The Wisdom of the Body
In our Western culture we have largely ignored the wisdom of the body. We tend to see the body as a vehicle to serve the desires of the mind. Though many of us do tend to the body through diet and exercise, most often the intention is to strengthen the body or to improve its appearance. We try to shape the body to satisfy the mind.
Discovering the wisdom of the body requires a shift in attitude. To discover the wisdom of the body you must develop a friendship with it. To discover the wisdom in anything you need to first love it.
Being mindful of the body is the first step to loving the body and discovering its wisdom. Begin by simply by being aware of the body as you go about your day. Be aware of the posture, the movements, and the sensations in the body throughout your daily activities.
Another skillful practice is to simply sit quietly and sense various parts of the body. You can do this by directing attention to various parts of the body and holding it there for a few minutes. You can also feel the body in its entirety as it sits or as you walk slowly. Yet another practice is to sweep awareness over the body from head to toe back and forth repeatedly. (It’s like an MRI, only much quieter!)
You will see that when you pay attention to the body you are staying connected to the present moment. The body knows only the present moment. Every experience in the body is always “right now”.
We tend to identify with the mind more than with the body. Identified with the mind we are caught entirely in the past or the future. The mind cannot comprehend the present moment--while the body knows nothing else.
When identified with the mind we tend to numb awareness of the body. One payoff for this is that we can avoid feeling painful or unpleasant sensations. We often use the mind to escape feeling the pain in the body. This may have some short-term benefits, but it can lead to some long-term problems.
We learned at an early age that the impulses of the body, including many emotions, must be reined in, or repressed entirely else we face the ire of our parents or family. If a desire or emotion is highly threatening, then we learned to disown it completely and to pretend that it’s not even there.
The body will die. We live in a death denying culture because so many of us are identified with the mind and have lost touch with the body.
Among the many problems caused by losing awareness of your body is the suppression of your aliveness and natural joy. We try to selectively repress unpleasant sensations and emotions and at the same time express only positive emotions and sensations--but it doesn’t work. Either you are alive, or you are not, and complete aliveness means feeling all your feelings in the body and in the heart.
Yet another problem arising from the lack of body awareness is that you become alienated from nature. Your body is part of nature. Alienation from the body results in alienation from the earth. The mind then sees the earth as something to be exploited and used by the mental ego.
Your most direct access to the unconscious is through awareness of the body. Practicing body awareness is a way of making the unconscious conscious. Awareness of the unconscious helps you to metabolize the memory of past experiences.
As you bring attention to the body, previously unconscious memories may arise in consciousness. You may recall a specific event very clearly or the memory may simply be a vague emotion or a body sensation. Each time you recall an experience the memory itself changes. With awareness, memories become metabolized and integrated into the psyche. (This is somewhat like the way the body digests food.) Body awareness is an effective way to bring wholeness to the psyche as well as to the body.
Your body has a long and deep history. It is a museum that holds the artifacts of your personal history and the history of all life on earth. In this history lies some profound wisdom.
“In this fathom-long body lies everything needed for liberation from suffering.” Buddha