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Body awareness is a factor that contributes to increased good health and a better quality of life. There are exercises and practices that are available to everyone.
The simplest way to define body awareness is to say that it is the ability to hear what your body is saying. By doing so, you get to know yourself better and this leads to deeper, higher-quality self-care.
It is very common for people to only think about their body when a discomfort arises or their appearance changes. Body awareness is much more than that. It means being attentive to our body, its state, its movement and its well-being.
Ideally, this body awareness begins to form during childhood. Unfortunately, it almost never happens and that is how we reach adulthood without really knowing what the body is like, how it speaks and what it says.
What is body awareness?
Body awareness is the ability to form a realistic mental image of body parts; where they are, how they relate to each other and how they move. In a nutshell, it’s connect with your own body. This is also known as kinesthesia.
Such awareness involves the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. The first tells you where your muscles are and how they move. The second allows you to orient yourself in space and maintain balance, posture and head stability.
body awareness too understand the ability to pick up signals from your body: hunger, thirst, tiredness, etc. Similarly, it is associated with complex situations, such as sexual desire or the need for company.
Benefits of having body awareness
body awareness is important for better physical and emotional health. Also to take care of movements, learn new tasks and have better motor performance. Some of the specific benefits are as follows.
Greater control of movements
Being aware of the body implies know where your body is located in space. This allows a better mind-physical connection and translates into greater control of movements, as well as more balance and stability.
Weight control
An study conducted in 2018 indicated that people with less body awareness are more likely to eat more than is adequateeven if they are not hungry. Therefore, the more awareness there is, the lower the risk of problems such as overweight and obesity.
Pain management
A research published in Pls One noted that people who were not well connected with their body also showed low self-esteem, more depressive symptoms and less physical contact with others. At the same time, those who have more body awareness they have more self-acceptance, greater vitality, and less physical pain.
Identification and care of needs
Identify the genuine needs of the body help you have a better quality of life. For example, it is possible that when you feel tired you experience it as a desire to eat chocolate or something like that. If you identify the need correctly, you can take a nap instead of eating something you don’t need.
mental and emotional well-being
Lack of body awareness can also lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and even vertigo. If there is no such connection with the body, it is possible that feel insecure about your own location or movement. On the contrary, being aware gives you security and peace of mind.
How is body awareness developed?
There are several methods to develop body awareness. Ideally, these types of practices are carried out on a regular basis, to gradually increase the mind-body connection.
1. Review the body
It consists of lying on the floor and closing your eyes. Later start going over each part of the body, dwelling a little on each of them. Think and feel how each part is and move it to focus your attention more. When you see fit, move on to another part and continue like this.
2. Activities with music
A good way to develop body awareness is identifying and following the focus of the gaze. A suitable technique is to follow the rhythm of a song with the movements of the neck and carrying out the following sequence:
- From right to left.
- From top to bottom.
- Diagonals to the left and then to the right.
- Make a circle with your neck in one direction and then in the other.
3. Balance exercises
All balance exercises are very suitable to increase body awareness. You can start with something very simple, like walking in a straight line without drifting. Also try to stand on one leg and stay like that for 1 minute.
4. Walk backwards
Walking backwards is an excellent way to recognize your body. This forces you to make an unusual move. For the same reason, it requires more attention and coordination. You just have to make sure to remove any obstacles from the way.
5. Yoga
Yoga is the quintessential way to achieve body awareness. In this practice the connection between breath and movement is trained. It offers multiple benefits for physical and mental health.
6. Tai Chi
Tai Chi is an ancient oriental practice, derived from martial arts. Involves slow, consciously directed movementslinked to breathing.
It is safe and effective for increasing body awareness. In addition, it relieves stress, improves mood and rest. Also known as moving meditation.
7. Meditation practices
There are several meditation practices that can increase body awareness:
- Body Scan Meditation: it is performed in the same way as the review of the body. However, in this case attention is focused on sensations of tension, pain and numbness. Helps reduce stress and pain.
- Yoga nidra: Through a guided meditation, an intermediate state between wakefulness and sleep is introduced. It’s like a conscious dream in which the body sleeps, while the mind is awake.
- Active meditation: it is almost the opposite of yoga nidra. It quiets the mind, while the body is in motion.
8. Body awareness therapies
In some cases, and for some people in particular, it may be more beneficial to see a therapist to help with the process of increasing body awareness. It can be physiotherapy, occupational therapy or somatic therapy.
body awareness for all
Everyone can gain great benefits from increasing body awareness. No complex practice needs to be carried out. As we have seen, there are very simple exercises that can be performed on a daily basis.
Body awareness exercises are very helpful for people who are recovering from an injury, have had surgery, or have a neurological condition. However, others also improve their physical and mental health when they develop this ability.
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