Returning to the Body
The body is the foundation of our physical existence and is the most direct pathway to the present moment. We are born into a body, and it is through the body that we come to know who we are.
When we are at ease and relaxed in our bodies, we create a supportive environment that fosters a sense of peace and safety. When we touch, hear, see, taste, and smell, we are in direct experiential relationship with others and our environment.
In this modern world, it is very easy to live in the mind. Returning to the basics of embodied awareness allows us to cultivate a deeper connection with our bodies and breath to help find tranquility within.
This very body that we have, that’s sitting right here right now… with its aches and it pleasures… is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive. ~ Pema Chödron
The “Felt Sense” Prayer
I am the pain in your head, the knot in your stomach, the unspoken grief in your smile.
I’m your high blood pressure, your elevated blood pressure, your fear of challenge, your lack of trust.
I’m your hot flashes, your fragile low back, your agitation, and your fatigue.
You tend to disown me, suppress me, ignore me, inflate me, coddle me, condemn me. You usually want me to go away immediately, to disappear, just back into obscurity. More times than not, I’m only the most recent notes of a long symphony, the most evident branches of roots that have been challenged for seasons.
So, I implore you. I am a messenger with good news, as disturbing as I can be at times. I am wanting to guide you back to those tender places in yourself, the place where you can hold yourself with compassion and honesty. I may ask you to alter your diet, get more sleep, exercise regularly, breathe more consciously.
I might encourage you to seek a vaster reality and worry less about the day-to-day fluctuations of life. I may ask you to explore the bonds and the wounds of your relationship. Wherever I lead you, my hope is that you will realize that success will not be measured by my eradication, but by the shift in the internal landscape from which I emerge.
I am your friend, not your enemy. I belong. I have no desire to bring pain and suffering into your life. I’m simply tugging at your sleeve, too long immune to gentle nudges. I desire for you to allow me to speak to you in a way that enlivens your higher instincts for self-care.
My charge is to energize you, to listen to me with the sensitive ear and heart of a
mother attending to her precious baby. You are a being so vast, so complex with amazing capacities for self-regulation and healing.
Let me be one of the harbingers that lead you to the mysterious core of your being,
where insight and wisdom are naturally available when called upon with a sincere heart.
