Awareness of our own body is a fascinating case in point. Many of us take our body for granted, pretty much ignoring it - until it becomes sick or disabled. How much of the time are you off in thoughts - a disembodied floating head, while your body runs on autopilot?
Activities like yoga, tai chi, qi gong, karate, judo, dancing, gymnastics etc teach us to appreciate our bodies - we learn experientially what it's like to fill our bodies with awareness. Feeling embodied gives one a reassuring sense of not just physical, but overall competence. One feels truly fully present! While being in one's head gives rise to an unpleasant, neurotic mood - akin to "cabin-fever" - "not all there".
Sitting, standing and walking meditation are powerful means of reconnecting with our bodies, of cultivating refined body-awareness. Initially, we might notice some stiff sore areas that we might not have noticed before. This is not caused by the meditation practice, rather the result of us developing greater body-awareness. As our body-awareness becomes more refined, we may notice that we can't feel some parts of our bodies - but gradually we can bring meditative awareness into these "numb spots" as well. We also may notice varying degrees of armoring - very stiff musculature in various parts of our body - this takes some time to loosen.
It's not a competitive race. Patient, consistent practice using minimal force, but persistent, gentle intelligence cultivates our innate natural wisdom.
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| Credit: slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/myprof/unusual-pics08-20120phyl1 |
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