The Power of Body Awareness

I’ve reached the age where aches and pains start to become more noticeable and last longer. I remember playing with my friends as a child and always hearing the adults say how jealous they were that we were so flexible, able to run all day, and could wake up without being stiff and groggy. I never truly understood what they meant until now. I’ll be turning 26 this year which I’ve heard is the time “everything starts to go downhill” with your body. I’ve decided I don’t want to accept this, because I’m still very young and there’s a whole lot more life to live.

Perhaps it’s because I have a Degree in Kinesiology under my belt, but I tend to pay close attention to how my body is feeling and think of how I could fix it. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely ignore the dull pains and stiffness a lot of the time as we all do, but I’m becoming more and more aware throughout the day about what I am feeling and what my body needs.

Taking a short amount of time out of your day to meditate or even just to exercise is a great way to notice what’s going on in your body. Then, taking the time to stretch, or take care of muscles in whatever way they need it will keep your joints nice and flexible which will benefit your whole body. One tight or weak muscle can cause a ripple effect and lead to pain in other areas of the body. It’s truly amazing how our bodies work like a machine and if one part isn’t functioning correctly, it can mess up the entire system.

The more we stay in the habit of ignoring what is going on and what our body needs, the more dysfunctional the whole system will become. This is where it can lead to more severe issues in the future and the rest of our lives. There is a lot of room for injury in our lifetime, but if we stay on top of our physical fitness the chances of this happening will decrease and the severity of the injury can also decrease too.

I’ll use shoulders as an example. Let’s say we kept our rotator cuffs flexible and strong. If we got in an accident that would likely cause a dislocated shoulder, we might have more luck since our strong muscles will keep our shoulder joint in tact and have more range of motion before tearing could occur. Avoiding the dislocated shoulder altogether would avoid months of physiotherapy, pain management, and potential for getting a dislocated shoulder in the future. So perhaps paying attention to what seems like an insignificant part of our bodies could make a huge difference for our future.

Then when I think of old age, there are a lot of women that have osteoporosis and break bones often from falls. As we get older, it gets a little more difficult to build and maintain muscle. This is why it’s so important for us to pay attention to our bodies and give it what it needs in order to reduce the amount of pain and suffering we might endure as we get older.

So, the power that body awareness can provide is preventing a lifetime of aches and pains – by simply paying attention to what isn’t feeling right and making the choice to attend to it.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness seems to be a buzz word these days. I think that it’s easy to say and not practice. Most of us are aware that mindfulness is beneficial especially now that mental health has become a more common topic of conversation. I want to share with you different mindfulness techniques I’ve tried as I am still open to trying new methods, and am constantly learning what it means for myself.

MUSE – The Brain Sensing Headband

The MUSE headband is basically a band that goes across your forehead and behind your ears that has sensors that give real time feedback on your brain activity. You download an app on your phone that takes you through a tutorial, and once it is all set up it records your brain waves as you meditate. You start at 3 minutes of meditation, with a background sound of choice. The goal is to focus on your breath with the sound in the background guiding you along – it will get louder the more active your brain is. This tool is meant to train your brain how to calm itself when it is getting overwhelmed with activity. I know some people who go for about an hour, whereas I have only done a 10 minute meditation as my longest session.

I tried it for a couple months and I would say it gets more effective the more often you use it. It was helpful to me because just by putting on the headband, it forced me to sit still for a length of time. I am usually trying to do something at every second of the day to keep me busy. This tool showed me how important it is to give your brain a break. The way I think of it is like working out. You usually give yourself breaks in between sets, and rest days in between workout days. You could argue that sleeping gives your brain a break, but I think with the amount of stimulation it gets throughout the day, it is also important to allow it to relax a few minutes throughout the day. Not only does it have to make choices and take in information in the present moment, but it also has millions of memories to refer to and possible future situations to protect from as well.

I was just borrowing this device so I haven’t invested in one for myself yet, but I know they have come out with a new version that senses your breathe and heart rate as well which I would be interested in trying out.

Floating

Float Meditation: Elements Float Spa 280 — LIFE. CULTURE. PEOPLE. — Source: http://www.lifeculturepeople.com/culture-2/2016/6/27/float-meditation-elements-float-spa-280

My cousin introduced me to Float Space here in Kelowna as it was something I had never tried before. The whole purpose is to take away all possible sensations so you only focus on your own thoughts and your breath. You have the choice between going into a fully enclosed capsule, or laying in a bath in a room. The owner suggests to float for 60-90 minutes at a time to fully get the benefits of meditation. It is salt water so I learned it’s not worth touching your face and getting salt water in your eyes… that wasn’t so pleasant. Other than that I thought it was a cool experience, although I wish I used the foam pillow they suggested as my neck got quite sore. It was interesting that I had no sense of time after the first 10 minutes… and noticing thoughts that come and go, and which thoughts were recurring.

I can see this being difficult for people who are quite active and always on the go – I personally had a hard time being still but I also made the mistake of drinking coffee beforehand. I think it’s worth trying out at least once to see if it’s something you can invest in for the health benefits that it provides. The owner said it is meant to re-wire your nervous system to initiate calmness.

Yoga

I have only done yoga a few times a year for the past 6 years. It wasn’t until this year that I have been doing it more consistently. The difference is I was paying for drop in classes and due to my love for sports, I couldn’t find a reason to invest in a membership or monthly pass to keep up with yoga. Now, I am doing yoga videos that I find on YouTube because it’s free and I can do it in the comfort of my own home.

