Why is it important to increase and sustain Awareness in the body, mind, spirit and emotions?
If I am sustaining Awareness in all four realms, I am fully present to what is happening inside of me and around me. I am also more likely to notice if something isn't right before a problem can arise.
Physical Awareness. Check in and ask your body how it feels in this moment. Listen for a Sensation word (Sensation Vocabulary).
Becoming more connected with how your body is feeling at any given moment allows you to adjust for comfort and ease, an effective way to conserve energy. It also opens the door for self-healing if you sense that something is not quite right. A twinge, a nagging tightness, a bit of soreness are all subtle indicators of an injury in the making. Often making small changes in the way a movement is performed or adjusting a sitting position can make a big difference.
Emotional Awareness. Check in with your emotions. Name the emotion you are feeling right now. If you're not sure what you're feeling, go to your Emotion Vocabulary and try a few on. Try them all on!
Becoming more aware of you emotional state means that you will be less likely to lose your temper and not know why. Being present to your emotional state means that you notice the little things that are bothering you and you both address them immediately (if possible) and get resolution or you hold onto what troubles you and it begins to grow out of proportion. When you finally do express your feelings, you may overreact; exploding over something or someone that may not have deserved that level of response.
Mental Awareness. Check in with your mind. Is your mind clear, quiet and calm? Is your mind full of chatter, energy scattered and frenetic? Go to your Mental Vocabulary.
Becoming more aware of the state of your mind means you can create the environement for a cclear, quiet mind with which to process your day. It also means you are able to bring stillness and peace to your mind when you need to. Your mind is not cluttered with thoughts that you hold on to and worry over or create stories about when you don't have all of the information. In other word, you are taking care of the housekeeping duties of your mind.
This is probably my favorite focus for a Nia class: Awareness (Principle #5 of Nia).
ReplyDeleteConscious movement -- not only in class but life in general -- also called Dancing Through Life. The conscious awareness of the sensations in my physical body.
Conscious thought -- quieting the inner chatter and avoiding assumptions and yes that's easier said that done, however, allowing one's life to be a Living Meditation is an awesome experience. A living meditation rather than just 10, 15, 30 minutes where I set aside some time to quiet the mind.
Seeing my Life As Art...isn't that a great visual? I get to create a new painting, sculpture (whatever the medium) every day. That to me is so exciting!!
Thanks for your posts Catherine. Such great reminders.
Catherine, Thanks for sharing these wonderful insights. It is also wonderful hearing your personal stories and seeing the evolution in the way you are sharing your path. Really good stuff.
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