Begin to train your mind to be able to move from detailed attention to a broader and more spacious awareness.
Finally, a good excuse to lie down and do nothing! Ok. Maybe not quite nothing.
Exploring the art of Body Scans is a wonderful way of developing skills such as embodied awareness (i.e., being able to sense yourself), concentration, and focused attention. Plus, body scanning is an effective 'pre-movement' strategy or end of the day stress-reduction practice.
Whoa!
Did you say stress-reduction? So is this a relaxation technique?
Not exactly. The Body Scan is a form of meditation or mindfulness practice. It is also often used at the beginning, and throughout, a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson. However, one of the big-ol-perks of this practice is that all that sensing in the horizontal tends to help relax our busy minds and soothe our stressed-out soles (yes as in the soles of ye feet).
But the important thing to remember is that it is a practice. For effective practice, we must add variation. So today's scan is one of many ways to attend to yourself.
In this way, you begin to train your mind to be able to move from detailed attention to a broader and more spacious awareness from one moment to the next.
So give this Body Scan goodness a go and see what you discover. All you have to do is listen to this audio, or make up your own, and do it just as you get ready for bed. It's that simple.
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"I'm interested in the Feldenkrais concept to "go slow without hurrying." Whether it's while eating, walking, etc. Can you explain more about it and how to cultivate that practice?"
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Along I plodded, anxious to reach the water to cool off as it was an exceptionally hot and muggy day. Halfway there and my feet and back were already tiring. By the time I reached all the action, which was only a mile in, my feet had moved past tiring to aching.
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