Senses Wide Open
A Body-Based Approach to Self-Investigation
Johanna Putnoi
HomeSenses Wide Open
A Body-Based Approach to Self-Investigation
Johanna Putnoi
- As you shake hands with a stranger, warmth and kinship seem to flow into you. Your body says, Pursue this relationship. You tell yourself, I must be imagining things, and turn away.
- You go on a long walk and return home feeling fit and refreshed. Your body says, That feels great. But when you look in the mirror, you say to yourself, I'll never look the way I should.
- Your lover's touch feels rough and insensitive. Your muscles tense, and you can't seem to get in a romantic mood. Your body says, I really don't like the way this feels. You tell yourself, There must be something wrong with me.
In its wisdom, our body is continually sending us signals. We know we should pay attention to these signals, but . . . our mind takes over. We reject the body as wrong - too weak, too big, too fat, too old. So instead of listening to our body's natural wisdom, we do the exact opposite and then wonder why we don't feel better.
The human body comes equipped with a brilliant physical response system that can tell us when to eat and when to rest, when to fight and when to run, who is dangerous and who will provide us a safe harbor. We are also born with an instinct to survive and prosper, to love and feel empathy for one another, to experience passion and pleasure.
Johanna Putnoi's clear, refreshing voice embodies her down-to-earth message: "Your body is your home, what being human is all about. Living fully in your body will change your relationship to everything - to yourself, to others, and to the earth. You will be more aware of what you choose to put into your body, who you choose to share your body with, and how you treat the environment your body lives in."
Senses Wide Open: The Art and Practice of Living in Your Body provides engaging exercises that teach how to understand the body's wordless language, soften body armor, drop old defenses, and simply enjoy the world with senses wide open.
Senses Wide Open:
The Art and Practice of Living in Your Body
FROM SENSES WIDE OPEN
Try This Now:
Right now, in this very moment: What is your body telling you?
Is your stomach tense with anxiety, or warm with relaxation?
Is your forehead furrowed in concentration, or are your eyes wide with wonder?
Are your feet happy in your shoes?
Is your breathing substantial yet tranquil?
Are you comfortable inside your own skin?
Are you looking out through your eyes,
taking in sound through your ears,
feeling the temperature with your skin,
inhaling the scent of the air?
Are you living in your body right now?
Your body is a marvelous container for your self. At this very moment, within your body, a heart is pumping blood; involuntary muscles are working your
liver, stomach, intestines, and lungs; a system of nerves far more complex
than the electrical wiring in your house is helping you feel; and a column of vertebral bones that fit together perfectly provide strength and flexibility at
the same time. Your body is profoundly intelligent, and you can learn to trust
it to do its job.
WHAT YOUR BODY KNOWS
Look around you: What do you see?
Listen: What do you hear?
Be aware of your skin: What does it feel?
Inside your mouth: What is the taste?
Inhaling: What do you smell?
There are as many tones of sensation as there are tones of sound or hues of color. A magnificent symphony of sensation is playing in your body right now.
You can enjoy this body music when you learn to allow your attention to drop from your mind into your body, expanding your awareness into every cell.
Try This Now:
Come back to your felt body for a moment, to the world of sensations.
Can you feel the weight of yourself sinking into the chair?
Can you feel the air against your cheek, the texture of your clothes on your skin?
Take a full, deep breath into your lungs.
Feel the sensation.
Relax your jaw, exhale through your mouth, and let your tension go.
I promise that all the things that you have to think about will wait for you.
So why not take a moment just to be here?
Be here with yourself.
