This might sound strange but does it ever feel like your body and head are disconnected from each other? Are you living too much in your head and avoiding feeling and being present in your body? When Marc David, founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, introduced this concept to me it was a magic lightbulb moment! I recognized it instantly to be true and see it with so many of my clients. This is why I called the site Happy in Body and not Happy Body.
While detachment might seem like a brilliant short term coping strategy to escape physical pain or uncomfortable emotions, it’s not helpful in the long term. It’s harder to address unwanted symptoms, eating habits and weight gain if we aren’t fully present, ‘embodied’. I use food and nourishment to help clients become more present, aware and reconnected to their bodies. There are other ways too. For example, one of the assignments in the Happy in Body programme is to go for a massage or facial (or whatever treatment appeals) and stay present during the whole treatment. Every time your mind drifts to work, family etc bring it back to focus on your body.
Just acknowledging the concept of embodiment is a great start and then spend a few moments every day on for example, your feet touching the ground as you walk, eating slowly and with undivided attention (ie no phones/computers/TV!), your muscles feeling relaxed and heavy before sleep, and you will slowly move back to inhabiting your body more fully. As Marc David says, it’s baby steps but each step brings you closer to being Happy in Body…
