Tuning our Somatic Awareness

Somatic awareness is another way of saying ‘felt awareness’. It is something we each cultivate personally and it is not found outside of us. When we broaden our Somatic awareness, our inherent wisdom of our body, energy and even life force align or develop. We might find that as this happens we notice a natural lessening of stress and health issues in our lives.

In order to truly practice this personal relationship of felt awareness you need to suspend so much of what we have learned throughout our lives. Felt awareness is not the model we generally have been taught so we need to actively seek it out and shift what we have already learned.
So much of our learning has been through habituation often corresponding to implicit learning. This is learning that happens without conscious awareness of actually ‘learning’ it. Examples would be eating or walking where learning occurs through passive, incidental and automatic acquisition. No conscious effort to absorb the learning is required
These habits of ‘being’ and unconscious knowledge can play a significant role in our lack of awareness to our own thought processes and disconnect to our felt sense of personal awareness.

Also, we have been taught a perspective of compartmentalization when it comes to our bodies, emotions and spirit. Part of this is the perception of the body as an ‘object’. If we can begin to expand our awareness and see the interconnectivity of our physical functions (brain, organs, cells, foods) with our emotions, thoughts and beliefs then perhaps we can realize that our wellness is something we have great influence with.

“Subatomic particles, and all matter made therefrom, including our cells, tissues and bodies, are in fact patterns of activity rather than things.”
-Fritjof Capra

Our bodies and health are not static occurrences but ever changing and dynamic. The body, mind and emotions are living systems that are influenced and influencing always. When you can touch the edge of your own awareness you realize it is not a fixed boundary but a landscape to continually expand. As living systems our nature is to constantly adapt and renew, not to be rigid or closed. We are in a constant dance of renewal whether we notice it or not. Awareness can allow us to participate in this, at a core level, consciously.
Embodying awareness can unwind the way in which we have learned to be in relationship with our bodies and lives. In being aware and not being attached to our thought processes/perspective we can change our ‘reality’ by changing our experience.

So, how can we do this? How do we shift something that seems habitual or occurring without conscious effort?
How do we begin to have a ‘felt sense’ of our selves and move beyond the idea of static lines and more into the interconnectivity that brings us the equivalence of winning the lottery?

What things can we do to live a more vivastic, in-joyed and embodied life?

Is it possible that even small changes in how we perceive our selves and life can have powerful affects on how we live in our own bodies?
What if all of this is much simpler than we think?

If any of these questions have struck a chord in you or inspired your own personal inquiry, then lets try some things.

It will be a little different from person to person since each of us has our own degree of perfectly beautiful challenges to work with; especially it seems when it comes to looking within our own thoughts and feelings. Wherever you are, that is where you begin. There is no hierarchy to this or competition as far as who wins the ‘most self aware’ award. This is for you and it is you who will shape and direct what you discover. Take as much time as you need.  And honestly, as you begin to explore it will become more and more ‘second nature’ and less effort /work is needed.

Here are some things to try as you move into your exploration.

~Find 5 minutes in your day, when you are not too tired, to bring your focus to your breath (it could be right now). Instead of the usual expand the belly style of ‘deep breathing’ I want you to simply follow the sensation of the breath beginning at the nostrils.
For now, lets just concentrate on the inhales and let the exhales happen on their own. I want you to follow your inhales and see if you can trace the path of the breath through your body. Notice where you lose track of it, what the sensation feels like and how it moves. If you seem to continuously lose it at the nostrils, that’s fine, just be with that moment at every inhale with the intention to follow it further. If you are able to go beyond the nostrils see if you can begin to direct the breath through your body to area like your hands or feet. See if you can get creative with directing the flow and even see if you can connect any colors to your breath. See what naturally arises in the imagination because I believe ‘imagination’ is linked to intuition and body wisdom. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Follow your impulse and curiosity and notice what you notice.

