves throughout our days, taking care of others, rushing from one to-do to the next that we have absolutely no idea what is going on within our body. You may not notice that the stress is causing you to release cortisol, which then affects many things within you including metabolism and immune function, then you have physical responses of tensing your fists on the wheel as you drive and this, if not addressed is then stored within your fascia, because what you don’t process, we have now learned, becomes stored within your physical and emotional body. This can then lead to a buildup of trauma and you feel symptoms like lower back pain, tense neck, headaches, or maybe even cause an injury. Ya, it does go that far.
It’s so easy to bulldoze through our days, but when we have moments where we aren’t being pulled in various directions, maybe we need to just be within ourselves, that’s the time to ask, what am I feeling? Instead of opening your phone and mindlessly scrolling through instagram, take some deep breaths in and out. Where is my body at in relation to what is going on in my life? All things that can be done in as little as 15 minutes, to just check in and take a moment to respect and appreciate this one body you have. I know by the end of the day our decision making process is pretty much depleted, hence it's easier to grab to go food than make a meal at home, so, in an attempt to get out of our own way and better ourselves, decide in the morning, tonight I’m going to come home and stretch, I’m going to meditate, decide how you’re going to show up for yourself before the moment has happened and give yourself a chance to grow. Give your body a chance to communicate to you what it needs. I have lived so much of my life ignoring this body that I am in, and I’m a dancer, but being put into situations where it was safer for me to leave my body then comprehend what was going on around me, I shut that channel off at a very early age. So if someone who spent 6-8 hours a day moving and learning through their body, finds it easy to escape while even in the process of using it, just think how easy it would be for someone who is working crazy hours, sitting at a desk, a life that is not catered to listening to the physical form at all. So if you only leave with a small nugget of information from this, I hope you take away how important it is to respect this thing you are living in, you don’t get another, age does not make it easier, but what you do to it and for it absolutely matters. I read a profound statement from an acupuncturist lately,
“When the soul is damaged, the body remembers.”
We won’t be perfect, I won’t be perfect, but it definitely gives me the knowledge and awareness to try to be better. This being is as intelligent as our minds, if not more, it feels what we feel and knows what we know, and will do everything in its power to protect us, should we not do the same?