Body Awareness Essay

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Even though we all know that we cannot exist without oxygen, most of us do not realize how important the amount of oxygen is to our heart rhythm and our heart rate. When we are anxious and worried due to physical, emotional or spiritual pain and stress, we tend to breathe more quickly and shallowly than when we are relaxed. Our heart rate variance becomes super chaotic and incoherent, affecting the quality of our brain function.[]
Oxygen is the main energy source for brain functioning. If the stress level is high enough, the frontal lobe of our brain, which is where our higher mental processes such as thinking, decision-making, calculating the consequences of risks, regulating emotions, problem solving, and long-term planning happen, shuts …show more content…

Many doctors, therapists, and other health care providers never hear about this concept during their medical training, as this is not part of their treatment protocol. However, becoming aware of your body and the sensations you experience within your body and on your skin is the key to solving many health problems, including physical pain. It was a major key to Cornelia's physical healing process eighteen years ago and key in Janet's healing from early life trauma.
When we are unaware of our body, we are disconnected and unable to receive the information we need to prevent physical issues from developing. We may not feel the sun burning on our skin until it is too late and we already have serious sunburn. Since we are cut off from these sensations, we may not feel when our stomach is full, may not recognize the sensation that tells us that we are thirsty, or may drink too much alcohol because we don’t feel what it does to our system; we may not recognize tiredness until we are exhausted, and sometimes we may hurt our body simply by not being aware of what is happening in the present

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