~ Find a place indoors or outdoors to take your shoes off and walk barefoot. Set a goal for 5 minutes and in a location where your feet feel ‘safe’ from anything unfriendly. Begin by bringing your eyes to a soft gaze on a ‘far off horizon’. (This essentially means not tilting any direction but head floating on top of your spine with ease, eyes looking forward.) Your gaze is not fixed on any one place and your peripheral vision is open. First, just stand and feel your feet on the ground. Notice contact with the surface below you, skin sensation, weight sensation, temperature and balance. Be present with noticing all that you can while simply standing and the exchange of you meeting the ground and the ground meeting you. Bring presence to your breath and sensations throughout your body and notice any thoughts and emotions too. Then consciously choose to take your first step and notice all that is involved in doing that. Shifting your weight, muscle engagement, balance and so much more before placing that foot in a new location. This list doesn’t even scratch the surface of what goes into our balance and walking but this is where we begin. See how many layers you can notice in this simple process that we often do without thinking. Notice how it can change your sense of self in space with gravity, your emotions as you slow down and your mind/thoughts as you move differently. You might be amazed by what you learn.

~ For this exercise find a room where you can stand with eyes closed and make full body movements/gestures safely. Set a goal (or timer) of 5 minutes and while keeping your eyes closed begin to move your body. See what impulses you can follow and let the movements be 3 dimensional and on all height levels. See where you can bend and fold, arc and curve or expand and contract. Play with direction, speed and repetition. (Your feet do not need to be glued to the ground but stay in a relative diameter that maintains your safety with eyes closed.) Allow yourself to move in different shapes and forms even if you might find it embarrassing if you felt others were watching. This exercise is great for strengthening your kinesthesia and proprioception; which is our bodies built in awareness of position and movement of body parts in relation to self and space. We rely so heavily on our sight and habits that we often disconnect from this potent ‘felt awareness’ that we already have built in. Let’s reconnect and let it teach us.

Each of these exercises asks you to do something out of the ordinary that helps to develop and rebuild our inner felt awareness or somatic knowledge. Each of these is quite simple and yet can have far reaching affects when practiced a few times a week or perhaps every day. There are no limits to what we can discover using these as springboards into our own awareness. This ability to cultivate and bridge the inner sensation/experience with the outer world mechanisms is important. Otherwise we end up having either/or and truly we want access to both.
Our life force and intelligence is like a seed; constantly moving towards the light. In this practice there is no forcing, we are allowing what is natural to arise, to move towards the light, to show us what life is potential.

All Parts Included

I wanted to look at the art and challenge of self-acceptance; the practice of accepting ourselves with all of our unique foibles, idiosyncrasies and less than shiny bits. (No ifs, ands or buts.)

This practice is so essential because it fundamentally informs the way we perceive the world, others and our own self. And our perceptions create our ‘reality’……or at least how we feel about it and choices we make.

My question to you is this:
When you think of yourself and look at the complete/everything included version, do you allow all your different parts to show themselves or are there some parts you consistently keep hidden away? (Hidden except for when they manage to act out or until you can tuck them back out of sight.)
Are there parts of your self you don’t show due to shame, embarrassment or simply feel they are ‘unacceptable’?
Are there parts of yourself you don’t like?

This is interesting territory to look into because it is a natural human response to avoid things we don’t like or enjoy. It seems quite ‘normal’ to ignore those less than savory parts or tuck them outside of the light of who we (want to) see ourselves to be. (And many of us have our parts that we might struggle with….)

The truth is, I have yet to discover a way of fully seeing, loving or accepting oneself that might include a severing or rejection of certain parts of our selves for any reason.
With this in mind, if we are participating in any form of blacklisting or diminishing of certain parts, I don’t see how we will be able to fully enjoy the nourishment of self-acceptance and authentic self-love.

(Again, when I say ‘authentic self-love’ or acceptance I am speaking of the kind where there are no caveats or strings attached. It is a state of being without an ‘if’ or ‘but’.)

It can be quite a puzzle because what we have generally learned is to only acknowledge or truly show the parts that we like or are ‘acceptable’. And since this is status quo, it seems like this behavior is a no brainer, right?
But what if…
What if the key to consistent and grounded self –love/acceptance is actually about gathering together all parts of us? Even if we don’t like them, what if we choose to invite them in and accept them as is?
What if we gave these parts caring face time (and not just when they are ‘acting out’ or causing a ruckus inside of us)?

