Headspace Studios.

Hi there. Welcome to Radio Headspace Space. It's Eve here with you. I hope you're having a good week.

I wanted to spend a little time today unpacking one of the core foundations of mindfulness,

and that is mindfulness of body. Our body is a source of information, but more often than not,

we're quite disconnected from what is happening

in the body, sometimes intentionally and other times unintentionally, and our different lived

experiences will also play a role in this. When we sit to meditate and practice mindfulness,

we're shining a light on what is happening in each moment,

and our body is affected by and reacts to different physical and mental states.

So in that sense, it is a vast source of information.

As we go about our daily lives, the body we inhabit is subject to the stresses and challenges that we face.

We might receive a difficult email and that tension is absorbed into our neck and our shoulders,

and we might stay tense and uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

This discomfort might then impact how we interact with others.

We might blame the person for sending the email instead of taking the time to understand

why it upset us and how it made us feel. Connecting with the body provides a space where we can start to let go of and recognise how our thoughts and feelings impact us.

That is not to push them away or ignore them, but to see what is happening as it's happening.

For example, if you're experiencing a strong emotion like anger, it can be very physical.

So being present with how it impacts you can actually help you ride the wave of anger.

That might be recognizing that your breathing is really shallow and so taking some slow, deep breaths.

Or if that's too difficult, it could be connecting with the sensation of the feet on the floor

to help you feel grounded and supported.

...