September
2001
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Become "Aware"to
Change Your Life
PAUL NORR
HAVE YOU EVER been driving down the road only to realize you donít remember
the last five minutes of driving, or just finished a meal and realized you donít
know what it tasted like? On the other hand, youíve probably experienced moments
of clarity when youíre acutely aware of even the smallest detail of an activity.
Whatís the difference between these scenarios? Awareness.
Awareness is a very ordinary component of our lives. It is the simple recognition
of whatís going on. What does the body feel like? What does this mental state
feel likeóPleasant? Unpleasant? Intense? Subtle? It is attention that registers
how things feel and how our bodies and minds respond to the endless array of stimuli
in the world. Think of awareness as inquisitive exploration of our lives.
Awareness is an essential component in any wholistic health model. Before we make
any decisions to affect our health, we must be aware of how we are feeling. The concept
of awareness may seem simplistic, yet its absence or presence can profoundly affect
the quality of our experience.
You might experiment with awareness by exploring diet. Try eating different types
of breakfast each day. Try cold cereal one day, hot cereal another, then bagels and
coffee, pancakes, eggs, then tofu and veggie stir fry another. Notice how you feel
throughout each day. Maybe even take notes. Do some foods make you feel heavier or
lighter? Do some make you more energetic or less? Do some digest better than others?
Does your breathing feel easier or more difficult with different foods?
In-the-body experience
Bodywork is a wonderful tool to develop awareness of your body-mind. For an entire
bodywork session, you have nothing you need to do but experience the relaxing stimuli
provided by a skilled therapist. It is a powerful opportunity to see what is going
on.
You could start by noticing your breathing. Donít try to regulate it, just
experience the breath. Is the breath smooth or rough, labored or easy, deep or shallow?
Bring your attention to your body, starting with the head, experiencing each body
part all the way down to your toes. Are there places in the body that are tight and
places that are soft and loose? Notice your emotional state. Are you relaxed? Anxious?
Joyful? Confused?
Allow yourself to hold the perspective that none of these variations of breath or
body or mind are better than any other. Remember, you are exploring. This is all
just data. This is what is happening in the moment. You are just trying to open up
to your present experience and learn from it.
Benefits of Awareness
The benefits of simple awareness are many. Awareness provides raw information
about what is happening, on cause and effect in your body-mind. In a bodywork session
you might discover a forgotten soreness in your hip that is caused by bad posture.
Now you remember. This simple remembering is the first step to changing your posture
and relieving the soreness. You gain a bit of knowledge.
Awareness also provides the motivation to make changes. It can take a significant
amount of energy to change a habit, such as consuming too much caffeine. Clear awareness
of how you are affected by the caffeine can be tremendously energizing and empowering.
The simple, naked experience of how unpleasant and jittery caffeine might make you
gives you strong motivation to make a change.
As you develop a habit of paying attention it becomes second nature. You then get
real-time feedback on whether your actions and choices are making your life, and
the life other others around you, better or worse.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the very nature of awareness is an openness
to and an acceptance of your life. This soft allowing quality, in and of itself,
can relieve tension, relax the body and mind, and help you to heal in profound ways.
Opportunities to increase your awareness are endless. From receiving bodywork, common
activities like walking and gardening, or formal practices such as meditation and
yoga, you can develop your capacity to be a little wiser and happier by being more
conscious and aware.
Paul Norr is a shiatsu therapist with practices in St. Paul and at CenterPoint
in Minneapolis. He has extensive training in mindfulness meditation practice. He
can be reached at 651-698-1772, or p.norr@att.net. To schedule an appointment with
Paul at CenterPoint, call 612-617-9090.
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2001 Twin Cities WELLNESS newspaper.
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