Listening to your body.

Ooh, friend, I loved our practice of listening so very much last week. It was just what my soul (and nervous system) was needing. Thank you!

While we primarily focused last week on listening to the music, this week we'll focus a bit more on listening to our body.

We'll move, tune in, notice our body sensations, and really explore the key question of: what is my body telling me?

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How is this different than every other week?

Great question. As an embodiment-based practice, we're always focusing on sensing our body.... but this week, let's just play with and explore this emphasis of being in a state of listening too.

Does it change anything?

What happens when you sense your body with the intention of really listening to it?

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We can listen to our body as a whole, or zoom into a specific part...

For example, simply sense your feet. As you focus your awareness on your feet, notice the sensations of your toes.... heels.... soles... arches... all the tendons and fascia of your feet and ankles....

What do you sense?

What are you feet telling you?

(And then, repeat with any other body part.)

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Tuning in...

Some messages are loud and clear and obvious.

Some quieter. More subtle.

But as you tune in... what can you sense/notice about...

Your breath...

Your heartbeat...

Your skin...

Your jaw...

Your muscles...

Your tension...

Your relaxation...

Your level of movement...

Your level of stillness...

Your mood...

Your shoulders...

Your responsiveness...

Your reactions...

Your hips...

Your posture...

Your pleasure...

Your discomfort...

Your energy level...

Your hesitation...

Your lips...

Your leaning in...

Your leaning away...

Your excitement...

Your eyebrows...

Your knees...

Your contraction/constriction...

Your softening/relaxing/opening...

Your hands/fingers...

Your _______________

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Isn't your body amazing?

I mean, WOW--- our body is communicating so much to us alllllll the time!

We (of course) tune a lot of it out so that we can focus on other things (such as driving down the interstate), but how awesome is it that so much sensation is available if we tune in? I've started thinking of it as the bodcast. There is this whole amazing channel of information available right within us 24/7. Isn't that so cool?

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Listening to all kinds of messaging...

I think the idea of "Listening to your body" can tend to be emphasized as a practice of noticing for things that feel painful or wrong (as a way to avoid pain or injury). For example: "Be sure to listen to your body... Don't over do it... Listen to your body and modify if it feels painful. etc."

And, while that is definitely important to do (and makes sense, survival-wise), I want to also emphasize that there's SO MUCH GOODNESS to be experienced by listening to our bodies too. We don't have to just listen for "negative" or "warning" signals...

Our body is also where the JOY is!

The pleasure.

The curiosity.

The delight.

The peace.

The love.

The excitement.

And so much more.

So along with listening to our body's warning signals, this week's practice is definitely also about listening for all of the deliciousness available to us too.

(Whew! Thank goodness, right?)

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So......

What's your body telling you?

About you...

About this moment...

About how you feel...

About what feels good...

About what doesn't feel good...

About whether it is a yes or a no...

About how much energy you have...

About what mood you're in....

About which direction to take...

About what your body wants/needs...

About what you want/need...

About the environment/world around you...

Hmmmmm....

Thoughts? Sound interesting? I hope so!

As always, can't wait to dive in with you. See you soon!

Much love,

Dani