Most of us don't pay too much attention to our body until it's in pain. How would your experience of life change if you took the time to check in with your body throughout the day?

Realize our bodies are constantly communicating to us every moment of every day, if we take the time to listen. When you feel stress, accessing this 'felt sense' can positively shift the entire physiological cascade of stress-induced responses throughout your entire body in real time.

So what is this 'felt sense' and how do we access it? Well, it is not a logical analysis or rationalization of our experience. It is not found 'in the head.' It is a body-oriented feeling-experience of ourselves in the moment. In order to know how our body is feeling or what it's sensing, we must remember to ask ourselves the question. We have to take the time to ask, and then 'listen' to what our body is communicating, without overlaying our thoughts, judgements, emotions, etc. This means really feeling the feeling, not thinking the feeling!

One good exercise for accessing this felt sense is to focus on the rhythm of your breath during different times of the day. At first, do this when you have some solitude. Eventually you may explore this in social settings, such as when you're talking with someone. First, however, do this when you're relatively relaxed, such as before going to sleep or sitting somewhere in nature.

The first step is to focus your attention on your overall physical sensations. Then focus on a specific area of your body. Continue focusing on this area, and also become aware of your breath and how it affects this area of focus. Even if its only for a few seconds, saturate that part of yourself with your entire focus. Do this in a non-attached way, meaning don't try to change the outcome. Notice any changes in sensation, without analysis. Can you just allow yourself to just be with that sensation?

Then, in a relaxed tone, begin to ask yourself some questions. Allow these questions to build on each other. It's like following a trail of tracks. Do you notice patterns in how your body responds to certain phases of your breath? What sensations are elicited in your body at these times? Do you feel a constriction somewhere? Where exactly? Ask as many questions as you can think of, while giving a little space after each one to 'listen.' Remember it is important to really feel the feeling, not just think it! After doing this for some minutes, notice your overall state of mind.

Do you notice a difference in your blood pressure or muscle tension? How would your capacity for compassion grow if you were able to transcend the frustration you feel throughout a given day?

It may seem counter-intuitive, but consciously relaxing and relieving stress can actually take a lot of effort, at least initially. It's just a different type of effort than we're often used to.

Can you see how powerful this simple act can be? By accessing this felt sense, we contact vast areas of our nervous system and better enable it to be the incredible filter it actually is. This allows us to more clearly understand what our bodies are communicating to us. Our choices then have awareness, and we are able to orient more truly in life, internally and externally. We strengthen our resilience in dealing with situations that evoke stress. We create new neural pathways, and release a host of neuropeptides that help with cellular repair and regeneration, i.e. healing.

Eventually the felt sense can become a subconscious way of diffusing stress as it arises. But like learning any new skill, it takes patience, practice, a willingness to persevere, and hopefully a sense of play! Keep breathing, and approach all this with a sense of curiosity, humility and joy. Who knows what you will discover?

You can find more information on the felt sense in E. Gendlin's book Focusing. You can also sit in solitude in nature and discover these principles as well.

If you would like to promote your own wellness plan to relieve stress, you can always book a massage or healing session with us in either our Brunswick or South Portland locations. We also offer outdoor meditation classes Saturday mornings in South Portland.

Hope to see you there!

Zeb Browne

Arbor Vitae Wellness is a place of healing. We help you make deeper contact with life through embodied connection in yourself. We address conditions such as chronic stress, muscle tension and chronic disease by providing massage therapies, integrative healing services and programs rooted in nature.

Our health and wellness is interdependent with the health of every ecosystem, internal and external.
Arbor Vitae Wellness encourages you to live an empowered life rooted in real peace,
deep love, boundless joy and meaningful purpose.

Find yourself here.

Arbor Vitae Wellness

Arbor Vitae Wellness LLC, 253 Main St., Suite #1, Yarmouth, ME 04096, USA

Know Thyself: The Felt Sense

Find yourself here.

Arbor Vitae Wellness

Arbor Vitae Wellness, LLC

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