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Body awareness, as you might guess, is all about becoming aware of your body.

These last few weeks I've become aware of my right foot.

And it's annoying the hell out of me.

One of the things Carole teaches is that the body should be aligned. Right/left, back/front. Keep it aligned and powerful. If you lean too far forward, you put pressure on your lower back, if your foot turns out, it reduces your power and makes you appear indecisive, like you've lost your direction in life. Does a train run if the tracks are out of alignment? Of course not.

So, here is a picture of my feet:

Notice how the right foot is pointing out a bit? This seems to be my natural stance. If I don't actually look down at my feet, I think I am perfectly aligned. It is a strange sensation to realize your body isn't doing what you think it's doing. It feels eerie - like you'd feel if you found out you thought you were speaking English, and suddenly found out you were actually speaking French.

Body language still seems that mysterious to me. How have I lived my life so unaware?

Here's how I am now consciously trying to stand;

Much better, eh? Aligned! Purposeful! Walking through life like a powerful train on parallel tracks! Can't you just feel the power and energy?

So can I. And I love it.

But, I can also feel my knees, hips and back rebelling a bit. As I've been consciously correcting this, I feel out of whack on my whole right side. Like I fell on it or something. Nothing painful, just sore and uncomfortable, odd.

There's also a feeling of annoyance at my right foot, like it should automatically obey the all powerful me! I feel like an emperor of a kingdom being told by a lowly servant that "I'll do what I please, and adjust on my own schedule, thank you".

My almighty ego is being taught by the lowly right foot.

So it feels humbling, to realize that this process of learning body awareness isn't like regular school - I can't just plow through it unaware and all powerful. I have to learn to accept and be gentle, to lean into change with softness, humility and inner strength.

Not like an ego-driven freight train.

The other thing I realize as I become aware of my rebellious right foot, my ego-driven annoyance at it, and how my whole right side is rebelling along with the foot, is that it all brings up feelings, thoughts, memories. It is way more complex and interconnected than just realigning the foot. As I look at my foot, I think of all the uncomfortable shoes I tried to shove them into over the years - the high heels, the squishy pointed toe, the funky but no-support sandals. I think of my mom's feet, how they hurt her and cause her a lot pain now as she ages into her eighties. I think about aging, I hope that the changes I make now will prevent problems later.

And I realize that I can't "damn" my foot. That I have to love it and love my whole body through this adjustment. No more pushing, just leaning towards change. No more judgments. Just love.

Body awareness is a different kind of school, and I am learning to be a different kind of student.

Diane

 

About the author
Diane Currie Sam, "The Business Story Coach" combines intuition and encouragement with nuts-and-bolts marketing and business expertise. Her coaching and training programs show business owners how to discover their authentic stories, share their viral-ready stories through social media, and boost their business results. Visit beabetterstory.com for more information.

 

My body is my business, and not only that, it is my life!"

You know how spiritual seekers talk of 'meeting the guru"? One day wandering into a retreat centre or workshop and meeting someone and they feel a blast of energy, a sense of destiny, a once-in-a-lifetime connection that they immediately know is the right path for them? Like how Jesus called his disciples and they jumped from their boats, left their fishing nets and followed him?

That's never happened to me, and this isn't one of those stories.

Even though I've always envied people who 'knew' right away about a significant relationship they were going to have, the people that tell those love-at-first sight stories, I've never had them myself. I knew my now-husband for 8 years before we both started to get a feeling there was something more significant between us. My now best friend kind of annoyed me the first few times we were together.

You could say I need a bit of time to fully understand the significance of relationships that are right in front of me.

It was that way with Carole Maureen Friesen of The Lightworker's Institute. I met her about 5 years ago, at a workshop called "Mesmerize Your Audience" put on by Callan Rush of Leader to Luminary training. Carole is Callan's "Sacred Body Language" expert. From my experience with Callan Rush, she only brings in the best of the best experts to work with her students.

Carole's work goes well beyond how body language is often taught - pull your shoulders back, uncross your arms, and you'll come across better. It's deeper. It's about how you hold your emotions right in your tissues, and the subtle ways that you move or stand, and even the structure of your body itself 'says something' about you, and not only can your body be 'read' and understood, it can, remarkably, be changed and healed, even at the cellular memory level.

