Body and mind are inseparable; neither will ever let go of the other. Calmness in one affects the other, as does excitement. Body and mind are neither one and the same nor two separate things. They are two different but very closely connected realities. Be aware of the connections between them.
Experience your body. It doesn’t just mean that you have a body and you know you should take care of it. It means stopping as often as possible to feel what is happening inside us at that very moment and connecting to it. Deliberately, respectfully and subtly sensing and feeling it. And not only when our body gives us pain or pleasure.
We need to pay attention to the sensations and learn to understand them. They are our control panel, indicating the balance or imbalances within us. At times we may sense something unpleasant and we become aware of tensions or pain that we had been avoiding through distraction, being busy or ruminating on external matters. Meditation is different from relaxation in that its aim is not just – or not primarily – to do us good or make us relax, but simply to be aware of what is happening inside us. Sometimes what is happening is painful. But mindfulness recommends that we accept and observe it, acknowledging the pain rather than fleeing it.
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