Why cultivate body sensitivity?

I had a gorgeous conversation with my 5yo today about body sensitivity. 

What’s ‘body sensitivity’? In the context of embodiment, I mean being aware of our body’s sensations. Being able to sense the (often subtle) messages from within, and come into contact with the deeper essence - the inner aliveness - of who you are.

This kind of sensitivity is something many (if not most) of us are not taught to appreciate, much less to cultivate. 

Yet through my training I’ve come to better understand and appreciate the value… no, the necessity… of this skill in our world today. This sensitivity is a skill. 

So why cultivate it? And why would I want to chat with my son about it? 

…Where do I start?!

A few reasons come to mind:

• Life alignment. In growing our sensitivity to our inner world, we come to know ourselves more intimately and therefore empower ourselves to live in alignment with what’s true to us.

• Intuition. When you can better perceive your subtle inner cues, you are more closely connected with your intuition and its messages, which can guide you in a life of integrity. 

• Vibrance. Growing sensitivity allows you to feel things more deeply, which in turn makes life so much more effervescent. 

• Self-awareness. The more you know yourself, the more skill you’ll have in self-regulating and self-nurturing. 

My son gave me two beautiful examples of his own body awareness in our conversation and it reminded me that as children, this comes more naturally. I think as we get older we accumulate layers of armour and dissociation for a variety of reasons (too complex for a short post).

So how do we cultivate this sensitivity? 

Everyone is different but a good starting point is asking yourself “how do I know I feel x?” As demonstrated beautifully by my son, when I asked how he knew he was feeling ‘scared’ (going high on the swing) or ‘fun’ (on other play equipment) he was able to confidently describe his inner sensations. One was a white vibration moving up and down inside his torso. The other was a rough green and blue ball swinging side to side in his tummy.

Words aren’t always sufficient to describe our inner world but we can begin to express it, as in this example. As a practice, the beautiful thing is you don’t need any equipment - it’s always available to you.

I was impressed to hear him relate so easily (on this topic we’ve really not explored before) and I’m looking forward to supporting him to continue knowing himself in this way :)