Body freedom » Body Tips

August Wellness Tip + Video: Finding Freedom Through the Body

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:29:33 +0000

Take a minute to sense where you are wanting more freedom in your life. Where do you hold that in your body? Once you find it, breathe into that area, or shake the area, even place your hands there. Now spend some time being fully focused on that area. Keep your awareness gently there, and pay attention for feelings, images, words… What happens? Remember, there is no right or wrong answer… only what is. Do this exercise frequently, as it is rather like strengthening a muscle. Eventually, as you spend time in the body and open to the space of it “talking” to you, you will begin to experience insights, “ahas”, and key information that will help you in every area of your life. Gradually, you will surely find the opening and Freedom you are looking for by using your body as a guide.

June Body Tip: Make Friends With Your Inner Child

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:48:38 +0000

Bring your awareness into your belly area. Breathe into your belly… long, slow breaths. Now, with your mind’s eye, imagine you are with your inner child while keeping your awareness in your belly. Really feel your inner child in your belly. Once you have made contact, give your child a gentle hug (just as you would an actual child or a small animal) and ask him or her what s/he would like? What “playful” thing would be fun to do together? Then… go and do it. (If it’s something that is not feasible to do in “real life”, come up with something together that you can do). You will be amazed at the level of trust, cooperation and flow that develops within you as you do this exercise over time.

Give this a go, and let me know about your experience! Post a comment or send me an email at tarnie@bodyfreedom.com

May BodyTip: Befriend Your Resistance!

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:06:39 +0000

Spend some time breathing into your body (which hopefully you are doing every day by now!), moving to some music (again a great daily practice), and spending time within. Next, become aware of any resistance, tightness, contraction, uncomfortable feeling in your body. Now… just be with it … “hang with it”, embrace it, befriend it! When we surround our resistance with attention, when we include it in our sense of feelings (rather than push it away or try and get rid of it) or even love it (what a thought!), something amazing happens. You will find that the resistance often dissolves! Or, it reveals what it needs so that it can let go.

Try it! Post a comment below and let me know how this goes for you and what you discovered!

April Body Tip: 5 Minutes to Total Brain Stimulation

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:05:18 +0000

Got 5 minutes? Good…

Put on a piece of music, close your eyes (or not!) and move your body. That’s right, feel the music and move. Feel stupid, feel awkward, playful, silly and do it anyway! Shake, flow, jump up and down, roll, stretch, explore disconnected movements, try something new. Find the fun in it as dancing/moving to music can be very playful. Pretend you are a kid, and move like a child would, they love to free form move! While feeding your soul you are feeding your brain!

Now… how do you feel?

Click below to leave a comment!

March Body Tip: Solar Plexus and Trust

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:35:13 +0000

Breath into your solar plexus. This is your mid section between your belly button and your ribcage. Now begin to let that area move. As you do, be aware of what you are feeling. It might be tight, sore, flexible, restricted, floppy, flowing. Whatever is there, can you embrace what is present and TRUST that what you feel is perfect right now? You don’t need to know why. Just allow, trust, and let yourself feel what you are feeling. Trusting your body’s feelings and sensations takes time, and practice. It is a life long journey and why not start now.

The benefit: you give yourself the opportunity to feel your feelings, trust what is present and learn to make decisions from this information. This opens you up to living a more authentic, satisfying and fullfilling life. As one of my clients said last week, “I feel juicy again, I was feeling so arid until I started TRUSTING my body’s information through moving and flowing.”

February BodyTip: Ground Yourself! Get To Know Your Feet

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:42:22 +0000

Bring your attention into your body. Become aware of your breath and how far it reaches in your body. Now bring your attention into your feet. Use them as your point of entry to connect with your body right now. Feel into your feet, stamp them on the ground, shake them. Once you feel the energy moving in them, begin to slow your movement down, letting it become smaller and smaller, until it winds up being very minute movement. Feel for the easy flow that comes from within the spaces inside as you s l o w r i g h t d o w n. Stay with this for as long as you can – 1, 2, 5 minutes… or more. There is nothing to do, nothing to achieve. This exercise is simply about feeling your feet, experiencing that connection with yourself and with the earth. Ask yourself, what do I feel? Chances are you might find yourself feeling more grounded, stable, balanced, awake, present, connected… what is it for you?!

