Reading the Body's Language: A Tool

"To read your own body language, first sit quietly and reflect. (If you are having an acute emergency situation, then go to the emergency room first.) Otherwise, it is often far more helpful to get in touch with the messages your body is trying to communicate to you. Do the process very slowly.

"1. Sit in a comfortable place, preferably a quiet one, so that you can focus.

"2. Take a number of slow and deep breaths, first exhaling fully, and then inhaling when your body needs oxygen.

"3. Inhale through your nose with your tongue behind your front upper teeth, and exhale through slightly pursed lips.

"4. Focus on any sensations or symptoms you are readily aware of.

"5. Notice what the sensation or symptom does just because you focus on it without judging or trying to change it (while continuing to breathe). Does it get stronger or weaker? Does it move or stay in the same place?

"6. Ask yourself, 'What is my body trying to tell me here?' It is important to think of it as language needing to be translated. Allow any seemingly irrational or remote answers to come into your mind. Make a mental or written note about them.

"7. Once you have your answers to a particular body sensation or symptom, take your focus to another one of which you are aware and repeat the same process.

"8. Once you have attended to any sensations that are in your awareness, begin to scan your entire body, starting at your feet and slowly moving upward, checking in attentively with each little part of your body. Any time you discover another sensation, repeat the above process of focusing on the sensation without judgment or trying to change it, but just being curious to decipher the message your body is giving you.

"9. Now begin the same kind of mindfulness of the thoughts that are going through your mind.

"10. Notice what each thought makes you feel either an emotion or a sensation in your body.

"11. Are you thinking thoughts that bring you peace and joy, or are they thoughts which create worry, fear, resentment, guilt, or anger?

"12. Are you thinking thoughts of judgment about yourself, others, or anything going on in the world? Or are you thinking thoughts of acceptance, forgiveness, compassion and joy? How does each thought make you feel in your body?

"13. Essentially, do your thoughts make you feel good or do they make you feel bad? Observe how each kind of thoughts make you feel in your mindbody.

"14. About each sensation, remember to ask yourself what is my body trying to say to me? Since your body is your subconscious mind, deciphering its language helps to make its language conscious where you can attend to it.

"Doing this exercise for a while will help you to become more conscious of your body language and your negative thoughts on a daily basis which alone can help you be healthy and happy. It will also help you become more able to use the practices which follow much more effectively."