Practices To Build Mind-Body Connection (6)

In this 6th event, we will review most effective practices to establish mind-body connection: simple ones suitable for very beginners, and more advanced practices. If you eager to know yourself better and increase quality of life, join us for science-based knowledge and practical tools.

Transcript

Hello everyone, Please let me know where you are from, Whether it's morning or evening time for you. Anyway, I'm really happy to see you all here. The topic of this sixth event is practices to build mind-body connection. So that is a very powerful topic I can say and today we will pay attention in reviewing all the details, Well as much as it is possible within the live event of course. So let me know guys how you are today. I am always open to this communication, To hearing from you and throughout our events and our meetings. I would really like you to share your opinions, Your thoughts, Your concerns and of course your questions if you have them. Well, Let me start with a short self-introduction. My name is Diana Mirzayeva. I am a life coach, A philosopher and a teacher of meditation here on Insight Timer. This is, As I mentioned previously, The sixth event of the series. I have five previous episodes uploaded in my profile, So if you are curious about this topic, You can check them out after this live event finishes. There is a lot of useful information and we already paid a lot of attention to the mind and the body aspects of the mind-body connection, So I am pretty sure that there will be lots of helpful information, Maybe even new information for you. I certainly hope for that, That you would like to learn and of course to implement in your lives. Let's move slowly into the content of today's session. We will review the most effective practices and I have divided them into two blocks. So the first block that we will view is consisting of practices available for everyone with any kind of level and experience and the second block is more advanced, So to say, The practices which require more experience or more awareness, Let's say. So the main thing when speaking about mind-body connection is developing mindfulness and awareness. So of course we need both of them when starting to build the mind-body connection and while we are doing that, While we are enhancing this relationship within us, It will develop in turn our mindfulness and awareness, So that it is a beautiful cycle that will grow within our practice. And of course it is obvious that we can train them, So if you hesitate, If you are capable of that, I can definitely assure you that anyone, Everyone can do that slowly step by step to build the mind-body connection to enhance and improve their awareness and mindfulness. These are just skills that we can train simply to say that. Alright, I can see a comment from Godavari, Sorry if I'm pronouncing your name wrongly, Nice to see here, Thank you so much. And let's have a look at the first block of the practices. As I mentioned they are more simple and this is that you can start practicing just right now after our session of course, Just today and you will already see some sort of results. So it will be quite easy to get into these practices. And as we are here on this incredible platform, An Insight Timer, Which of course in the very beginning I would like to give big thanks to and I would also like to thank all the community here, You guys, The contributors for the immense guided meditation library and for the opportunity for all of us to meet weekly here to discuss important topics and for all the content on this platform and application that helps us to raise the quality of our lives. So all of your donations guys are very welcome during this session and afterwards it will be split between the contributors, Myself and the platform with the whole team working for our good. So if we are all here on Insight Timer, Let's start with the meditation. So there are lots of different types of meditation and I'm sure you enjoy many of them guys. And the ones that specifically help to build this mind-body connection is the simple body scan. I personally love to do the last thing in the evening before going to sleep. It helps me to slow down and to switch from my head, From thinking to just being here and preparing for a good night rest. So body scan, For example, We had a grateful body scan in the third episode of these live events. You can also find it in my profile if you would like to practice that one. And another type of body scan as I see it is a progressive muscle relaxation. So we can combine it all and start building the connection between the mind and body. So we will put our attention to some parts of the body and we will either try to move it or to make it tense if we are speaking about progressive muscle relaxation and then relax or just feeling some sensations or just being present in that or this part of the body. Another type of meditation would be breath work. So I include it also in the meditation section because it requires not only breathing but also awareness and your sort of control of that. And simply observing your breath will be also very powerful practice. It may seem very challenging or quite boring and partly of course it is so but it has really great results in showing just ourselves that we are here, All is fine, We are safe at this very moment and right this is my body with whom and in what I am present right now. So again in the third episode we have practiced three types of breathing techniques and they are all suitable for the very beginners so you can check them out later and there is also a source calming breathing practice that I have in my profile. It is a very short one but it is a good example of how breath work can help us, How it actually has a big influence on our mental and emotional state though it was the topic of the previous episode. Well, There are some kind of meditations dedicated to our energy, To working with energy or either exploring our energy in the body or around the body, Probably we can remember Reiki in this context or some other kinds of spiritual practices. For me personally I do not practice them as often as I want to because for me they require a lot of time, So a lot of dedication and effort from my side, Probably more than any other type of meditation but I truly enjoy it when I have a chance when I do that. Speaking of some other types of meditation, Just feeling sensations in the body, As I mentioned not only different parts of the body but what sensations, Physical ones or maybe even emotional ones you have right now inside of your physical body or also probably working with your smells. It might not be a meditation itself but I should say that smell it is a strong tool, Maybe the strongest tool that will recall our memories and it's thus very easy for the beginners to work with. So just smelling some foods or flowers and