What Is Body Awareness?
Body awareness means being aware or conscious of one's body and its different parts. It is knowing about the position and movement of the body concerning the space around oneself and how each body part is reacting under various circumstances. It understands the infinite urges and needs of the body. Body awareness is not just confined to the physical understanding of the body's form, shape, and functions; instead, it extends to the mental and emotional recognition of one's thoughts, views, feelings, etc. Daily activities and habits influence a person's awareness of his body. In simple words, it is the knowledge of the connection of the body to the mind. Body awareness is also called kinesthesia.
Why Is Body Awareness Important?
Body awareness is imperative because it provides a myriad of benefits to an individual's overall health, that is, physical, mental, and emotional. The various health benefits of body awareness are:
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Substantial Control Over Physical Actions: Body awareness enhances the connection between the mind and the body, which eventually leads to better control over one's activities in relation to one's space and feelings.
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Better Check On Body Weight: Having an improved body awareness allows a person to understand his urge to eat, and so he usually avoids eating in the absence of hunger. This phenomenon helps an individual maintain optimal body weight according to his age, gender, height, etc., and reduces the risk of obesity.
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Improves Pain Management: Self-aware people can handle their body pains in an improved manner due to greater acceptance and acknowledgment of their body sensations. A study claims that those who ignore their body signals are depressive and have low self-esteem.
Connecting the mind to the body results in the superior embracement of oneself, high spirit, and lower pain intensity.
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Recognizing and Fulfilling the Needs: A self-aware persona means identifying the body's signs and signals correctly and differentiating among various needs like tiredness and stress, hunger and thirst from time to time.
A better understanding of the body's requirements also allows for choosing the appropriate option and improves contentment and fitness. For instance, taking a short nap when feeling tired instead of consuming caffeine or high sugar foods.
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Refines Mental and Emotional Status: The consciousness of the proprioceptive and vestibular system caters security to the body and one's surroundings, refining the mental and emotional health of a person. It even contributes to reducing the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and vertigo.
If the connection between the body and the environment is not balanced, then the body undergoes both physical and psychological stress.
How to Develop Body Awareness?
Identification of the body among adults can be made by exercises-physical and mental. The details are discussed below:
1. Physical Activities: Numerous physical exercises enhance body awareness, ranging from mild to severe. Physical activities combined with the known feelings and recognition of body parts increase body awareness. Certain workouts that help raise body awareness are:
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Balancing Movements: Balancing exercises tell the person about the movements of his different muscles and spatial orientation—simple training like balancing the weight of the entire body on one foot or walking on a straight track.
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Yoga: Yoga is one of the physical forms that has gained momentum lately due to its benefits, like reducing stress and inflammation and boosting cardiac health. It connects the breathing pattern with the actions that makes one's body and the mind more aware.
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Tai Chi: It comes from China and has originated from martial arts. It is of mild intensity and links breath with body movements, so it is also called 'meditation in motion.' It is prevalent among beginners, and it provides relief from stress, regulates sleep patterns, and enhances mood.
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Backward Walk: It allows better coordination and balance of the mind and the limbs. It involves muscles that do not usually contribute to walking and let the mind interact differently with the body. However, assuring safe and clear surroundings to oneself is crucial before giving it a try.
2. Mental Exercises: Mental training dates back its origin to many centuries ago, but then it was forgotten. With the hectic and sedentary lifestyle, it has again become a fad. There are specific techniques that raise body recognition, and they are:
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Scanning while Meditating: It is a process in which a person examines his various body parts while meditating and connecting to his sensations like tension, numbness, feelings of relaxation, pain, etc. This practice helps in overcoming insomnia, stress, anxiety, and pain.
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Psychic Sleep: It is a procedure during which the mind and the body are consciously and gradually relaxed while identifying the feelings. The mind remains awake, and the body undergoes sleep. It is also known in yoga practice as 'yoga nidra.'
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Gestures and Meditation: All types of meditation that involve movements increase awareness of the body. The different gestures actively precede the concentration of the mind.
What Are the Different Professional Techniques for Body Awareness?
The therapists, through distinct professional therapies, provide awareness of the body. Some of the treatments are as follows:
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Physical Therapy: Professional physical techniques help improve mobility and movement, especially after an injury or surgery. It is also valuable for individuals with special needs and older adults.
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Occupational Therapy: It is similar to physical therapy, but its focus remains on gross and refined motor skills. It helps perform everyday activities like tying shoelaces or buttoning the garment in people with developmental or cognitive disorders.
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Somatic Therapy: It involves using physical procedures for therapy such as meditation, relaxation, breathing techniques to heal from trauma. The various senses are used to assure safety, sensibility, and self-awareness.
Conclusion:
A better and deep connection with one's body assists oneself in an improved quality of life. Body awareness is essential to all individuals, irrespective of their age, gender, or status. In kids, it helps in understanding the numerous changes that occur during different development milestones and aids in dealing with the upcoming life with a positive outlook. So, it should be encouraged among all to make it a part of their lives. Its usefulness increases in folks with limited or impaired functions of the body or the brain and those dealing with physical or mental stress. The current lifestyle has contributed significantly to its necessity.