Every time I went to a yoga class, it was noticeably beneficial to my mind and body. Sometimes I would be so present that I would actually feel emotional and that I wanted to cry – maybe a shock to my system for how I forget about the importance of living in the “now”. My muscles and joints have always come out happy as well – nice and loose.

I can also see the spiritual aspect being addicting as well, especially being in a room full of people who are all connecting movement and breath together. I have been to some ridiculously spiritual classes that talk about your chakras, the third eye and enlightenment etc… with an open mind I kind of like to believe in all of it because it’s a cool take on life.

Now that I do yoga at home I never usually feel the emotion I do when I’m at a class, maybe because I don’t feel the vibe from other people, but I still get the benefit of staying in the present moment and stretching my muscles. To me, yoga is one of the best forms of practicing mindfulness because I am an active person and am very connected to my body. It is more effective for me personally to notice tension in a muscle and to become self-aware of letting that tension go in order to relax rather than sitting and focusing on my breath. With certain types of yoga, you focus on your breath as you flow through movement and this for me is a simple and effective connection to make.

Miscellaneous Mindfulness

Culinary Lingo — Source: https://www.eatright.org/food/planning-and-prep/cooking-tips-and-trends/culinary-lingo

Everything that allows you to be in the present moment can be considered a form of mindfulness. For me, cooking is a great way to be present as it forces me to focus on what I’m doing – especially when creating a new recipe. I also really enjoy colouring and painting, it’s an easy way to just let my thoughts come and go and get the satisfaction of making something beautiful. Also, any type of physical activity helps as well – from working out to rock climbing to skiing.

Although I have tried multiple methods and continue to learn about other possible ways of practicing mindfulness, I still struggle to work on it every single day. There are so many leaders and genuinely happy people out there who swear that meditation is what keeps them going in a positive direction. I think it’s important to stay grounded when things seem overwhelming and chaotic and that’s why I am constantly looking for mindfulness methods to find what works best for me.

I would love to hear what you have tried to implement mindfulness in your lives in the comments below.

The Mindset of Healthy Eating

It can be very confusing to know how to properly eat with all of the social media, opinions on the internet and keeping up with the new trends. It wasn’t until the last few years, especially after my experience as a personal trainer, that I started taking my nutrition more seriously. Obviously it helped actually feeling the results of super clean eating when I did the Whole30 diet, but now my main focus is how eating healthy can change my energy and mood. It always seemed like something you would do to get a nice looking body, but I have always been an average size so it was something that never affected the way I eat. I will always continue to learn more about what my diet would ideally look like, but I think at the same time we all need to put less pressure on ourselves.

It’s okay to make mistakes

There are so many factors that contribute to the way you eat every day. How you slept, what time of the month it is (for the ladies), what your job entails, the people around you, Western culture, who you live with, peer pressure from friends, all while trying to have the will power to not eat a freshly baked cookie that is sitting on a pretty plate at your grandma’s house.

Yes, it’s you who can control what you put in your mouth in the end, but as humans we are wired to socialize and do what everyone else is doing. I’m pretty sure there was no tribe that had someone who only ate blueberries because they were on a diet, they most definitely also ate the kill of the day. The problem now is that we have access to everything all the time. And so does your family, and your friends, and your coworkers, and everyone is all confused about what we should eat. I guarantee every person that I mentioned knows fairly well about how they “should” eat.

I think we all just need to support each other with any choice that we make. If a friend doesn’t want to have alcohol, don’t buy them a drink at the bar. If someone wants to be on a diet, let them be on a diet and don’t judge them for it. If your vegan friend wants to try fish, that’s okay too. There are so many opinions out there to worry about that it’s nearly impossible not to make a so-called “mistake.”

Find what works for you

Without thinking of other people, or what the internet is saying, just try to stop and think about what type of eating would make you happy. For me, I am trying to learn how to make more meals homemade because then I know what goes in them. It’s not full of processed food, and it’s interesting to learn how to make things taste good. I am also constantly trying to find ways to make vegetables taste good especially while living with someone who would rather not have to eat them. I like trying out baking recipes that are a bit healthier by using other types of sweeteners or non-dairy products. I try to not consume “empty calories” from juice and alcohol and candy, and I also avoid fast food as much as I can.

That being said, I have no idea what the ideal diet looks like for my body, so I am learning to accept that and be okay with occasionally eating something that isn’t so healthy. There is no reason to beat yourself up for wanting to have a beer out on the lake with your family, just have it in moderation and don’t do it every day all day.

Another option that I have been dying to try is to actually invest in seeing a nutritionist and to get a blood analysis done. I think it’s always worth learning more about your own body so you stop trying to figure it out among the chaos on the internet. And after learning about how my body might be malnourished, I still have the control to decide what I would like to keep eating and what I might eat less of.

Conclusion

There are so many choices that we have to make each day. Not only about what we will eat, but just anything – what to wear, when to leave for work, how to do your hair, etc. So every time you eat, you are making a choice and it should be one that you feel good about. I think if you at least stop to take a moment about how you feel about your choice, you will feel much better about it. This includes allowing yourself to indulge once in a while – it will be much easier to accept when you realize you’ve been making healthy choices as much as possible. Don’t dwell on mistakes you might make along the way, just keep moving forward.

I remember reading something once that said we tend to self-sabotage when we feel guilty about something. The example they gave was after we eat a pizza, we feel bad then have a beer and ice cream and chocolate and another beer just because we messed up and deserve to just keep messing up. They said to just let the pizza go and have a healthy breakfast the next day to break the cycle. For some reason we think we have to eat clean and healthy all the time for every meal in order for us to be doing it “properly.” I think it’s just important to keep moving forward, be aware of your choices, and do what feels right for your body.