observing how you perceive it and what happens in your body. Another practice that is not called meditation but I can view it this way and I can say I practice it myself just getting a massage. So it can be very relaxing and not only it is great for your physical health and mental health in turn as well but just being aware in the process of what is happening in your body, With your body, What pressure you feel at each moment, How the sensations change from the beginning of massage that you are getting, How you feel at the end. This also will help you be more mindful about your body and enhance the relationship, The dialogue between your mind and your body. Also you can just play with yourself and in a meditative form probably tell yourself, Hey body, Let me feel how light, How being light feels or heavy at the next moment. How does it feel to be excited and I'm pretty sure with the time, With each practice you will feel it more brightly, More freely, It will be much easier for you and another moment here that this practice will help you build and develop your intuition. So if you are not sure how it is connected, I was talking about it in the second episode, We paid some attention and some time to discussing the intuition in the context of mind-body connection. And another very powerful practice that is very popular and got very popular maybe two years ago, It's called grounding, I'm pretty sure that you've heard about it. Another way to say it is earthing, So you can google it to know more about it. Just to make it very simple, I hope I will not offend anyone with this statement but it is just paying attention, Being aware, Being in your feet but not in your head but in your feet, So grounding when you touch mindfully, Lovingly the ground with your bare feet. So as simple as that. So out of all these meditation types, I'm very curious which are your most favorite or maybe least favorite. Probably there are some that you will not be willing to practice or to try even. So, You got to vary your practice in Reiki, You do Reiki, That's amazing. Well, I think that is really, Really powerful practice and a lot of breath work. Yeah, Have you seen any kind of, To say, Results of breath work, Of any goals that you could achieve with breath work or was it just a process for you, So to say, Without any final goal. When I started doing breath work, As I remember, I wanted to have a healthier body, So just have a better health because I knew the consequences of it, How effective it is and indeed, I could see the results within a few months. It was a long process for me but of course, I wanted it to be much quicker but certainly it takes time as all and I continue doing breath work for already a year. So now, It is strongly, Strongly rooted in my morning routine, So I love it, I love it as well. The next practice, Let's go to the second point of kind of simple practices is journaling. I was also speaking about it earlier and how journaling works, You just take a paper, I strongly recommend to do it on paper with your pen, With your hand, Not on your laptop, Not in your smartphone because the physical writing helps you to work with your mind and body at the same time. So the impulses that you get in your brain which are converted to thoughts with the help of our body, With the intention to move our hand, They are beautifully written on paper. So later, We can say that these are already physical forms of the thoughts, It means that another person can read what we have written. So it goes from pure energy to the paper, To the physical form, It's just beautiful. Of course, I recommend to do journaling right after waking up when you are in this transitioning state after sleep, Before you are all into your day, Maybe stressed already, Just gentle practice in the morning or maybe after meditation, It will also have beautiful results but we will not talk about the benefits of journaling right now. Well, Another moment that I would like to mention here is any form of physical activity, Any kind of sports but especially I would like to emphasize yoga or any other Asian practices or ancient practices as well as stretching because we are moving slowly our body, We can have enough time to notice the changes, To see how our muscles react to what we are doing and dancing. So speaking of dancing, It's an incredible form of physical activity that allows us also to be in the present moment but also to express ourselves. Especially two very easy dance practices that you can do alone when no one sees you just moving your body however it wants to move, Not how your mind wants you to move. It doesn't have to be beautiful, You do not have to have any sequence of motions. Just feel what your body needs at this moment, How you want to move your hand or any other part of your body and make it into a dance, Into a smooth or maybe very sharp as you wish movement into your personal dance and self-expression. Or another way of if to speak about the mind a bit more, Just following the choreography of a teacher whether you are doing it with online YouTube videos or in a class with a group of students learning new choreography. So how it helps us to build the connection is what we see, What we want to do. Probably your mind will be telling you no way I can repeat it or that's too easy but then you discover there are some tiny moments that you are succeeding or that require more effort from you so you will be also expressing it through your physical body. So another amazing tool. Alright Garavari I am reading your comment about breath work that for you it was to release emotions and process stuck energy. Flotation therapy is a very nice way to meditate. Flotation therapy, Do you mean floating? I know about floating maybe it's just another name of it in Yoga Lovely Body Mind Practice. Yes, Certainly this type of yoga I totally agree and especially if to speak about stuck energy. Yes, Definitely it was one of the biggest achievements for me that I could even sort of get rid of unwanted stuff in my chest area, In the emotions, Stuck emotions that I felt. Yes, For me it was the same. Yes, In a float tank. Yes, This is what I was also thinking about. Right, Thank you so much. Well, And let's move to the final simple practice in the first block of our discussion. I would encourage you guys to ask yourselves right now how comfortable are you? How comfortable are you sitting or lying down, Walking, Whatever you are doing right now. So try to ask yourself this question as much as possible throughout the day. Not only it will help you to be more aware of your body but also show more respect to your body because you deserve to feel comfortable. It cannot be denied. And you can also be more aware of your body in the ways that when you for example wash your hands, Ask yourself is the temperature of the water comfortable or do I need to switch it, To change it? Or speaking of the shoes or the