The Body doesn't lie

Who are we? Are we souls trapped in our bodies (which would mean that we can ignore our bodies and maybe even neglect them focusing solely on the spiritual aspect of being) or are we just bodies (releasing chemicals accounting for our feelings and creating an illusion of something immortal within us – a soul)? Or are we both?

After years of controversy, the issue is more often being discussed in terms of psychophysical unity. The existence of our corporeal properties is not discarded anymore. However, has the situation of our bodies really improved? To find out you simply need to do a little test and think about your relationship with your body.

Are you conscious of your body and to what degree?

Are you conscious of your posture? Is your back straight or is it stooping, do you hold your head up high or are you looking down at your feet?

- Do you know how you walk, how you move around?
- Have you ever pondered on the way you breathe? Do you breathe deeply, rhythmically; or is your breathing rather shallow and broken?
- At what times do you hold your breath and why?
- Do you know what the tone of your voice is?
- Do you look after your body? Do you take a rest when you feel tired? Do you eat when you are hungry? Or are you stuffing yourself so as not to feel something, or are you starving your body to look like people from TV?
- Do you know what types of exercise are right for your?
- Instead of considering what the cause of the pain you are feeling is, do you kill it with a pill?

It seems that we all have something to fix in those respects. But why should we be bothered with our bodies? It is not in fact easier for us to ‘live inside of our heads’, to focus on our thoughts, ideas and plans… But maybe we should, maybe Alexander Lowen was right in saying that ‘the body doesn’t lie’; but our ‘heads’ can, and quite often push us to do things which are not only contradictory to our will and convictions, but also are detrimental to our physical health and are forcing us to compromise our growth. For instance, ‘we sacrifice’ ourselves to our families ignoring our needs, we ‘toil’ in our workplace forgetting about sleep and rest, deny our dreams, fulfilling the expectations of others, for instance those of our parents.
 

Therefore, the body can be a source of information about our true needs. It can help us to get in touch with our true self – to regain the fulfilment and unity and, consequently, our longed-for inner balance. It can help us get rid of our sadness, anxiety, pain, sickness; and to regain the natural, innate lightness, happiness and spontaneity. That’s why it’s worth it!
 

What can you do to ‘regain’ this neglected part of yourself? Above all, devote some attention to your body and take a good care of it. The first step should be to be able to recognise what the present state is. Start thinking about how you body feels on a given day. Which of parts of your body are tense and which are relaxed? Which parts have space and feel at peace, which feel tired or maybe even painful? Try to scan your body for any signs flowing from it.
 

You can do it on your own – become more mindful of the signals coming from your body, you can change your diet, you can also use the available courses – get in touch with your body through tai-chi, yoga, dance, or sign up for workshops using the methhod developed by Feldenkrais, you can try Rolfing too, or to any other psychological workshops concerning working with your body (for example drawing from the Bioenergetics of Alexander Lowen).
 

Suggested literature:
Lowen, Alexander. 1994. Bioenergetics. Arkana.

Lowen, Alexander. 2003. The Way to Vibrat Heath. Bioenergetics Press.

Lowen, Alexander. 2004. Love, Sex, and your Heart. Bioenergetics Press.

Lowen, Alexander and Lauren, Alexander. 2005. Spirituality of the Body. Bioenergetics Press.

Books on Feldenkrais Method are available through www. Feldenkraisresources.com
 

Article by Zuzanna Zelazny