Home Sweet Body

Chameleons are thinkers. They like to ponder, analyze, and understand their inner and outer world. Their brain runs at high speed, travelling from one question to another, varying from random to existential ponderings:

❓️"Why do their words upset me?"
❓️"Why do I live life the way I do?"
❓"Will I add milk or yoghurt to my oatmeal?"
❓"How can I make a difference?"
❓️"Did I walk the dog?"
❓️"How is my best friend doing?"
❓️"Why can't they see the obvious solution?"
❓️"I wanna start classes in martial arts, baking cake, bird watching, photography and writing. What to choose?"
And so on...

You sense the intensity of your chameleon mind, right! It is a great asset to have when navigated well. But it alters when your thoughts convert into negative thought patterns or ruminations. Instead of achieving clarity these thoughts hold you captive. Sounds familiar?

The longer you're stuck in thoughts, the more alienated you get from your feelings and emotions. You may believe that you can THINK your way out, but that's a mental trap. It is a cycle that reinforces itself until you break it.

Imagine...
You're playing squash with your friend. The rubber ball represents the rapid and endless flow of negative thoughts. You want to battle and control them. You hit the ball as hard as you can. But the harder you fight, the harder the ball bounces back. Without any resolution. You get tired. And eventually your opponent defeats you. You are exhausted and don't know what to do.

How can you break the cycle?

1. Leave the squash court and take a seat in the grandstand.
2. Lean a bit more into the back side of your chair.
3. Watch your own thoughts as they are played out as a movie.
4. Observe. What do you see?
5. Notice how messy, fickle, irrelevant, dominant ruminations can be at times.
6. See how quickly they change and transform.
7. Lean back a bit more and get more centered.
8. Bring your attention to your body: Can you feel any sensation? Can you feel tension? How is your breath? Is there something shifting?

This is a great remedy for ruminations. Instead of BEING your thoughts, you start OBSERVING them.

Restoring the body-mind connection means working towards an equilibrated collaboration between mind (thoughts), body (sensations) and heart (feelings). Once you understand this interconnection, you will see what part needs attention in order to restore balance (in times of turbulence, chaos or distress).

For example:
- If non-stop ruminations send you down a mental rabbit hole, you can use corporal techniques to feel more centered again. => less rumination + more emotional clarity

- If you feel overwhelmed by emotional or sensorial stimuli, you can ground yourself through your body. => less overwhelm + more mental clarity

- If you feel physically tensed, you can involve your body to release physical discomfort => less tension + more bodily clarity

It is not about prioritizing or devaluing one of the elements. It is about an understanding that they co-exist and interrelate.
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And that is how you get body-wise! :-)
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