It may sound strange to ‘be in your head a lot’. Yet that is not the case, because the people who think up/devise things professionally, have a lot of meetings or the entire profession is based on mental work, spend many hours in their heads. But of course also people who worry a lot due to unrest or habit. With great exception, a walk is sometimes taken, for example during the lunch period. If you are engaged in activities that take place in this direction, then it is time to take a look at their physical counterpart. Back to the balance!
Learning to feel your body again
Besides the fact that it is not visible that someone is busy, but that is less relevant, it is often difficult to make the switch to the balance between body and mind. It sometimes seems like a kind of neglect of the body. Where neglect has to do with your inner self. Feeling your body in all its facets is pushed to the background by the busy mind.
If you live more in your head, your body is not busy/active enough, while it should actually be in balance. The consequences of too little exercise are that muscle tissue decreases, your body becomes stiffer and you no longer feel your body well.
In this case, feeling your body is not so much as touching your skin. But feeling your body is also feeling blood flowing through the veins. How your body reacts when you breathe deeply and the oxygen is transported through your body or when you lift your arms and your body expands.
What to do?
To restore balance, it is good to alternate busy mental activities with physical activity. It makes sense to have physical activity of such a nature that you can do it alone or in peace (with others). It’s about the concentration to make your body feel again. The ultimate form to achieve this is yoga, because your mind is very explicitly involved in your physical activities.
Meditate and activate
Source: Unsplash, Pixabay
Meditate
When you start this process, it is good to first set aside a moment of silence for yourself. Sit in a quiet room (alone or with others) in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Breathe in deeply through your nose, filling your lungs and exhale slightly more slowly than you inhaled. Try to calm down with your own breathing and let your breathing determine your rhythm. Follow your breathing by visualizing where the flows of oxygen in your blood go. When you are nice and relaxed, it is good to do some exercises.
Activate
These postures are designed to activate the body.
- Stand with your legs slightly apart and your arms at your sides. Relax yourself and then gently raise your arms above your head (let your fingers grasp each other) and try to make yourself taller, without standing on your toes. Remember that you are being lifted by the crown of your head and hold this position for a few seconds. Return to your starting position and do the same again. Repeat this about 5 times and experience how, as your arms rise, your lungs expand and more oxygen can flow into your body.
- Now lie on your back with your chin towards your chest and your arms along your body. Lift your left leg and bend it as far as possible towards your right side (your right leg will bend slightly to maintain balance). Make sure the leg (and hip) comes as far as possible and hold the position for a few seconds (keeping your right hip on the ground). Return everything to the original position and do the same with your right leg. Take your time with the pose and continue to breathe while you perform the exercise. Feel what the muscles do to you.
- Now lie on your stomach and close your legs. The hands are placed directly under the shoulders. Breathe in well and as you exhale, raise your upper body. But do this in a rolling motion, starting with the forehead, chin and then the neck and shoulders. If you continue to push with your hands, your chest/rib cage will slowly rise and if you push your shoulders out, the chest will expand. Now breathe deeply and hold this position for half a minute and then return to the starting position. Repeat this posture about 5 times.
- Stand again with your legs apart and your feet straight ahead. Raise your right arm straight up and turn your face slightly toward the arm. Now inhale well and as you exhale, bring the raised arm over your body and head as far as possible and stretch it as far as you can. Hold this position for half a minute and then return to the starting position. Do the same with the other arm and repeat this about 5 times for each arm.
- Stand with your legs slightly apart. Your heels are pointed slightly outward and you hold your fingers intertwined behind your back. Now inhale deeply and as you exhale, raise the bottom of your chest, as it were, and push your shoulders back. Your hands remain behind your back with fingers intertwined. Now place your legs firmly on the floor and open your knees by pressing them back a little. Stay in this position for half a minute and then return to your normal position (also let your arms hang next to your body again). Repeat this posture about 5 times.
Finally
There are many ways to bring your body and mind back into balance. However, this type of postures also immediately makes your body feel good and you are immediately back in your body with good concentration. Repeat this every day or at least every other day. Also alternate some exercises by looking at different yoga books or reading the Anna Staal specials on yoga.