Exercises For Awareness Of The Physical Body
Last Edited: January 2011
These exercises are best performed when you are in a relaxed mood, have not eaten within the last 2 hours and have a suitable environment. Drinking coffee or tea and eating chocolate a few hours beforehand is not advisable. As you progress in your facility with these exercises, when your beingness is disrupted by circumstances, you will be able to return to your center by using these exercises. For the time being, it would be best to practice while in a neutral mood and in a neutral environment.
There are certain diets which facilitate the maximum benefit from these exercises. All centers upon the purpose of keeping any compounds which stimulate the neuroendocrine/hormonal systems out of the diet. The elimination of these compounds allow for a calm and settled mind. It helps to eliminate mammalian food products such as red meat, dairy products (unless fermented and well aged) and any mammalian food by products (i.e., whey). These foods have many hormones and steroids which cause stimulatory affects in the body. Many plant products also have steroids and stimulatory compounds such as caffeine, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. These should be eliminated as well. It would serve you well to do some online investigation into the foods that you consume.
Your place for practice should be comfortable and free from any disturbing influences. You will need from 45 minutes to an hour and a half of time in a serene and protected space. Clothing should be comfortable and loose fitting, preferably of natural fibers. Polyester attracts and binds the gas Radon, a radioactive gas the seeps into basements from the soil. Try to practice in an area as free of electromagnetic radiation as is possible. This means alternating current (A.C.) and the equipment that uses A.C. power. Reduce the possibility of disruption by unplugging the telephone, stopping cooking, telling others and in general planning ahead for this time. The most important aspect of preparation is to make a commitment to yourself to see things through until you are able to decide whether you want to continue or not. In any case, the exercises and all experiences that follow will be learned behavior. At the end of this 4 part series, you will have learned to take apart your consciousness and then put it back together again, smoothly and objectively while achieving full consciousness.
Exercise Protocol
Let us first start with a walking meditation. Find a place where you can pace back and forth, 12 to 15 feet, in a straight line. Start with your eyes open. As you become more proficient, pace with them closed. Begin by putting your feet toe to heel and turning around at the ends of the line. To assist in keeping any type of energy interference to a minimum, place your left hand over your naval area with the right hand over the left, if you are right handed. Do the opposite if you are left handed. At first as you begin to pace, you will find that you will need to pay close attention to the maintaining of your balance. Eventually, as you relax more and more into what is happening, you will discover a natural progression of body awareness which becomes ever more subtle. You should pace for at least one hour. You will find that your body movements as a whole begin to be broken down into specific regions. Toes, feet, ankles, lower legs, knees, upper-legs, pelvis, spine, upper body, neck and head. As you become more practiced, you will be aware of the entire body as a whole as it moves. When you are able to do this easily and are stable in this whole body awareness state, a transition will gradually occur which moves you into a state of light trance. In this state of light trance, you begin to be aware of everything and experience the moment of everything that happens to your body; both from without and from within. You are aware of all your of physical senses at once as they bring information to you from your surroundings. And lastly, an awareness of your internal milieu emerges which is blended with total physical body consciousness. As you practice this exercise, you might notice areas within your body of tightness, blank spaces, itching, burning, dark spaces, heaviness, light spaces, etc. Allow your mind to experience these for a while and build an acute discriminatory filter which will allow you to figuratively "see" inside your body. All this from a simple pacing back and forth? Wow!! The point to the above as you practice is to be here now! What is happening now? What is my body doing now? How do I feel now? What am I aware of now? What am I thinking about now? Where am I now? When do I turn next? Where do I put my foot next? BE HERE NOW! YES, BE!... BE HERE!... BE HERE NOW!... BE HERE--NOW!
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