Words as tools for self-awareness
As a mom of two young children, I am faced almost daily with helping my little ones use words to express what they are feeling and experiencing. Now and then I stop to realize that at the age of 41, I am still learning this valuable life skill.
In a yoga class, a teacher might guide you to notice the sensations in your body, the emotions you’re feeling, and the thoughts that you’re thinking while in yoga poses. Some teachers will provide examples of words to describe sensations and feelings; they might say something like, “You might notice tingling in the hands, or heaviness in your limbs.” These are just suggestions, and you might have a very personal way of describing what you’re feeling and experiencing.
With this in mind, I’ve been working on a list of words to use in getting more specific with myself about what I’m feeling and noticing in each moment. I can do this both while I am doing formal yoga practices, and also while I’m just going about my day.
Living in an I-don’t-know mindset
So, how do you feel right now? Good? Bad? So-so? Or maybe you’re not sure.
For many people it can be really tough to admit they don’t know the answer to something. I personally find it sort of exhilarating. Think about it: if you don’t know everything about a particular thing, it opens that thing up to you as something to be explored, and I love that!
When you practice yoga on your own or outside of a class led by a teacher, you can spend as much time as you’d like noticing and naming what you feel. Here are some words I’ve come up with so far (not a complete list!) to describe bodily sensations I might experience while holding a yoga posture or moving between postures:
heavy/light
tingling/dull
buzzing/numb
warm/hot/cool/cold
restless/settled (or grounded)
unstable/stable
weak/strong
sharp/dull (pain)
Vibrating
rough/smooth
moist/wet/dry/parched
stuffy/stuck/stagnant
These are words that could describe what you’re feeling in various parts of the body. They can help us move from an I-don’t-know-what-I’m-feeling mindset to a curious frame of mind where we inquire into our bodies. We might not know why we are feeling what we’re feeling, but it’s a starting point.
Stillness on the New Moon
On the new moon, I usually think of an intention or focus to carry me through the month ahead. This time around, I’m still working it out. During the January new moon, I shared a post about intentions and sankalpa. In February, I wrote about staying motivated to practice yoga by shaking up our routines and trying new things. Today, I’m drawing from both those posts to bring some stillness to find better clarity on what my focus can be this month.
We might not know what type of intention we want to set for the day, week, month, or year. Sometimes we’re just setting an intention or focus for a single yoga session; often it just takes a few moments of stillness in a yoga pose, or just a simple pause during your day to check in with your body. What are you feeling? Do you have words to describe the quality of those sensations? What emotions are there, too?
From that stillness, it’s easier to find what we need in that moment or for that day. You don’t necessarily have to be physically still. Sometimes the stillness we need is in the mind, and it can come even when we’re moving through a simple task or going for a walk.
In January, I decided my word of the year would be Wonder. So, on this new moon, I’ll be wondering what I’m feeling and how I can put that into words. I’ll do this little inquiry while I’m washing the dishes, putting the kids down, and doing a few stretches at the end of the day. And from that inner search, I’ll see how best I can move towards spring, one day at a time!
I hope you get inspired to put words to what you’re feeling as you practice, too!