Have you lost touch with your body?
When we use the phrase “lost touch”, we tend to
associate it with not communicating with another person
for a while. Perhaps a friend from the past that you
no longer talk to because you’ve ‘lost touch’.
As humans, we are hard wired to need that connection
with other human beings. We need to see, hear and feel
from other people that we identify with and that
understand us.
It’s part of our natural pack identity.
Modern technology and social media means we can
‘connect’ with people so much more easily and quickly –
on some levels at least.
But in this age where we can communicate with others at
the click of the button, have we lost touch with
ourselves? Have we lost the ability to tune into how
our body is actually feeling?
When was the last time you were conscious of how your
feet feel on the floor. Are you aware of leaning into
one side when you stand. Noticed how it takes you
longer to move easily in the morning.
Or is it at the end of the day, you realise that the
ache in your back is now at a point where you feel the
need to take painkillers?
Your body is giving you physical signals all the time.
We become so busy with everyday life and needing to be
‘in touch’ with others that we lose touch with what our
own bodies are telling us.
Increasingly people ignore those little aches because
they’re too busy to see someone about them. Perhaps
you don’t want to waste precious gym time on
mobilisation and rehabilitation movements – after all,
if you’re not sweating you’re not burning calories,
right?
What if, though, we could use 10 minutes each day just
to get back in touch with our own bodies?
To notice and FEEL whether we’re leaning more into one
side than the other. To identify where our alignment
is changing and affecting our movement capability and
the level of aches we are feeling.
Whether you go the gym, workout at home or are a
blackbelt in sofa surfing, taking time out to get back
in touch with your own body will always be time well
spent.
It can be as simple as noticing how you’re breathing.
How you sit – at the table, at your desk, in your car,
on the sofa.
Whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, kick off your
footwear and plant your feet on the floor. Close your
eyes and tune in to how those feet feel on the floor –
is all the weight in your heels? Are your toes
touching the floor? Is your weight predominantly
through the inside or outside of your feet? Do you
bear more weight through one foot than the other? Can
you even these out and how does that then feel?
Shutting the world out to tune into your own body can
be an immensely rejuvenating process.
It may help highlight why you are suffering from those
persistent aches. It may identify why you’re struggling
with certain movements at the gym.
It may just get You back in touch with your body.
All of the above uses several of the principles of
Pilates that I include in all my classes and courses.
If you’d like more information on where to join in,
please contact me here. Or if you’d rather try some
out in the comfort of your own home, check out my
Pilates E-books here.