Body Awareness

Over the years of working with humans, I’ve come to appreciate that each one of us has a different level of body awareness. Optimal body awareness strikes a balance between being unaware of the things going on in our body and being hyper-aware so much so that it interferes with our daily lives.

I recall as an intern during my final year of schooling, a patient came in complaining of “back pain”, but when I asked him where he was feeling it he replied “How am I supposed to know? I can’t see my back!”. Being as green as one can be in their career at that point, I was not quite sure where to start. I asked if he could just roughly tell if the pain was in his neck, upper back, or lower back, and he again replied with the same thing - albeit a bit more agitated this time. I wondered if perhaps he was just trying to be difficult, but I have since encountered similar situations over the years and can now appreciate that in all likelihood, he wasn’t just “testing me”. Some people don’t pay any attention at all to their body, the way they move or how they feel until one day they can register something is wrong, but have no idea what or where. This can make it extremely difficult to communicate with healthcare providers and difficult for them to provide the most efficient and effective care possible. It could be that we’ve just never paid attention to our body, or it could be that this disconnect arose out of necessity. Often in cases of trauma, our body and mind must part ways as a self-protective mechanism. This self-preservation survival skill can unfortunately be carried forward, long after the trauma has physically subsided. Regardless the reason, it is very difficult for the body to thrive and function optimally when this disconnect is present.

Some people (who do not have sensory processing or neurological issues) can appear overly body aware, so much so that it is disruptive to their daily lives. These folks come in and describe joints that don’t feel exactly right in their sockets, areas of slight tension or a perceived slight divergence from their normal movement patterns or postures; and then become obsessed with these sensations. Upon examination, it is sometimes very difficult to see the micro differences between the position they describe as pain-free or correct compared to the one they feel terrible in. Because the difference, (if it is present) is so slight, their perceived “fix” is equally challenging. A belief that only a very, very specific physical intervention of exact parameters, is going to be the solution. It unfortunately results in a lot of “doctor shopping” and often disappointment for the patient. 

Although they appear to have a lot awareness of their body, I began to consider if this outward hyper-awareness was perhaps actually a symptom of an inward lack of awareness. Just like those who detach from their body as a protective mechanism, perhaps these individuals have zoomed into their physical sensations and latched onto them in an effort to avoid others. Same issue, different presentation shall we say. Let’s be honest, sometimes our bodies do bizarre things. So while it’s important to be tuned in and notice - it’s also important to not get too caught up when it has a little blip or a temporary glitch in the system. When we are examining our body under a microscope all the time, we will undoubtedly begin to feel things wrong - even when they are not.

So sometimes our lack of awareness may be idiopathic (no real reason for it, perhaps we just never bothered to pay much attention) and sometimes there was a self-protective reason behind it at some point in our past, but we’d like to move forward now. Having our mind and body communicating optimally requires we strike a balance, so what should we do if we find ourselves a bit out of touch? Like most things in life, practice makes perfect. It may seem like a funny thing (to practise getting your mind and your body on the same page) but once they are, I think you’ll find navigating this world - and your health- a little bit easier. There are many things you can try, here are just a few to experiment with. 

 Guided meditations: Some stress relief meditations have you squeezing and releasing different body parts. Practising activating different areas and tuning into different sensations in your body can help you familiarize yourself with it again. 

 Conscious exposure: Practice feeling different textures or temperatures and then describing to yourself exactly how it feels. First with your hands - then maybe try rubbing or placing it on different areas of your body like your arms, legs or feet. These items could be things like cotton balls, feathers, cool metal, a stone etc. See if you can tune into all of the different sensations of each object.  

Movement patterns: Let’s take getting out of a chair for example. Usually we just get up and go without much thought. But try putting this activity on super slow motion. Feel your feet on the ground, then put pressure through them, then feel the forces go through your legs, contract the backside of your body as you hinge up, take a deep breath and then take a step. Same movement that we do subconsciously all the time, but different level of awareness.

Go for manual therapy (and pay attention during your appointment): Seeing a manual therapist (physio, massage, chiropractor etc) and focusing on the different sensations as they move and stretch your body or position your limbs, can help you learn to bring awareness to different areas of your body. Their focused questioning of your symptoms can also put things on your radar to watch for that you maybe have ignored or reassure you when something isn’t an issue that you may have been hyper-focused on.

Pay attention to your emotions when you experience physical symptoms and vice versa: You can begin to appreciate the interaction between the two when you are able to make the associations as they are happening. When you get angry, see if you can feel any differences in your body, when you feel happy and relaxed, take a moment to check in and see physically how that feels.  

The level of body awareness we need to function at our best is different for everyone, but we want to find that balance between noticing when things are a bit off, and also not putting our body under the microscope all day, waiting and watching for any blip in the radar. Both can interfere with living our lives. So just stay curious about your body awareness, it might surprise you how much (or how little) you normally operate with.