Connection - Giving Our Attention to What Nourishes Us

If we pay attention to what are we connecting to throughout the day we find sometimes it's social media, or TV. Other times we might be connecting with another human. At other times we might find ourselves lost in thought. However, unless you have a practice that involves the body, you likely don't spend a lot of time connecting to your body.

It seems most of us take the body for granted. We only really pay attention to it when it starts to scream at us. Most of us rarely even know what the feeling of hunger is and very few people go to sleep when they are tired. We have become disconnected from our bodies and spend most of our time in our heads, or focused on the outer world.

We live by a schedule and override our bodies messages to conform to the demands of our busy days. We are more connected with outside pressures and expectations and rarely tune into our inner world.

This week in our practice, in my classes we were asking ourselves to pay attention to what we were connected to.

Are we aware of our feet? Are we aware of our hands? Can we pay attention to the subtle process of the breath coming and going? Can we connect into the present moment?

We find when we try to stay present in our practice the mind will wander. Our attention, or the connection flitters from one object to another.

We may find ourselves connecting into our thoughts and completely forget to feel the body. Or we may get so intrigued by one body part, we completely forget about another. It is fascinating to watch where our attention goes.

Depending on what we connect into determines where we get our information and inherently affects the quality of our experience.

I find when I am connecting to a device I get lost in the digital world. I start paying attention to what other people are doing. I begin to be an observer of what other people have created; stories, or information that is fed to me from the experience of another.

When I am connecting with someone in person I am aware of them and myself. I am often also aware of the environment around us. I am taking in a range of stimulus and engaged in the world around me.

When I am on my mat, I am connecting into my body and breath. I can hear my otherwise unconscious thoughts as I practice, but the focus is on listening to the body. Observing the connections in my body. I can feel the way my hands are related to my arms and the feet connect up through the legs. I get to witness the play through the spine from the skull to the root and vice versa.

In practice, I can feel the way my breath affects my emotional state and the way my emotional state affects my breath.

Taking time to connect in with myself each day on my mat allows me to be more conscious of what is going on inside of me. My body is a map for what is occurring in my mind.

Most of us have become so lost looking out there. Consumed by the entertainment our devices provide us. Or we are too busy with our jobs to notice what is happening inside of ourselves.

Tapping into the body and finding connection to ourselves gives us access to a wealth of information.

If you feel you have lost connection with yourself, consider taking up a Yoga practice.

Not sure how to get started?

Reach out! [email protected]

Want to hear my podcast on the same subject? Listen here!

Or check out my video about what this means on the mat. Watch HERE.