I recently tried a guided meditation where the instructor said something that made me laugh.

“Remember that you have a body.”

My first reaction was basically: Um… yes? Obviously?

It sounded stupidly simple. Too obvious. Like something you shouldn’t need to be reminded of.

But then we moved into the practice of noticing the body — feeling sensations, paying attention to breathing, noticing where I was physically in that exact moment.

And something unexpected happened.

It felt calming.

Since that meditation, I’ve found myself randomly thinking (in the instructor’s voice):

Remember that you have a body.

And every time I do, something shifts.

There is a feeling of relief. Of safety. Of remembering that I am not only my thoughts.

Living in your head

Some people spend a lot of time in their minds. I am one of those people.🙋🏼‍♀️ And girl, you know I hate it when people tell me I think too much. That implies there is a correct amount of thinking we should be doing and this person thinks that amount is determined by them apparently?? (oops tangent)

My brain is always thinking, analyzing, connecting ideas, remembering things, planning things, imagining things. There is an entire world happening inside my head at any given moment.

Being a deep thinker can be a wonderful thing. It can make you creative, curious, and insightful.

But there is also a downside.

Sometimes you can become so absorbed in your thoughts that you forget you are a physical person having a physical experience.

You forget that your shoulders are tense.

You forget your jaw is clenched.

You forget your feet are touching the floor.

You forget that right now — in this exact moment — you are here.

Your body is always in the present moment

Your mind can travel anywhere. It can:

• go back to something that happened years ago.
• jump ahead to something that might happen tomorrow.
• create endless scenarios and possibilities.

However, your body cannot do that.

Your body is always happening right now. You can’t:

• feel your breath yesterday.
• notice your heartbeat next week.

You can only experience those things in the present moment.

This is one reason body awareness can feel so grounding. When you bring attention back to your physical sensations, you are giving your brain information about what is actually happening — not what might happen, not what already happened, but what is happening now.

Why does being in your body feel safe?

There is a fascinating connection between the brain and body called interoception. Interoception is your brain’s ability to sense what is happening inside your body.

It includes things like:

• noticing your heartbeat
• feeling hunger or fullness
• sensing tension
• recognizing emotions through physical sensations

Your brain is constantly receiving signals from your body, even when you aren’t consciously aware of them.

When you slow down and notice those signals, you are essentially reconnecting with yourself.

You may be reminding your nervous system:

“I am here.”

“I am safe in this moment.”

“I am connected to myself.”

That feeling of safety isn’t random. Your brain is receiving real information: your body is supported, you are breathing, you are present, and you are physically here. For me it feels like someone is saying, ‘hey I got you’.

The relief of stepping out of the mental storm

When you are anxious or overwhelmed, your mind often tries to solve everything.

What if this happens?

What did they mean by that?

What should I do?

What if I made the wrong choice?

Me the last couple of days (or decades)☝🏼 Thinking can be useful, obviously… But sometimes the brain keeps working long after the problem-solving is actually helping.

Returning to the body gives your mind somewhere else to rest.

Instead of:

“What does this mean?”

You can shift toward:

“What am I feeling right now?”

Instead of:

“What happens next?”

You can return to:

“I am sitting here. I am breathing. I am okay in this moment.”

A simple practice

The next time you feel overwhelmed, try this:

Pause for a moment and remember:

I have a body.

Notice:

• Your feet touching the ground
• The feeling of your clothes against your skin
• The movement of your breathing
• The weight of your body in the chair
• Any sensations you can feel without needing to change them

You don’t have to force yourself to relax.

You don’t have to clear your mind.

You are reminding yourself that you are more than your thoughts.

You are a person having a physical experience.

And sometimes, the most comforting thing you can remember is something that was true all along:

You are here.
You have a body.
And you are allowed to come home to it.

Here is the video that got me here:

youtube.com/watch?v=vj0JDwQLof4%3Fsi%3D6M23XR2u_ioWK9Kl