Here’s what I know; each of us have these parts that we might want to reject or hide, even from ourselves. And each of our reasons and relationships with these parts are unique to our own lives. That is why there will always be a unique approach we each need to discover for ourselves. But I fully believe each of us can discover this approach and a deeper sense of self-acceptance without question.

These parts that we try to ignore always find ways to speak up and get out from under wherever we have ‘hidden’ them. This internal dynamic creates a tension and even a setup for pitfalls. It can support a system of continuous push/pull that leads to a sense of internal struggle, depression or self-deprecation (to name a few). It can also fuel dynamics you perpetuate in your external relationships with others. These inner dynamics can cause replicated behaviors of rejecting others, reacting as opposed to communicating or favoring only that which is simple/pleasant. (I am sure each of us can connect the dots along these lines somewhere in our own lives)

Learning to recognize how we shut out or snub certain parts of ourselves and then choosing to integrate them back into the ‘whole’ can actually free up energy we are exerting to keep them ‘out’ or hidden. This acceptance and integration that we can cultivate is a tool that benefits not only ourselves but also our interactions and relationships with others. It can bring a sense of calm, empowerment and renewed energy within us that has a domino effect throughout our lives.

Learning to “ride the bike”

I realize that this is generally easier said than done and I don’t offer any of these suggestions lightly. For me, the practice of the self  is one that requires attention, patience and a whole lotta kindness. The metaphor of riding a bike works pretty well here and all the qualities of: focus, consistent practice, encouragement, repetition, willingness, effort and…. falling over.
When we first learned to ride a bike we might have gotten frustrated, had a bit of a cry, felt scared or even fallen but somewhere in the process we simply needed to take a breath, trust and try again. We didn’t typically accept that falling over was all there was to it and stop there.

Accepting and loving our selves without question is similar in this way. First we need to recognize there is something beyond our conditioned patterns to move towards. To a certain degree I am not even sure we are aware of this ‘self -practice’ that can help cultivate an all round more pleasant ride in our lives. Many of us have reached the point where we can at least function on autopilot so why fix something ‘if it ain’t broken’.
It’s as if we don’t realize we can cruise smoothly on our bikes and tend to think that constantly falling over every few feet is as good as it gets. But imagine the difference if falling became more infrequent and you could actually enjoy sailing downhill with your feet on the handlebars. Suddenly even the challenges of hills and traffic became more manageable or possibly nourishing.
When we engage the qualities of awareness, focus, willingness and kindness and apply them to our own personal growth…anything is possible.

If living with less stress, tension and criticism were possible would you choose to move in that direction?
If cultivating more self love and energy were within reach would you try or practice something different?

If yes, then try this.

Our ‘small stories’: Affecting Change

I read somewhere that ‘our small story can only sustain itself if it remains unconscious. Recognizing it is the beginning of the end.’

For me this means that actually becoming aware of our habitual patterns towards not fully accepting ourselves is the first step towards change.

~We realize that we have divisive habits that use up crucial energy and are not serving us.
~We realize that the habit of diminished self-acceptance can perpetuate the same behavior towards others in our lives.
~We acknowledge that we are capable of developing new habits that are more sustainable.

In order to affect change we must have clarity, keep it simple and on some level see it is achievable. This way we can decrease resistance, avoid gumption traps and maintain a sense of inner encouragement.

So, in learning how to ride this bike we start small and simple. You get to discover your own tweaks for what works best for your own personal environment.

Practice
Since we are focusing on self-acceptance of all parts of our selves this is where we will hone our attention. At some point during your day (perhaps just before bed) take a few minutes to survey the range of your thoughts and feelings and see if there are any moments you notice a lack of self acceptance or a diminishing thought about some part of yourself.
Just notice it and see if you can take a breath with it and find some way to perfectly accept and acknowledge without judgment this feeling or thought. Try to create a field of acceptance without question and embrace this ‘part’. Notice what this type of acceptance feels like in your body…the sense of it. And that’s all. You can do this with as many thoughts as you have the energy to fully find acceptance for and when you feel complete (even if this is after just one)….you simply let it go.