This integration of the psyche and the body, called Psychosomatic Therapy, intrigued me. I could see, even in her short 2-3 hour introductory workshop, people experiencing fascinating insights and changing how they held themselves right before my eyes. Carole could 'read' people and understand everything about that within a few minutes of interacting with them.

But it also scared me. My body is me. It is full of feelings, insecurities, memories I've carefully hidden away. Scars. Fat deposits. Maybe all those things were safe where they were, and I could just keep them there.

Like I said, I sometimes don't recognize or turn away from a relationship that could be good, and life-changing. It takes me awhile.

So 5 years go by, and I keep meeting up with Carole. I go to a wellness show, and there she is! I go to a workshop, and meet up with her...several times. We end up with mutual friends, and I actually hang out and have some drinks with her on several occasions. And she's always reading people, always seeing things about them that ring true, that are deep and empowering. There's definitely a sort of frankness and boldness that I don't always have, an ability to say exactly what she sees to be true - and over time, instead of withdrawing from that, I start to lean in towards it. There is something truly liberating and fascinating about living 'in the body' and in your own truth.

And I start to want something different.

I want to live with more freedom somehow, to feel more life in my body, to be more powerful and healthy, to judge myself less and love myself more. I don't want to feel older every year, to become hunched up and holding on to my deepest insecurities.

I want to stride into a room and move and be in a way that will command the room and draw people to me. I am an educator and speaker and I want bigger stages and better results.

A month ago, I was in an airport restaurant with Carole and was telling her this, and she said to me "Diane, your body is your business". And, finally, it sunk in.

Whatever results I want in my business doesn't start with a new marketing strategy or business plan. I know that stuff. This time, this year, I needed something deeper. I needed to change at a cellular level. These results I'm imagining start with me - with me, with my body, with what I feel, what messages I'm giving out.

This is my mind-blowing challenge for 2015.

I'm 47, I'm the mother of two school age boys and as we all understand our children learn by example. I'm overweight by about 20 lbs or so, all kind of hanging around my belly area. Yes, I have scars, and sometimes aches and pains. Even writing this, I can feel tears starting to well up. like by admitting I don't have some model-like body I feel vulnerable and weak. Wow. No wonder I ran from this work. To be real in my body, I might have to experience my body, experience my sensitive and hidden parts.

But I'm ready. I'm doing it.

My body is my business, and not only that, it is my life. I'm taking all of Carole's programs this year, and I'm writing about it and sharing my experiences along the way. I promise to be as truthful and vulnerable with my readers as I can be. Carole asked me to start the blog series by stating my intentions, so I guess that is what they are - to be honest, to share my experiences in these courses, and to stop running away from my own body and my own life.

I am curious, excited, and a little bit scared.

But I am looking forward to trying out the bedroom yoga section. 🙂

... Diane

(I'd love for you to join the journey. I'll be posting my story throughout the year on this blog, If you haven't already, join the mailing list for updates, or follow the facebook page or RSS feed.)

About the author
Diane Currie SamDiane Currie Sam, "The Business Story Coach" combines intuition and encouragement with nuts-and-bolts marketing and business expertise. Her coaching and training programs show business owners how to discover their authentic stories, share their viral-ready stories through social media, and boost their business results. Visit beabetterstory.com for more information.

We’re Starting a Storytelling Adventure!Diane Currie Sam

Ever wonder what it’s like to journey with us through our programs at The Lightworker’s Institute?

Well, you are going to get an up-close and personal look at what it is like from a participant’s point of view!
Starting Jan 1st, to ring in the new year, we are launching a new blog series: “Rediscovering Diane – One Woman’s Journey to Self through Body Awakening Method” with Diane Currie Sam.
Diane has bravely agreed to share her journey with you as she works through Body Awakening Method and Full Body Awakening. We can’t wait to see how her journey unfolds through 2015.

Diane is an award-winning business coach, storyteller and author. You can find out more about her at her website “Be a Better Story”.

Welcome Diane and stay tuned for an amazing adventure in 2015!