{"id":49557,"date":"2022-02-23T08:48:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T14:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=49557"},"modified":"2024-04-06T06:30:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T06:30:23","slug":"moving-through-stress-with-body-awareness","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/moving-through-stress-with-body-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Through Stress with Body Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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*This is an article from the Winter 2021-2022 issue of\u00a0<\/em>Contentment Magazine<\/em>.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

By Ashley DePaulis, MPH, Founder of Embodied Success\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn our busy, high-tech, low-touch lives, it\u2019s easy to operate detached from our own bodies. They too easily become vessels we feed, water, and rest so they can continue to cart around our brains. Instead, we need to pay attention to the information our bodies are sending us<\/em>\u2014\u00a0<\/em>before real health problems set in.\u201d -Susan Bauer-<\/em>Wu<\/em>1<\/sup><\/p>\n

In the final months of the year we naturally begin considering our aspirations for 2022.<\/p>\n

Is movement, and the way you move through your day connected to your body on your list of priorities? Whether you realize it or not, being connected to the movement of your body is an access point for greater self-awareness.<\/p>\n

Trends in Post-pandemic Movement Patterns<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pandemic has changed movement patterns throughout the world. How and where people are living, working, and playing has shifted. The confines of place and space are expanding in all aspects of life.<\/p>\n

Overall, though, it seems every one of us could improve how we move. According to\u00a0The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity<\/em>, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 20.3% of U.S. adults reported being more active, 30.4% of adults reported being less active, and 42.7% of adults reported no change in their amount of physical activity.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

No matter what group we fall within \u2014 even the more physical activity group \u2014 I think we can all admit that we\u2019ve been sitting and staring at screens more than we\u2019d like to admit.<\/p>\n

With that, stress levels have been on the rise with close to half the U.S. population experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

At this critical point in our \u2018Always On\u2019 culture with the prolonged stress of a pandemic, you can\u2019t afford not to take time to connect within, and movement is a great way to do just that, improving your mental and physical health in the process.<\/p>\n

Yet this may not be reason enough for you. You may know it\u2019s good for you, and that you need to do it, but you just don\u2019t, or you can\u2019t find a rhythm with it. Or maybe you\u2019re like me, you love moving and you enjoy training your body through physical activity, but you need additional ways to relieve stress throughout your day. Bringing body awareness into the equation supports both ends of the spectrum.<\/p>\n

Engaging Your Subtle Senses to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Body<\/strong><\/p>\n

Movement can help process emotions, and healthy doses of movement means that you\u2019re moving more of yourself, more often. This means beyond, during, and despite a daily workout.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve likely heard the popular phrase, \u201clisten to your body,\u201d and you may have wondered, \u201cwhat am I listening to?\u201d Listening to your body means tuning into your body\u2019s signals through your senses, specifically the sensory perceptions inside your body known as interoception. It gives you valuable feedback related to your inner emotional experience.<\/p>\n

The 5 senses \u2014 seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching allow us to experience a degree of sensations, yet going through the day we may not be engaging with our sensory experience. Beyond our 5 senses is the 6th sense of proprioception \u2014 the body\u2019s ability to sense itself in space through movement, action, and location. When we have good proprioception, it means we can move without looking, we\u2019re good at judging distance as we move, our movement is fluid, we avoid bumping into objects, and we can use appropriate force when handling objects. When we\u2019re accident prone, or when we feel awkward as we move, we can increase our proprioception through moving in more ways and bringing attention to our movement.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the 7th sense of interoception \u2014 the ability to sense the internal state of the body, aka how our body feels. This is the most invaluable of the senses and it often goes untrained. In fact, we are often rewarded for ignoring it. This sense tunes us into our emotions, feeling our heart rate, noticing hunger and fullness, muscle tension, thirst, tiredness, body temperature, our need to pee, and how deep our breath is. Many of these actions are unconscious, like sensing when we need to use the restroom. Once we are able to bring awareness to what was once unconscious, we can bring more choice to our behavioral decision making, like eating, or meeting other basic needs with care.<\/p>\n

Body Awareness, Stress<\/strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0and Engaging in Mindful Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Managing stress and thriving throughout our day without becoming depleted starts with interoception body awareness.<\/p>\n

A good rule of thumb\u00a0<\/em>is to start to notice what you\u2019re noticing.<\/em><\/p>\n

This awareness allows us to use stress to our advantage instead of ruminating in it.<\/p>\n

When interoception is learned, we can relieve stress related muscle tension in the moment. Allowing us to gain a deepened sense of how we hold ourselves in various postures, and how moving in and out of these positions can change our state of being and reactive patterns. We also begin to recognize how our environment impacts our nervous system and learn healthy ways to self-regulate. We can then respond from a place of choice instead of habitually repressing or powering through our feelings, to which we have become accustomed.<\/p>\n

Next time your body is filled with the sensations of stress, notice what you\u2019re noticing.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mithu Storoni, MD, PhD says, \u201cdo your best not to relax immediately after a stressful situation.\u201d4<\/sup>\u00a0This is when our brain likes to run wild with stories that have us blaming, shaming, and judging ourselves. Do mindful movement instead \u2014 with attention and intention to move your awareness from the stressor.<\/p>\n

Think of this as a cool down exercise. Breathing counts, and so does any natural movement your body calls for to release tension.<\/p>\n

I love natural exercises that affect our emotional states easily and quickly. Just as breathing can calm our nervous system, so can mindfully rubbing our hands together.<\/p>\n

Rubbing our hands together has been shown to generate delta waves in the brain.5<\/sup>\u00a0The resulting chemical reaction moves us out of the fear center of our brain.<\/p>\n

Consider this movement for instant relief. Try it right now for 20-30 seconds and then bring awareness to how you feel after. Its calming effect will also help you make clear and focused decisions. No need to get stuck in quicksand over stress, we have the power to train our bodies to respond differently.<\/p>\n

Take Mini-Recess Breaks to Move Throughout the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

To practice interoception, it helps to move into a slower pace, and even take what I like to call, mini-recess breaks. Slow down enough to:<\/p>\n