clothing you are wearing, Probably right now, How comfortable does it feel for you? And if it doesn't feel comfortable, Why, Why are you wearing that? So this will help you not only to increase the awareness of your body, To build the connection, This sort of communication between the body and mind but also increase the quality of your life. This I can assure you in. Let's move to the second block of practices. This I called higher level of awareness practices. So it requires probably a bit more experience in the past but I can assure you guys that anyone can get to that level. So it will be available to everyone with some practice, Some dedication and some time. So here when we speak about the bodies and our diets which we were also talking about previously in the previous episode, I mean, Noticing how some foods influence you. For example, Maybe after you eat something sweet, A dessert or maybe juice, Probably you will get some mood swings or sharp increase in the mood and then a drop afterwards. So generally this is how glucose influences us especially if taken in the empty stomach. Or for example, After eating beans, You might have a bloated abdomen. So noticing what foods caused you to feel this way probably very well and very energized. This will not only help you have this communication between the mind and body but which is more specific with your gut. It's an extremely important organ in our body and all the digestive system. And speaking of the gut, Probably another way to deepen the connection will be feeling the pressure in your gut. So as it sounds literally, You can in the meditation or maybe after having a meal, During having a meal, Close your eyes and try to feel something in your gut, How your gut feels right now. How much pressure is inside, Whether it feels light or already heavy. Or you can do it throughout the day, At any time of the day actually. And you will get with the time, With this practice if you upscale it, Let's say, You will get information about how healthy your gut is, How well you feel. And whether you are already hungry and you don't mind to take a bite or you probably shouldn't eat yet because you're still quite full. So Andrew Huberman, If you know him, He's a great professor from Stanford University, Has a great episode on this in his podcast. He says that brain-body has the mechanical and chemical dialogues. So with your mind, With your intention, You can learn how to understand that, How to understand your body better and see the influence of all the, Not only nutrients but of anything and everything on your body. And it will help you enhance the gut to brain communication, Which is extremely important one more time and again it refers us to intuition. Because we all know the expression of the gut feeling. What does this mean? It can literally mean that your gut tells you something. And this something, I believe, Can be called intuition. But intuition of course is not only the gut feeling, Just a part of that. Let's have a look at the next point in the second block of the higher level practices in the context of mind-body connection. It is just noticing your stress response that will be unique for everyone. How you, Your body, Maybe your mind, Your emotions respond to stressful situations. So we have some general common patterns as human beings but for many people we all have our unique ways to deal with stress and to respond to stress. So being aware of that is extremely, Extremely essential, I can say. I will not be tired of repeating the word extremely today. And also noticing your triggers, What triggered you or what triggered your emotions. And simply paying attention to your emotional state throughout the day. So what we can say also mapping the emotions somewhere in your body. Where do I feel excitement or where do I feel the feeling of depression or where is the joy living in my body and so on. Using the practice of living through emotions of letting them go will be also a great tool to enhance the communication between the mind and the body. So as I like to say in the context of emotions the only way out is through. No matter how deep, How deeply negative, Let's say your emotions are, You have to go through them. And if it is extremely difficult for you, You can always ask for help. Help of other people or other professionals. Do not go there alone if you don't feel that you are capable of doing it. So no pressure on yourself but just living through your emotions will be a very powerful practice. And the next moment here that I would like to mention is developing your sense of self. May sound some kind of abstract but here I would like to refer to introception. Knowing what is going on in your body, In your inner world. Seeing yourself from the inside. Whatever it might include for you. But developing the sense of self is really powerful and it's kind of results already of the mind-body connection which will help you raise the quality of your life if to say it shortly. And what is in common among all of these practices that we were talking about today? I believe the most obvious and the most important is being in the moment. Being present and aware of what is happening now. So being here and now. This is what requires, This is what is required first of all to build the communication, To start the communication between your mind and body. And the more time we can spend in the present moment, The easier it will be for us to understand ourselves, To live a better life, To be more authentic and to listen to our intuition as well. It is crucial for mindful living and for I would like to say conscious living. Because many of us most of the time live on autopilot and living consciously is another beautiful thing to talk about. And let me know guys how often you arrive in the present moment throughout your day. For some people it might be zero times or one time, Five times. Maybe some professional guru or Buddhist monks can say they live in the present moment 99% of time. I am not sure if any of human beings can live 100% of time in the present moment unfortunately or maybe not unfortunately. Why not? So I guess this is it, What I wanted to share with you guys today. I would like to invite you to listen to the previous episodes to the meditations in my profile and I would be really happy to see you in the next episodes of this series. You can prepare your questions for me, You can send me a DM, Private message on Insight Timer and of course if you would like to get a private session with me, I am always open to new connections and opportunities. So thank you so much guys for being here, For your presence, For creating such a special beautiful atmosphere on Insight Timer. Once again I would like to thank this platform and thank you all guys for your donations and hearts during today's episode. Thank you all guys, Have a great day or night ahead depending on where you are. Bye, See you next time.