Body Awareness
The following exercise can be performed anywhere, anytime and will be more readily accessible to you as you practice:
Try to find a quite place and dress comfortably.
- Lay down.
1. Do NOTHING. Just lay for one minute. Whatever you feel you feel. Whatever you think you think.
2. Begin to “listen” to your body.
- Is your attention pulled to a specific place; a wrist, your stomach, a knee? - Begin to visualize this body part from the outside in.
- How do your clothes lay on this part?
- How does the skin wrinkle or stretch over this part?
- The muscle, veins, tendons, etc. all the way to the bone.
- Simply have the thought “let go”. DO NOT try to do anything. The thought is enough.
- After this thought, let your attention again wonder through your body and repeat as long as different parts keeping coming to you.
- If your attention is not pulled to any body part, choose one that has recently been in your mind – an ache, a pain or simply a part you want to try this with.
3. Slowly begin to raise your right leg about a foot off of the ground and hold it there. As you exhale lower your foot half way between where it is and the ground. Repeat this movement with each exhale until your leg has come to a complete rest.
- Visualize your leg as you practice this movement. See it slowly coming closer and closer to the ground.
- Scan your body throughout the movement to make sure you are NOT holding your breath and that everything is relaxed; face, arms, hands, etc.
- Repeat this five times, each time trying to move with greater ease and less effort.
- After you have done this five times, scan your leg and compare it to the other leg. How does it feel similar to or different from the other leg?
Basic Body Awareness Exercise John Markland- Does one feel longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, looser or tighter,
warmer or cooler or do they feel exactly the same?
- Focus on how each leg makes contact with the ground. Are you more aware of the ground below one compared to the other?
- You will now repeat the same exercise with the other leg. After you have completed the exercise and scanned and compare both legs relax for a moment.
- Now repeat the same exercise with each of your arms. Each time you perform this exercise make it a goal to attain a greater level of “listening”. The object of the exercise is to feel more or your body and allow for greater control.
4. Now bend your knees and place them together so that they are touching and place your feet so that they are touching. Gently begin to sway your knees from side to side about two or three inches. The focus of the movement should be grace and pleasure.
- Visualize your legs as you practice this movement. See them slowly coming closer and closer to the ground on either side.
- Scan your body throughout the movement to make sure you are NOT holding your breath and that everything is relaxed; face, arms, hands, etc.
- Now begin to roll your head side to side counter to the direction of your knees. Try to have the head and knees intersect at the mid-way point each time. (In sync)
- Repeat this five times, each time trying to move with greater ease and less effort.
- After you have done this five times, scan your legs and your spine trying to sense your connection to the ground below you. Are you more aware of the ground under your head or under your pelvis?
- You will now repeat the same exercise starting with the gentle swaying of the knees. But this time when you introduce the movement of the head side to side you will join in unison, so they are moving in the same direction at the same time.
- Try to be aware of how this movement feels different than when the head and knees move in opposite directions. Which is more pleasurable to you?
- After you have completed the exercise and scanned and compare both legs and head, relax for a moment.
- Now repeat the same exercise. Each time you perform this exercise make the goal to attain a greater level of “listening”. The object of the exercise is to feel more or your body and allow for greater ease and control. - Does one feel longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, looser or tighter,
warmer or cooler or do they feel exactly the same?
- Focus on how each leg makes contact with the ground. Are you more aware of the ground below one compared to the other?
- You will now repeat the same exercise with the other leg. After you have completed the exercise and scanned and compare both legs relax for a moment.
- Now repeat the same exercise with each of your arms. Each time you perform this exercise make it a goal to attain a greater level of “listening”. The object of the exercise is to feel more or your body and allow for greater control.
4. Now bend your knees and place them together so that they are touching and place your feet so that they are touching. Gently begin to sway your knees from side to side about two or three inches. The focus of the movement should be grace and pleasure.
- Visualize your legs as you practice this movement. See them slowly coming closer and closer to the ground on either side.
- Scan your body throughout the movement to make sure you are NOT holding your breath and that everything is relaxed; face, arms, hands, etc.
- Now begin to roll your head side to side counter to the direction of your knees. Try to have the head and knees intersect at the mid-way point each time. (In sync)
- Repeat this five times, each time trying to move with greater ease and less effort.
- After you have done this five times, scan your legs and your spine trying to sense your connection to the ground below you. Are you more aware of the ground under your head or under your pelvis?
- You will now repeat the same exercise starting with the gentle swaying of the knees. But this time when you introduce the movement of the head side to side you will join in unison, so they are moving in the same direction at the same time.
- Try to be aware of how this movement feels different than when the head and knees move in opposite directions. Which is more pleasurable to you?
- After you have completed the exercise and scanned and compare both legs and head, relax for a moment.
- Now repeat the same exercise. Each time you perform this exercise make the goal to attain a greater level of “listening”.
The object of the exercise is to feel more or your body and allow for greater ease and control.