Part 2: Mind Body Counseling: Rebooting
In Part 1 of the blog on the Mind Body Disconnection, we began to make a distinction between the thoughts about the body and feeling your body. In other words, having a personal experience with your body vs simply listening to information about your body. No one feels what you feel. That is why finding long term answers to lower back ache issues, anxiety, chronic injuries, are so difficult. We are all unique with many factors that contribute to how we feel physically. It becomes extremely difficult to say any one thing works for everyone.
Let your body reboot using your kinesthetic sense.
Our kinesthetic sense is our unique ability to feel physical movement. Through our senses our own body’s own innate ability to realign and balance takes place. These feelings go back forth between the body and brain. Again, extremely amazing. We can take this kinesthetic sense for granted. We figure we all have it, like our sense of taste or smell. We do all have it, but just like any of our senses, we could have a kinesthetic sense that operates very well, or one that has been colored by past experiences.
For example, if you had a bad meal at a certain restaurant, you might never eat that kind of food again. The thought of that food would bring the memory of the taste back to you. Experiences with your body are similar. We tend to avoid movements or behaviors that we think are harmful from past experiences. It’s not uncommon for people to sneeze or simply get up from a couch and report their back went out. It makes them very wary of moving certain ways and even sneezing in the future. Although we know its not logical, those experiences are surrounded by fearful thoughts. When attempting to relieve chronic pain, improve alignment, or reduce stress, our thoughts can be misleading. It prevents the body from moving freely and as a result the reboot can’t happen.
Why Does The Miracle Ball Method Work? Don’t Fix It, Feel It!
The Method points out the road signs in order not to race past the good feelings with skeptical, negative thoughts you may have. We know when we reboot our computer, many times, to our amazement it works. We think we have a significant problem with our computer, and someone says unplug it. We do not usually question what happens, but we notice it worked.
Our bodies have a similar process. Since most of us believe we “intellectually” need to understand the physical reboot for it to be effective, we miss a lot of amazing things the body can do if we un plug. The Method leads you to that experience. There is a lot going on during the reboot. You get to enjoy the process. Like the computer reboot, its not necessary to understand everything that is going on.
Mind And Body Balance – It’s A Judgement Free Zone
The most important piece of this is it is a judgment free zone. Since many of us have had many good and not so good physical experiences .As you move ahead the body will continually take you in a direction and you will get many new feelings.
The Miracle in the method is by allowing yourself just to simply feel, you give your body permission to reboot. You unplug, and a lot of changes you may not even notice at first, are happening behind the scenes. So, let’s start with a basic “Check In”. It is a simple back and forth process.
Observation is the Key to Change:
- Choose a place to begin. Whether you want to sit on the floor, lie down or lean back in your chair I will ask you the same question my teacher asked me. How are you?
- A “check in” takes 15 to 20 seconds to begin. notice anything about the way you are sitting or resting on the floor.
- Notice what might stand out to you about the way you sit or rest on the floor, and what parts you do not notice at all.
- Are you breathing? Funny question I know.
- Do not make yourself breathe, simply notice, where do you feel breathing and what muscles are involved.
- Now add a simple exhalation. Let’s start with an sss sound like the hissing sound a snake might make for one exhalation.
- Again, you do not need to make yourself respond just notice if you do or do not.
- At least give yourself a few breaths let your body respond before you make the sound again.
- Try this easy back and forth process for 5 minutes.
- At the end compare any changes you may feel. Remember feeling nothing, is a response.
Try this every day for a week and take notice if you have any changes that you are not expecting. Be open-minded. Improving your breathing is sometimes misinterpreting this as deep breathing. Most people do not have trouble breathing, but due to stress, postural habits, pain and more we tend to habitually hold our breath. More on breathing in my next blog!
See Elaine’s book: Miracle Ball Method for an Ageless Body.