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Think about it. 20 years ago, normal meant bar soap and a multivitamin.
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At Space Studios. Hi there. Welcome to Radio Headspace.
It's Eve here with you. I hope you're having a good week.
I wanted to spend a little time today unpacking one of the core foundations of mindfulness. and that is mindfulness of body.
Our body is a source of information. But more often than not, we're quite disconnected from what is happening in the body.
Sometimes intentionally, and other times unintentionally.
And our different lived experiences will also play a role in this.
When we sit to meditate and practice mindfulness, we're shining a light on what is happening in each moment.
And our body is affected by and reacts to different physical and mental states.
So in that sense, it is a vast source of information.
As we go about our daily lives The body we inhabit is subject to the stresses and challenges that we face.
We might receive a difficult email and that tension is absorbed into our neck and our shoulders. and we might stay tense and uncomfortable for the rest of the day.
This discomfort might then impact how we interact with others.
We might blame the person for sending the email. instead of taking the time to understand why it upset us and how it made us feel.
Connecting with the body provides a space where we can start to let go of and recognise how our thoughts and feelings impact us.
That is not to push them away or ignore them, but to see what is happening as it's happening.
For example, if you're experiencing a strong emotion like anger, it can be very physical.
So being present with how it impacts you can actually help you ride the wave of anger.
That might be recognizing that your breathing is really shallow and so taking some slow deep breaths.
Or if that's too difficult, it could be connecting with the sensation of the feet on the floor. to help you feel grounded and supported.
So cultivating mindful attention of the body can help slow down the traffic in the mind.
By refocusing the attention, on different parts of the body that feel safe and accessible to you.
Having greater awareness of our body also helps us to recognize when something might not feel good. or we're struggling in some way.
I sometimes hear from folks that they struggle to connect with the breath in meditation.
And there can be lots of reasons for this.
So rather than trying to push on through, which may make you only struggle more, you can redirect your attention to a different point in the body.
This could be the sensation of the hands in the lap, or the back leaning against the chair.
It's really about paying attention to what feels right for you in the moment.
And if that means adjusting your focus, then that is okay.
Practising a body scan is a really great way to cultivate curiosity about the body.
It also really helps to show you what areas may need some attention. or areas of the body that you don't feel comfortable focusing on.
And that is completely fine. I just wanted to share one final point.
And that is that we often deeply underestimate how much the body does for us in the background.
I know it can feel hard to feel gratitude towards our bodies sometimes, especially if we're unwell, or there is pain or discomfort that is present. but it can be helpful to acknowledge the body and all the different functions it provides for us.
I particularly like to feel grateful for the sense of touch. that we can feel someone else's touch or how good it feels when we receive a hug.
There are some really great body scan exercises in the Headspace app that you can try.
They are some of my favorite meditations.
So just search Body Scan in the app. leave it there for today.
Thank you so much for joining me.
