
Elements of Embodiment, Part 2: Learning to Pay Attention to Body Sensations
I spent a long time ignoring my body. I ignored my body because I didn't like my body - it didn't feel like it was "me" - and especially after puberty, I lived entirely in my head. When I absolutely had to pay attention to my body, because I was sick or injured, I resented my body, and resented that I had to pay attention to it, and resented the unpleasant sensations of sickness or injury.
The slow process of learning to be willing to be a compassionate observer of my body, and notice the sensations of my body, opened up a new world to me: the world of pleasure. If we are ignoring our body's sensations, of course, we suppress the unpleasant, which can be useful, but we also suppress the pleasant - and there is so much pleasant possible.
I have been introduced to a practice called "Waking the hands," which I have come to really love as a practice. It's amazing how much we can learn from mindful attention to body sensations - in this case, it's just sensations of the hands.
The most important element of learning to pay attention to your body sensations is self-compassion - because not all body sensations are pleasant. There is pain, dysphoria, stiffness, itchiness... all forms of unpleasant sensation in our bodies. As we can approach those sensations with self-compassion, we open ourselves up to the experience of a wide variety of body sensations - and this opens the door to the embodied experiences of pleasure and joy.