THE MINDFUL FAMILY: The Mindful Body
By Charlton Hall, MMFT, LMFT-I
The Humanist therapist Carl Rogers spoke of the Ideal Self. This is the person who we wish to be. It’s who we would be if we were ‘perfect’ as judged by our own standards. Mindfulness talks of the True Self. This True Self is much like Rogers’ Ideal Self. It is the Internal Observer who knows when we’ve done something against our own nature or against our own best interest.
Think back to a time when you knew exactly who you were and what you wanted to be. It may have been a time in your childhood, or your teen years, or adulthood. You may not have lived up to your own expectations, but at least you knew what those expectations were. This image is your True Self, and the Mindful Walk is the journey to becoming your True Self.
How well do you know your own body? Do you know its moods and its ways of communicating with you?
If you are a person who, like most of us, struggles with overeating, do you recognize the messages your body sends you when you’re full?
Maybe you have a chronic pain issue. Do you know the signs and signals your body gives you when you’re about to have an episode?
Maybe you have a problem with anger. Do you recognize the physical signs your body gives you prior to losing your temper?
Are you affected by the weather? Do you feel more gloomy and depressed when the weather changes?
We’re accustomed to the idea that mind and body are separate things, but that’s not the reality of the situation. In reality, mind and body are one. As you become more connected to your own body you will begin to notice more how your body reacts to different emotional states. Many times our bodies know our emotions before we become consciously aware of them. By ‘tuning in’ to what our bodies are doing, we gain a richer understanding of our emotional lives as well. As we learn how our emotions manifest in our bodies, we can get deeper insights to our emotional states, and learn more about our emotional states from what our bodies are doing at any given moment.
The first step in discovering your True Self is to become comfortable in your own skin. The way to do this is to learn as much as you can about your own body. It’ll be the home you dwell in for your entire journey on this earth, so the more you know about it, the better off you’ll be. For the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring how to get in touch with, and connect to, your True Self through reconnecting with your own body.
Charlton Hall is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Intern and the Director of the Mindful Ecotherapy Organization (www.mindfulecotherapy.org). You may contact him at: chuck@mindfulecotherapy.org.