In the rush of our busy lives, it’s easy to feel disconnected from our bodies. We move through our days, constantly distracted by the demands of work, family, and the endless stream of things to do. There’s always something pulling at our attention—another task, another errand, another moment that needs our energy. In the midst of it all, our bodies try to speak to us, but we’re often too preoccupied to listen.
The truth is, our bodies hold so much valuable information. They carry the weight of our emotions, our stress, our joy, and our fatigue, but when we’re constantly in motion, it’s easy to overlook the subtle signals that our physical form is trying to communicate. We might feel a nagging ache in our shoulders, a heaviness in our chest, or a tension that pulls at us throughout the day, but we brush it aside, thinking we’ll deal with it later. And so, the disconnection grows.
What would it be like to pause? To step out of the swirl of distractions and give ourselves the gift of stillness? Find a safe, comfortable place to sit or lie down, and allow yourself to simply be. Close your eyes, and in that quiet moment, start to gently scan your body.
Begin at the top of your head. Are your temples tight? Is your jaw clenched? As you move downward, pay attention to what you feel in your neck, your shoulders, your chest. Are there areas that feel heavy, sore, or tense? Let your awareness travel slowly, passing through your abdomen, your hips, your thighs, all the way to your feet. Along the way, notice without judgment. Is there pain? Is there discomfort? Is there a sense of lightness anywhere? What is your body telling you?
The more we do this, the more we begin to understand the language of our bodies. That tension in your neck might be the stress you’ve been carrying from work. That tightness in your chest could be unspoken worries that have been sitting with you, unacknowledged. Or maybe you find a calm, relaxed sensation somewhere, reminding you that your body can also hold peace, if only you allow yourself the time to notice it.
Our bodies are always speaking to us, giving us clues about what we need, what we’re holding onto, and where we might need to release. But we can’t hear those messages when we’re constantly moving from one distraction to the next. It’s in the moments of stillness—when we quiet the outside noise and turn inward—that we begin to reconnect with the wisdom our bodies hold.
There is a deep power in taking the time to listen to ourselves. When we pause and give our bodies the attention they deserve, we create space for healing. We honor the connection between our mind and our physical form, and in doing so, we remind ourselves that we are more than the sum of our tasks and responsibilities—we are living, breathing beings with a body that speaks, if only we take the time to listen.
These are my feelings. You may have all of them, some of them, or none of them.