Hey there Reader,

In my previous email, I talked about how there’s a solution to anxiety and it involves re-directing your attention towards your body (icymi, you can read it here).

But what happens when the body, your body, is not somewhere you want to go?

Perhaps things have happened to you in the past and they involved your body.

Perhaps you’ve dealt with pain for most of your life and it feels like your body is working against you.

Perhaps the idea of focusing on your body feels weird or scary, even if you don’t know why.

The body is not a random bystander to the mind’s appropriation of life.

It does bear witness, yes, and it also carries experience.

Body and mind are not separate of course. They are and move as one, even if the power dynamics are skewed.

There is no separation, and there is a relationship between them.

So, before you investigate how you can relieve anxiety with the help of your body, I’d invite you to get curious about what that relationship looks like.

Here’s one way you can do this:

Close your eyes. Imagine your body as if it were a person sitting across from you.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind? There’s no right or wrong answer.

When you see your body there in front of you, what do you think and feel about it?

Whatever you say to yourself about your body, your body absorbs.

Words carry consequence. The words you use about your body don’t just land somewhere in outer space. They have impact and impact causes reaction.

How does your body feel and how does it react when it hears what you say/think about it?

This is not an easy thing to do. It can bring up a lot.

Give yourself grace.

You're not doing it to feel guilty about how you’re treating your body. Though guilt and grief might come up.

Understanding your relationship to your body can open up so much goodness.

It can help you feel more safe, confident, soft, calm, loving and strong. And these are but a part of the whole shebang.

Your relationship with your body is the base from which your entire experience of life springs.

Life is lived in the body. Your body can teach you how you to live yours.

Love,

Elena