Creating a memory for the felt sense of acceptance is powerful. It’s like programming a computer or building a bridge….as you practice it allows more access to your ability to create acceptance.

This practice may sound too simple but it is amazingly potent to begin by accepting the parts that are often the ones doing the bullying. This small act can set a trend towards getting to know what this type of acceptance feels like in your body, creating a memory to access it more easily in the future and building bridges for integrating all your different parts no matter what they look like. It also flips the ‘game’ or conditioning on it’s head. We generally play out these habits in a particular way and if we can interrupt the usual M.O. then we open up the gates for other possibilities.

This is the laboratory of you….and you are the genius within it all. You never know what you might discover….experimenting with the practice can uncover new truths, solve old mysteries or perhaps just give you wings for flying on that bike of yours.

Reclaiming intuition

The idea of ‘health’ is not a new topic of discussion. And there is no end to the opinions and variety of ways to be ‘healthy’. As I navigate my own questions regarding health I am committed to discovering more about what my body may (or may not) know. And what I am learning is that my body knows a lot….if I can develop my listening skills.
As people navigate their busy schedules and the overwhelming amount of information about health….I wanted to explore some basic connections around our personal wisdom and intuition. For me, there is no ‘cookie-cutter’ approach to this and we need to find balance between what we read and what we learn from our own bodies.

With the internet and shelves packed with books we have an abundant and growing access to information. At times it can be a tiring process to discern what is helpful for our own needs. And this is where my own intuition (body wisdom) comes critically into play. It becomes my internal compass to navigate these waters and steer me towards arenas perhaps most fruitful for exploring.

So, the place I ‘begin’ is with my own intuition or ‘gut’ feeling. All external information, no matter how compelling, needs to be in balance with the wisdom of my body as a dynamic entity. I have a pragmatist within me but due to the fact that the world (and our bodies) are ever evolving and there are always infinite (and sometimes inexplicable) possibilities…..I feel a clear need to live in balance between my developed intuitive sense and research/data. I also have discovered that there is no concrete ‘right or wrong’, ‘black or white’ when it comes to ‘health’ and living our diverse lives.

So, with all the abundance of information and without pointing the finger in one direction for anybody…..I would like to propose we each discover for ourselves what our body may (or may not) already know. This practice will help reconnect us to our sense of ‘intuition’ by developing our awareness.
This is of course a life long journey but every journey begins with at least 1 small (and perhaps simple) step.

Here are some basic starting points to consider…

1) The first thing that seems important is an interest in learning. Regardless of why….. try to develop an interest and/or investment in your own health and nourishment.

2) Open to the possibility of change or being outside your comfort zone….even for a moment or two.

3) Open to the idea that there is no ‘right or wrong’/ ‘black or white’ way to approach this. Discover what works for you. This may or may not look similar to what worked for somebody/everybody else.

4) Meet this experience without judging yourself or the things you observe. Respect at all times, as challenging as it might be, is a key piece of the puzzle.

These 4 points are fairly straightforward as a springboard for yourself or as little reminders.
(And you might also discover a few others that work for you.)
I find them to be a great support for this practice of cultivating awareness/intuition while keeping in mind it will look different for each person.

To get started, here are a few suggestions to help get the ‘ball rolling’. They are by no means the only possibilities to begin developing your awareness…. just there if you need them as you find what works for you.

~Try taking a few moments when you first wake up to notice if you feel ‘rested’ or any other sensations that present themselves.

~Take note during your day of any physical sensations (fatigue, bursts of energy,lethargy, clear thinking, headache, any acute pains). Don’t dismiss anything. Think of it like a treasure hunt and that there are ‘clues’ everywhere.

~ Notice how you feel before, during and after meals. Also notice how you feel about eating and your approach. Is it fast on the ‘go’ or do you sit down and relax etc?

~ Notice how you feel when you spend time with different friends, time alone, watching television, being outside and so on.

