Body scan guided practice
The body is our primary tool in mindfulness - we feel things physically well before our thinking brains get into gear. It's our early warning system.
Dealing with difficult emotions, for example, can be addressed much more quickly by tuning-in to the feelings in our body; in fact trying to resolve difficult thoughts by thinking alone, will often lead to more confusion. When people ask what our gut feeling is, it means exactly that (our guts are lined with brain cells called the enteric system).
With practice, we can learn to recognise internal body feelings such as
the effects of specific emotions, and get quicker at noticing tension arising. By becoming more aware of body sensations, externally and internally, we can access an incredible reserve of emotional intelligence.
When you're ready you can play the following 10 minute audio track, or download it to use later.
10 minute track:
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