Have you checked in with your body lately? This week, we're exploring the Physical Dimension of Wellbeing. If you've been keeping up with the podcast, you know the month of May is all about multidimensional mental health at Inner Workout. The physical dimension can be broken down into three subdimensions - body awareness, embodiment, and body acceptance. What better way to tap into this dimension than with a body scan meditation? Listen in as Taylor leads you through a body scan. At the end, you'll have an opportunity to reflect on the question, what can your body tell you about your state of mind?
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Hey welcome back to Inner Warmup where your inner work begins. My name is Taylor Elyse Morrison, creator of Inner Workout and you as always are our expert guests. Thanks for being here. Today, we are smack dab in the middle of our multi-dimensional mental health series for mental health awareness month in May. And really what we're doing here is looking at The Five Dimensions of Wellbeing and seeing how they intersect with the concept of mental health. So today we're talking about the physical dimension of wellbeing. And the question that we're reflecting on, is what can my body tell me about my state of mind? What can my body tell me about my state of mind?
If you're newer to The Five Dimensions of Wellbeing and the subdimensions, I'll do a quick breakdown of the subdimensions underneath the physical dimension of well being. So you've got embodiment, which is really about being present in your body, it's this idea of your mind, your body or spirit all being in the same place. Because a lot of times, we can be in a body and be having an out of body experience because we're so much in our heads. Then there's body awareness, which is about knowing your body, its specific needs and preferences. And then body acceptance, which is about accepting and appreciating the body that you have right now, instead of being focused on the body that you used to have, or the body that you think you should have in a future moment.
So today, when we're looking at what can my body tell me about my state of mind, it's really a mix of this body awareness and embodiment subdimensions. And we're gonna do this episode a little bit differently, because I think it's going to be hard for you to answer this question if you aren't already in your body. So what I'm going to do is to guide you through a brief body scan meditation to get you more present in your body. And then from there, you will hopefully have some information to answer this question because there are so many ways that your body can talk to you. It can talk to you through tightness, it can talk to you through pain, it can talk to you through hunger cues, it can talk to you through feeling sleepy or through feeling energized. There's also things like your body can talk to you through like being super dry, or feeling really thirsty or having breakouts on your face. There's a lot of different ways your body can talk to you.
So if you'd like I would love to walk you through a body scan meditation to get you into your body in this moment, and to see what it has to say. So what you can do right now is to find a comfortable seat or position rather, it doesn't have to be sitting, you can be laying down. You could be standing, if you want to get comfy. And when you're ready, take a look over your shoulders. Just an easy way for you to tell your body hey, we're here we're safe. There's not like a sabre-toothed tiger that's hanging out waiting to pounce on us.
When you're ready, let your eyes get heavier. Maybe they drift all the way closed, maybe you just keep your gaze past the tip of your nose. I want you to bring your awareness to your feet. Really notice your feet in a way that you haven't noticed them. If you're wearing socks, see if you can feel the fabric touching your feet. Listen briefly. Use your five senses to feel into your feet, notice if they have anything to say to you. And that might not be a speaking, again, that might be a sensation and then draw your awareness up your shins and calves, noticing whatever it is they have to say. Come up to your knees, feeling and listening and draw up to your upper legs…your quads, your hamstring. Noticing anything - soreness, tightness - into your hips which can traditionally can hold on to a lot of emotion. Take a deep breath, just being aware of your hips. Bring your awareness to your glutes. Wrapped around to your belly and low back, your chest including your heart and your upper back. Come into your neck, your throat. Let your awareness drift down your right arm, from your upper arm to your lower arm, to each of your fingers. Come back up your right arm and do the same thing down your left arm, not assuming that you know what this arm has to say, it might be different. Come back up your left arm into your shoulders and then back into your neck. Become aware of your jaw line,
noticing any tension and taking this opportunity to let go of it right now. Your ears, your eyes and the tiny little muscles around your eyes. The space between your eyebrows. Then all the way up into the crown of your head. Hold this full body awareness. Feeling and listening with intention. Notice if any part of your body feels like it is calling out to you.
And when you're ready, begin to bring your awareness back into this room. Feel whatever is supporting your body. Maybe start to slightly move your body and when you're ready, you can open your eyes. And from this space, from this full body of awareness, I want you to answer the question. What can my body tell me about my state of mind? I'll give you a couple of minutes to reflect and we'll check out on the other side. What can my body tell me about my state of mind?
I hope that that served you well, that you were able to hear from your body and maybe learn something about your mind in the process from the wisdom that your body was able to offer you. If this sparks something for you, you can always find us on Instagram. We love getting your DMS and seeing you share about the episode and stories. I'd also love to invite you to the group chat where we get to have conversations like these and conversations about the things that are supporting our self-care and mental health in real time, not just through a podcast. If that interests you and you want to learn more about everything you get when you become a group chat member, you can find that in the show notes. Thank you so much for listening, and take care!
