Have you ever thought about how much your body communicates.. both to you and to others around you?
We are taught in schools to pay attention to the written and verbal language, but that is only a portion of how we communicate. We started off paying attention to people’s bodies all around us and communicating with our bodies, but somehow over the years, many of us tended to forget to consciously pay attention to what our bodies are expressing and communicating.
I once had a friend who decided to go on a year long period of not communicating with spoken words. 😀 And really, the only words he used was a single piece of paper he used as an explanation for people who had never met him, though after a few months he didn’t even need that because he became known as the kid who didn’t speak. But, it was incredible how much he DID speak and communicate… and you want to know something, some of the best conversations I had were with him. Because not only was he an incredible listener himself, but he would inspire you to pay attention and truly listen yourself to him. Because he did speak.. but with his body expressions. Not sign language with words, but body language with expressions of his feelings and his opinions. And lots and lots and lots of LOVE… and acceptance, AND empathy and understanding.
I used to always listen to people muscles when my hands were on them, but he helped me to start to listen even more to them when my eyes were on them.
But I have since come to realize, that it’s not just about looking and listening to other people’s bodies, its ALSO a LOT about listening to your OWN body. I think human beings tend to be naturally instinctively empathatic creatures at the core of their being. But it’s hard to listen to others and be empathetic towards them if you are not even listening to your own body.
Your body is communicating to you where and when you feel tension, fears, concerns… where and when you feel peaceful, safe, relaxed. You body is constantly communicating to you your feelings, your opinions, your perspective, your interpretations of whether you are getting your needs met. whether you are at peace and in harmony and in balance with itself and the world around you.
If you are not listening, then my bet is you are probably are often not getting your needs met. and probably getting easily frustrated or aggravated and on an extreme level, maybe even resentful about things happening in your life.
right where you are right now.. as soon as you are done with this paragraph, i want you to relax your eyes and stare off into space or the distance, or even close your eyes, and allow yourself to check in with your posture. What is the angle of your neck, can you straighten it. is it hurting at all? Is your head tilted to the side.. rotate your shoulders.. is there any tension. open and relax your jaw moving your lips around relaxing the muscles in your face, checking in with the tension around your cheeks and jaw. Take a BIG BIG STRETCHING YAWN with your face, lengthen your back and neck. also check your breathing and then check to see your mood.. are your thirsty, hungry, are you doing what you want to be doing right now….
next time you are talking to someone, do this again.. in fact, if you can remind yourself to constantly check in with your body and what your awareness is.. start to listen to your body as you listen to the world around you. 😉
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