The more you practice doing this – bringing your attention inside an area of your body – the easier it becomes. This is a meditation that includes your whole body. It really doesn’t matter the entry point. In fact, you can take this process and practice with other areas of your body. See what you notice. Next month I will give you the next step to take you deeper.

January Juicy Body Tip: Creating your Intentions From Your Body!

admin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:38:26 +0000

Take one intention that you have for 2009 and bring it clearly into your consciousness. Now take some time and space, and feel into your body. Breathe and become aware of your body sensations and feelings. As you bring your intention into your body, what do you notice? Do you feel openness and flow, and that “feel good” feeling? This is a good sign that you have a great fit! Go for it! Do you feel contraction, tightness, agitation? If so, you might want to reconsider your intention, and go for something that feels better in your body. Sometimes we “think” an intention is a fit for us, but if the body doesn’t align, then we are setting ourselves up for a less than fulfilling experience & more struggle. Go for the intention that feels good in mind AND body!

As you work with this one intention know that it is opening the pathways for the rest to follow. Consider working with those next! As you do, you will align your life with a much higher level of flow. You deserve it!

Happy New Year!

November Juicy Body Tip: Find the Judgments in Your Body!

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:37 +0000

Bring to mind an instance where you feel out of alignment within yourself – such as angry, guilty, ashamed, less than. Breathe into your body and ask yourself and feel, ”Where in my body am I holding a judgment about myself or about this situation?” Really feel this. Judgments are always held in the body – they show up as tension, muscle contraction or pain. Feel into such an area and become aware of what the judgment is. Be with it, breathe into it and feel it for a few moments. Then, keeping your awareness with the area of your body in which you are holding the judgment, move into self-forgiveness. Self-forgiveness is the antidote to judgment, and often unlocks and releases tightness and inflexibility. It goes like this. ”I forgive myself for judging MYSELF as __________”. Or, “I forgive myself for judging SOMEONE as _________”. Or, “I forgive myself for judging THIS SITUATION as ________”. It’s very important that you forgive YOURSELF for the judgment vs. forgiving anyone else for anything. As you do the self-forgiveness, with your awareness and your breath in the specific part of your body where the judgment was held, just be present. Breathe and feel. Notice how your body relaxes, tension eases, and pain diminishes. Practice this as often as you like with as many judgments as you can identify!

October Juicy Body Tip: Shake Your Body!

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:26:06 +0000

Put on some fast music and move your body! Let it shake, use your breath by breathing faster in and out through your mouth. (Don’t hyperventilate! Remember to ALWAYS take care of yourself and don’t strain or push too hard.) Shake out the kinks and knots, let the joints move, feel the muscles be loose and most of all allow the fluidity to flow as you shake your body. Surrender to allowing your body to move and direct you! Try this for 5 minutes a day, particularly if your energy is low, and you will find it will stimulate your system. The energy will start to flow and you will feel revived. Plus you will feel much more connected to your life-force!

September Juicy Body Tip: Move your Spine!

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:20:37 +0000

Take time to breathe and move your body. Try this: breathe into your spine and let it move in a way that feels good, comfortable, loving, easy. Don’t push or strain, just gently roll the area like a piece of seaweed being supported and pushed by the rolls of the ocean. Give yourself permission to feel the flow and glide of the spine, wherever you are – sitting in a chair, standing, driving, lying down. Allow the spine to lead the movement, put on some music, and allow the music to support the flow.

This flow is very important – it is where the unwinding & releasing of the spine can take place, and it also opens up a space where the information or truth from the body can be revealed. It is in the fluid system where the wisdom and knowledge that is held in the body is stored. So, this simple practice not only feels good and reduces tension in the area, but it also allows for communication with the deep messages and intuition of the body. Do this practice for 5 minutes a day (or more!) to wake up the awareness of your spine. See how this impacts your life – you’ll probably find you are feeling more rejuvenated, alive, present, and connected! Most importantly, ENJOY and play with the movement so it feels good!

We know that moving is healthy… health experts recommend a minimum of 20 min/day for circulation of the blood flow for oxygenation of the body, for pumping the lymph system to remove the “garbage” in your body, and for lubricating the joints giving you a “grease and oil change”. Equally important, however, the work I have described above brings awareness into the body, allowing you to feel the sensations that are there, and to wake up the inner connections. As most of us have lost that connection, we have been trained to ignore our body’s sensations and knowing. And yet true and lasting healing comes from within the body, connecting to it, to our soul and to the Divine.