Up next in the Everyday Awareness series: a quick and easy way to get out of your head—and back into your body.
And when I say quick… I mean super quick!
This one works. And it won’t even take you a full minute!
Last time out, I gave you a versatile little exercise to rise above your thoughts, and curb the runaway dialog in your head…
That’s good for all kinds of things.
Like quieting your mind, and dealing with difficult emotions, and discovering that YOU were never your thoughts and emotions in the first place.
But one thing it’s not good for is staying grounded.
For keeping your awareness in your body, and connected to your environment.
You can do both at the same time:
Disidentify from your thoughts, while still remaining grounded…
But unless you make a specific effort to do it, working on all that transcending stuff tends to make you dissociate.
YOU rise above your thoughts…
But your attention ends up directed into your thoughts and away from the world around you.
It just feels easier and more natural to do both at the same time…
Like raising both eyebrows together—or curling all of your fingers at once, instead of individually.
You can move them independently…
But it isn’t something you tend to do, unless you’re specifically trying to do it.
That’s one of the downsides of traditional meditation.
They teach you to transcend. Or to be present in the moment…
But that sets up all kinds of secondary motions in your consciousness.
And if you aren’t careful, you can end up really disconnected from your body.
This exercise will get you back in it…
Getting Grounded
We get stuck in our heads for lots of different reasons…
Maybe you’re worried.
Maybe you’re distracted.
Maybe you’re just focused and working on a problem.
Whatever the reason, the result is that you tune out the world around you…
And your body gets left somewhere in the distance.
Now, sometimes being dissociated is a good thing…
Like if you’re doing dreamwork, or searching for subtle visions.
But in general, unless you have a specific reason to not be in your body—you’re probably better off in it.
And one of the best ways to get back in your body is to do this exercise…
Are you ready?
Cuz this one is really complicated…
Find a doorway, or a corner, or an open bit of wall.
And lean forward, like a plank, with your feet back and your hands up and against the wall.
You should be tilted far enough that your weight is split between your hands and your feet.
Where you’d fall if you let go.
But not so far that you can’t support yourself.
Press into the wall. And drive your toes into the ground.
And hold it.
And that’s it.
It doesn’t sound like much… But it works.
You’ll feel the difference in just a few seconds.
You can do it when you’re stressed or anxious or ruminating or freaking out.
You can even tell your kids to do it when they get upset and all wrapped up in their heads.
You don’t even have to tell them that they’re meditating if you don’t want to.
No cross-legged sitting, or focusing, or funny finger shapes required.
Just lean on the fucking wall—and your awareness will ground back into your body.
It’s seriously that easy.
Go try it and you’ll see!
If you liked this post, please consider sharing, along with a brief comment of what you thought… It doesn’t sound like much. But these small gestures make a tremendous impact on building our community, and helping other wayward rebels find a perspective that they can resonate with.
And if it spoke to you, why not Join the Tribe? It's free.. And this is just one tiny piece of more than two decades of impassioned work...... And YOU probably belong here with the rest of us!!
In any case, thanks so much for stopping by! – \m/ – Z
About Zach Herbert
I teach people to do cool things with their consciousness, and break their brains with beautiful ideas.
Professional heretic. Unlikely mystic. Host to rebels, misfits and independent thinkers.
Find out more here. And follow me on Facebook at:
Thank you!!! This is the first time I hear someone else discuss what I went through and am still currently going through- dissociation as a result of meditation. I began meditating after an injury left me on 6 percocets a day and there was no relief of pain. I REALLY wanted to be out of my body. That was almost 4 years ago. I’m still trying to get back,it’s been pretty difficult. This exercise helped a bit, do you happen to know of others?
Almost anything that strains and exerts your body will work.. Sports, exercise, sex.. The biggest thing is to keep breathing and keep your attention directed at the physical sensations. Even if it’s just the feeling of your feet on the ground and your ass in a chair!
Fucking Thank You 🙂 I fucking love it!!! ♡