Body Language

The street is bustling, noise everywhere, yellow cabs, the murmur of talking, rustling bags and coats shielding against the snow and cold air. I smile because I love winter and snuggling next to a warm fire. As I open the wooden door to exit the cold, it was much like an embrace of warmth, not unlike the fire, taking the steps down into what was to be my sanctuary for a few hours. I learnt some time ago that working with others to clear out deep emotions, energy, conditioning and other such things, it was imperative to have ‘time out’ for personal cleansing. I remember a friend saying; “what good are you to those clients if you’re not supporting yourself and you wind up ill?”. Like a lot of things, I didn’t really hear that until I was ready to.

In all honesty, it was my body that kept telling me. I just didn’t hear sometimes being distracted with life.

I reach the front desk, a tranquil waterfall shimmered with lights, gentle music and orchards greeted me with a soft spoken receptionist. I was then guided into a peaceful, dimly lit space to prepare.
I have found over the years the more I’ve listened to my body, the more attuned I feel to certain environments. The more organic my surroundings the more my body feels relaxed. Being attuned, I noticed that this relationship that my body had with the natural world extended to the quality of food, skincare, clothes and the space I am in. 
The language of the body differs for each person depending on their relationship with their physical expression. When I experience an emotion, I always feel a physical feeling or sensation in the body.

The first step is differentiating between you (as the soul) and your body. Feelings and sensations are a way the body speaks - and, it of course also speaks on a more physical level. For example, my body does not like sugar and if on an occasion; like splurging on Valentine’s Day I devour a chocolate (or 3 if I really go wild!) my body reacts very quickly. It actually feels like my energy starts to slow down rather than speed up with a sugar rush. It feels like a pollutant. I actually know of one other person who doesn’t like chocolate, everybody else loves it!

As I slip into the hot springs I melt. My muscles soften, I soften and suddenly what I was holding on to dissipates. My mind becomes like the steam rising from the baths. After a while I feel the minerals soaking into my skin. I feel emotion rising to the surface as if my body is thanking me for listening. I let go of the outside world. I know that it will take care of itself and that I can just focus on the rising and falling of my breath. Occasionally there is a slightly lapping of water if I move. In this space I return back to heart and body, letting go of old energy and allowing the moment to unfold effortlessly.

Ways that your body speaks to you:

• Sensations - shivers, vibrations, shaking
• Temperature - heat/cold
• Emotion - the scope of human emotion 
• Energy - there are many energetic indications that manifest as physical feelings and illnesses. It can be as simple as a headache or lethargy to depression, strong emotions and any number of illnesses
• Outer expression; clothes, accessories, hair, etc
• Communication - verbal communication; sometimes the body needs to express itself through “feeling” words. Body language (a type of “unspoken communication”), this can be expressed through our outer expression as well (e.g. clothes).

Examples of “feeling” words: 
I feel tired (indicating that your body feels tired)
I feel excited (there is a feeling in the body of excitement)
I feel angry (this is also a physical sensation felt in the body)
etc

​Getting to know your own Body Language:

• Tune in to your heart and your emotions. Become aware of your emotional state. This is a powerful place to begin as it validates your own feelings and acknowledges where you are at in that moment. If you are not happy with the way you are feeling, now you are aware, you have an opportunity to change it.
• Tune into your body. Notice any areas of discomfort or tension. Take note of those specific areas. Each area of the body represents specific things. (e.g. lower back sometimes indicates one may be feeling a lack of support. What can you do to support yourself more? How can you ask for more support?).
• Reflect on what you can do in order to listen more carefully to your body and what actions you can take to express those feelings. 
• Breathing exercise: breathing is something we do everyday without a thought. It is so subtle, yet is one of the most powerful gifts. Focusing on the breath calms the mind, relaxes the body and brings you back to the present moment.​​

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We live in a world where the body is sometimes forgotten because of the appetite to feed the mind full of knowledge, education and data. I went through a stage of feeling so ‘full’ that I couldn’t absorb another single thing. It then sunk in, what a mentor had told me years prior, that what I had been doing had been a process of unlearning. When I decide to take these “time out’s”, I let go and return to that space of emptiness. In this space, I feel I am being shown what it truly means to listen. 

Written by Laura Naomi

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​© Laura Naomi

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