Anchoring In with a Body Scan
Coming home and grounding, anchoring into our bodies is a more revolutionary act than many people may think. When I speak to my clients about grounding into the body with their consciousness/ awareness, connecting the sensory experience with the mind and body, I explain how this helps a conversation take place, a very important conversation the change our lives in profound way. Whether we choose to listen or ignore this conversation it is happening. Sometimes we hear it through pain, stress, disease or depression as we grow closer to it with a compassionate ear.
As we grow more comfortable with holding awareness in our bodies, a capacity that has very much been conditioned out of us from childhood (think of children being asked to sit for prolonged periods at their desks without listening, negotiating, and responding to the bodies needs) we recognize that we need to unlearn some things, and learn some new ones. We have as adults continues this bad habit from childhood have we not, of ignoring the bodies needs at the desk, computer or phone? It’s time for a change.
We have more than one body. We have several.
An understanding of the emotional body and energy body are of great import as we awaken more fully to the fullness of our Being. When we start to open up the conversation, holding space for our emotional body to speak, it’s amazing how quickly it forgives us for the poor relationship we have with it. Life is ALL about relationships when it comes down to it. How we do relationship says a lot about who we are, what we value, and how happy we are.
Just like we ground a home to protect it from lightening storms, ground into the body for greater resilience to the ups and downs of life.
Most people I know struggle to know what they are feeling, to stay regulated in their nervous system as they are feeling. There are skills I hope we will begin to teach children from a young age so they can stay grounded under stress, since stress itself is not the culprit. It’s how we respond to it.
The basic body scan meditation is a great place to start.
When I was in my early 20’s I went to Vipassana, a 10 day silent meditation retreat in Onalaska, Washington. During the 10 days you are told to not make eye contact with anyone in the retreat. You aren’t allowed to read or write. Your one job is to BE with yourself. Each day you meditate for 10 hour a day in a group setting led by a teacher.
One of the first things I remember learning was body scan meditation. We laid down and started with the left big toe. Focus on that big toe until you feel a felt sense, a kind of fullness or general sensation there. Once you had, you would move to the toe next to it, and do the same there. Piece by piece throughout my whole body I came into relationship with each part of my physical body. This took a long time at first. Patience is important. But with this practice I was awakened to my being more fully spread out in ALL of me and not just the neck up! You an also find guided body scans, but I recommend trying this self guided approach. The key is that you really listen to your body and learn how it communicates with you through sensation. It also cultivates patience which is needed in order to be in healthy relationship with your body. Curiosity is also a beautiful muscle to exercise as well in this day and age. In the future you can then try guided meditations. You can also do multiple sessions if you lose patience and need to come back and explore the rest of the body.
Pain. Warmth. Tingling. Coolness. A rush of energy in the spot.
These are all considered sensations.
A spontaneous movement. Pins and needles. Lightness. It can be subtle so also trust yourself. And if you aren’t feeling anything after a bit of exploring patiently just move on and see if you can get a better read somewhere else and come back. Be gentle with yourself.
Sometimes just taking a nice deep breath with the intention to send some energy to that spot can be just the ticket to bring sensation there.
This can be done first thing in the morning while laying in bed, before you have even opened your eyes. This is the most prime time in your day where you will have the least resistance from your mind, as it’s still relatively turned off from sleep. Or try this right before bed to unwind from the day to set yourself with a more restful nights sleep.
If you need more personalized guidance in body scanning to develop a more loving, safe relationship with your body schedule a Somato-Emotional Healing Session or free discovery call to learn more.
Happy scanning,
Kamila
