What is the consciousness of the body?
Consciousness of the body means exactly: a subjective awareness of bodily sensations arising under the influence of stimuli that originate both outside the body and in its interior.Emotions are diagnosed using a combination of separate bodily sensations: e.g. shallow breathing + accelerated heartbeat + cold sweats = I’m scared.
Exercise illustrating a basic body consciousness:
• First of all, do not move. Note the position in which you sit now.
• What kind of sensations you begin to realize? Scan your entire body: pay attention to the head, neck, chest, back, abdomen, buttocks, legs, feet, arms, hands.
• Are you feeling comfortable? – Do not move, for now.
• How do you know whether you are comfortable or not? What experiences indicates comfort or discomfort?
• Do you feel the impulse to change the position? – For now, do not do so only acknowledge impulse.
• Whence comes this impulse? If you had to change your position, what part of your body you will move in the first place – do not do it yet. First, determine discomfort, which lies at the source of this impulse: is this tension? Is this something that starts to numb? Do you feel cold toes?
• Listen now your impulse and change your position. What has changed in your body? Do you breathe easier? Does the pain or tension decreased? Are you more vigilant at the moment?
• If you do not feel an impulse to change the position, you can just be comfortable. Please note the signals from the body which inform you that you are comfortable: are your shoulders relaxed? Is your breathing is deep? Is your body generally warm?
• Then change your position, regardless of whether you are comfortable or not (if it is done in accordance with above instructions, do it again). Change location or way of sitting. Move somewhere else: try new chair, stand or sit on the floor. Take the new position and stay in it. Then again make a body scan of whether you are comfortable or not? What bodily sensations telling you about your it: tension, relaxation; warm cold; ache; numbness, depth and location of breath and so on. This time pay attention, are you more alert or awake in this position, or the last?
• Try the third position. Rate it as described above.Make a few notes about your experience using terms relating to bodily sensations: voltage, temperature, breathing and so on. “I sat on the chair, felt the tension in my arms, and my feet were warm. When I changed my position into standing, my feet were cold, and my shoulders relaxed … “Sometimes we forget about our bodies (or we perceiving it as our enemy not a good friend) as we are living only in our heads – take a break from your mind and give your body some attention 