Post by Mindfully Empowered in partnership with Words Alive!
One way to help give that worrying or ruminating mind a break is to cultivate body awareness through a Body Scan practice. In this practice, we allow ourselves to experience how different parts of our body feel, without trying to do or change anything. It’s about noticing and accepting what is already there. The main intention of a body scan is to explore our sensory experience — to experience how it is to “be a body.” This practice also helps us learn to identify what we are feeling and where we are feeling it, so that we can begin to release the stress and tension that often runs rampant in our bodies and minds.
Make it Lit with Words Alive!
Writing Extension: You’ve spent some time noticing how each part of your body feels. Now, turn that experience into a fun creative writing exercise. Write a short story from the perspective of one body part. For example, write as if you were “neck” and discuss the reasons why you might be feeling so much tension: “Stooped down, looking at a phone for hours, it’s no wonder I’m crooked and sore all the time. But this morning, I noticed a new tension. Are you stressed about something?” Have fun with it and be sure to explore where the feeling in your body stems from.