~Take note of any shifts in your emotional states during the day or the week. Are there situations that stir particular emotions for you? What are they? (even if it seems like something as obvious as ‘I am happy spending time with my friends’ etc)

Remember, a critical piece in noticing is to not judge any of it. To not diminish or inflate any of the observations. Start with a commitment of 1 week (or every other day if a week seems like too much right now). You will need to discover your own dance with this….perhaps you will write things down or find a schedule for your observations. Whatever works for you to actually engage this practice is perfect.
Simply begin.
Without being ‘goal’ oriented allow yourself, over time, to integrate this practice of awareness into your days. Keep re-visiting it for set amounts of time until you find it’s happening with less effort and feeling more ‘natural’.

I realize that we are a culture that has gotten used to quick fixes/gratification and that you might feel disappointed that there is no ‘answer’ (per se) here. It is more akin to answering a question with a question.
But intuition truly comes through the vehicle of awareness and these first steps of observation are the path to rebuild this vital foundation of awareness. I feel that developing this is critical for understanding our own health and well being.
Explaining the specifics of why this might be ‘true’ isn’t a straightforward answer. In many ways it is like wisdom that comes to you through a ‘back door’…..when you least expect it. And that’s why I suggest letting go of any ‘goal oriented’ approach.
Our reclaiming of intuition through awareness is more of a circular journey with intentions than a direct shortcut to an answer. And certainly it is one of curiosity, trust, peripheral vision and unexpected discoveries.

***********************************************************************************************************

I want to also offer a quick addition here to help ‘de-mystify’ intuition. Over time I find more people have forgotten how to access their intuition and consider it in the realm of the mystical or ‘special’ abilities. Science has actually been studying intuition and discovering that it is a noteworthy function of the brain/body. They have some theories and studies but of course they have no definitive ‘answer’ about it. And that is where I think we get hung up. When something is without measure it must be ‘mystical’….so basically, how can we trust it? I think over time we can truly re-develop our intuition as a resource to our wisdom and (among other things) it can be a dependable guide balancing our journey in ‘health’.

This short piece of writing can only perhaps scratch the surface or offer a ‘spark’. I am always delighted to correspond with people to help with creating personalized practices.

Neutral witnessing exercise

What if you tried this….
Imagine yourself along with a large group of people in a room or space. See yourself. See everyone (both people you know and that you do not).
And as you look around notice the thoughts and feelings that begin to arise. Notice any opinions, concepts or judgements that ensue.

To clarify upfront, I am not suggesting there is anything inherently ‘wrong’ with these thoughts. In fact they come quite naturally to us based on sterotypes or past experience/history with someone.
But since all these thoughts and opinions seem to be our general mode of operation, this exercise is an opportunity to try something different and see how it feels; offer the possibility for something new to emerge. It can even present the gift of witnessing ourselves and others without thought or critique constantly accompanying it.

So then, back to our visualization.

As you look around at all the people and energies simply lay down your judgements, opinions and attached emotions. Empty yourself of them and set your intention to be ‘present’ in witnessing everyone (including yourself) with a balanced neutrality. See if you can view and feel everyone as ‘equal’…..nobody exisiting as greater than or lesser than another. (Equal yet different.)
Observe the energy of the entire space and find if there is anywhere you feel a ‘dip’ or ‘elevation’ in how you perceive a person or area of the room. Continue to see if you can breathe into a sense of balanced neutrality throughout the space.

After a few minutes, are you able to get there?  If not, can you ask yourself ‘why?’ Or what got in your way?
Either way, simply notice what you onserve and how you feel.

Remember….this is not about erasing the unique qualities we all possess, diversity or past experiences.
It is simply a practice of letting go of attachment to our opinions and this accepting of an unquestioned standard of judgments. It is about interrupting the convenience of this system we have put in place of greater than/lesser than; a tendency to predominantly view the world through conditioned perceptions such as we find in social comparisons, concepts of success and ideas of ‘bad’ & ‘good’.

And….. it is just a practice.

When you ‘complete’ the exercise you can revert back to ‘business as usual’ if you choose……
and ….
there is also an invitation to see if there was anything you noticed in trying this.

Was there anything that felt different? How did it feel to step into this space?
In what ways do you feel curious about stepping outside your opinions and conditioning?
Either way, there is no right or wrong in this practice…………