2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
Body awareness has different levels. Last time we wrote about observing and being aware of our bodily sensations and experiences, about how this can help to be in deeper contact with oneself. Now we want to talk about another level of body awareness.
It happens that something happens and you react in the same way as you reacted to similar situations before, without listening to the sensations that arise in you specifically in this situation, albeit similar to the previous ones. For example, your state this time is different or the people around you are not at all the same as last time, then the bodily sensations may be slightly different. It’s as if you’re missing the unfamiliar sensations or don’t trust them, fearing this new and unknown. Then if you have changed, but continue to react in the usual way, then there is no way for these changes to manifest, declare yourself and start acting.
It is as if a person has worn one coat for a very long time. It has become very familiar, familiar, it may not always be comfortable, but understandable and well-known. But life went on and he changed so much that the coat gradually transformed, maybe it became more spacious, acquired convenient pockets, fasteners and beautiful trimmings. And this person continues to behave and act without noticing these changes. And even the sensations that appear from this renewed coat, he ignores, does not allow and does not use all the advantages of the new, since for him he is still in the old coat. Or, for example, a coat has become shabby and worn out, holes have appeared in it and it does not warm at all. But a person ignores the feeling of cold and what speaks of not comfort, and is absolutely sure that he is wearing a very beautiful coat.
So in life we change, our environment changes, and we react in the old and familiar, and therefore safe, way, not noticing bodily sensations that do not coincide with the old ones.
For example, you didn’t like eating porridge with love and care prepared by your mother as a child. And you still don't eat it out of old memory. Although they have grown long ago, have changed and your taste preferences have also changed, and it is likely that now the porridge will seem delicious to you. Or, on the contrary, you loved to enjoy strawberry jam as a child and, out of habit, still spread it on a roll in the morning, although this does not bring you the same pleasure.
Also with emotional reactions. Many people from childhood react to screaming and raising their voices with internal contraction, fading and fear. And they continue to react this way in adulthood, not noticing other reactions. For example, in addition to freezing and fear, you can feel the heat rising through the body and the impulse to put your foot forward; an impulse to scream back, run away, clench fists, or whatever.
It is the attention to bodily sensations and their nuances in different and similar situations that helps to notice these changes and admit the possibility of reacting differently.
We offer you a little experiment: observe your feelings, impulses and reactions in similar situations. Will bodily sensations and impulses be the same or will they be different and how will they differ? What will change if you pay more attention to new sensations? How will your behavior change?
We will be glad to receive your feedback and observations!
Your Natalia Fried
The article was written in collaboration with Aida Abramova, co-host of the "Body as a resource" group
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