Reconnecting with Your Body Through Mindfulness and Somatic Movement
Finding my way back home: a journey of reconnecting with my body
About 8 years ago, I started practicing mindfulness in a small way every day because I desperately needed something to focus my mind and help silence the negative self-talk that was consuming me.
I'd wake up in the night with "what-if" scenarios playing out vividly in my mind. Anxiety and panic attacks were becoming disturbingly common, as my inner narrative spiraled into repetitive, soul-destroying loops.
I knew in my bones that something had to change.
I was completely disconnected from myself and my body. My body was sending me signals I couldn’t ignore any longer.
Have you ever felt disconnected from yourself in this way? Like your mind and body are operating on separate planes, with thoughts racing at warp speed while your physical being lags behind? In our fast-paced, modern lives, it's all too easy to become distracted and detached from the present-moment experience.
Using mindfulness & somatic movement as a tool
It was around this time that I started practicing mindfulness regularly, in an effort to reconnect with my body through focused awareness. Little did I know then how profoundly mindfulness and somatic movement practices would impact my journey of self-reconnection.
I would write in my journal how I was feeling.
I named the emotions I felt and called out my negative thoughts. I began to recognise a pattern and realised what my body needed. I started to slowly weave practices into my daily routine to help improve my mood, strengthen my mindset and reconnect myself to my body.
By learning to listen to my body and make sense of the signals it was giving me I had a deeper sense of understanding and appreciation for myself and what was going through.
I was able to acknowledge I was struggling and make the changes I needed to.
Reconnecting with Your Body Through Mindfulness
I want you to know mindfulness gets to be powerful no matter how small it may seem. I also want to invite the idea that connection starts with you. When you give yourself permission to be compassionate, reconnect to yourself and become more self-aware, you start to notice the people around you benefit too
Sadly, as much as social media would have you believe, you can’t simply think yourself into a positive state of being because your thoughts and emotions are deeply intertwined.
Like sassy siblings, they fuss and fight and your body feels it all.
So, if your mind feels frazzled and your body feels crap it’s time to pause and reconnect.
The secret to feeling good is truly feeling good, in body and mind. This is where somatic practices like breath-work, mindfulness and movement can help you feel grounded and connected, and invite a sense of space into your body.
What is mindfulness?
mindfulness /ˈmʌɪn(d)f(ʊ)lnəs (noun)
the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment
calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
There are three components of mindfulness:
1. Intention - choosing to cultivate your awareness.
2. Attention - to the present moment, sensations, and thoughts.
3. Attitude - being kind, curious, and non-judgmental
Reconnecting with Your Body Through Somatic Movement
The somatic nervous system is made up of nerves that link the brain and spinal cord to voluntary or skeletal muscles that are under conscious control as well as to skin sensory receptors.
What does somatic mean?
somatic / səˈmatɪk (adjective): relating to the body, especially as distinct from the mind.
Somatic yoga is designed to help you become more embodied, or reconnected to your body. Being aware of one’s body as you move through space, within poses and sequences, often connected to your breath, and learning to listen to the feedback from the body as you move.
Slow mindful movements encourage a deeper sense of awareness and help to cultivate confidence, compassion and emotional resilience.
Emotions are energy in motion
Anger, frustration, and jealousy are low vibrating emotions and are distress energy and can feel very ‘active’ in your body. Your negative thoughts can loop in your mind like a broken record.
Body-mindful movement helps to calm the mind and release emotional stress from the body. Everything gets stuck from time to time so think about moving your body to help get things moving again.
Your brain is always listening to your body, assessing heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension and all of the other bodily functions going on that we don’t have to consciously think about.
Therefore, feeling safe, grounded and connected to your body comes down to how you are feeling in your body, right now, in the moment!
The feedback loop of your emotions
Your brain also controls thought, memory and emotion, and emotions aren’t a one-way street!
Emotions are on a feedback loop (body to brain, brain to body) which is why you can experience distress and tension in your body based on your thoughts or memories alone.
Remember, your body picks up on your environment and that is both external and internal!
The good news is, we can send messages to our brain from our body to change our stress levels, mood and thoughts… through stretching, breathing, relaxation and movement.
Movement and mindfulness become the solution to everyday stresses, a way to escape and reconnect.
Here are 3 (simple) techniques to support you to reconnect with your body when you feel disconnected, unsettled or overwhelmed:
Swaying / Shaking
Swaying simulates the soothing rocking motion of a caregiver and is very calming. Shaking stimulates, invigorates and “cleans” every cell in the body. Both are good ways of releasing tension and letting go of the need to be “doing”.
Moving slowly with the breath
Moving slowly through space with guided awareness of movement, and the support and stability of your foundations, allows your body to slow down and create new pathways between the body and mind.
Challenge & Calm
Placing your body under good stress – EUSTRESS - in a safe space such as challenging poses focused on strength, stability and balance followed by periods of rest, builds resilience and trains your body to recover from crisis quicker.
Reconnect with Self-Connect
If you're ready to start reconnecting with your body and exploring these transformative mindfulness and somatic movement practices, I invite you to join my online "Self-Connection" course. In this immersive program, you'll learn effective techniques for reducing stress and anxiety through:
Guided meditation and breathwork to calm the mind
Gentle somatic yoga flows to release stuck energy
Reflective practices to increase self-awareness
Inspiring lessons on self-compassion and acceptance
Reconnecting your mind and body is a powerful journey. Don't go it alone - allow me to hold space and provide expert guidance as you peel back the layers, rediscover your innate wholeness, and walk back home to yourself.
If you're ready to start reconnecting with your body and exploring these transformative mindfulness and somatic movement practices, I invite you to join my online "Self-Connection" course. You can learn more here
Big love,
Becki x