Mind-Body Approach To Connect With Your True Self

Hello,

Good evening,

Good morning,

Good afternoon,

Everyone,

Guys,

Depending on where you are.

Thank you so much for joining our live event tonight.

I'm really happy to see you all here.

Feel free to participate in the comment section during the whole live event.

I always really enjoy knowing other opinions and perspectives and,

Of course,

Your experiences,

Guys.

And a few words about me.

My name is Diana.

I am a MindBodyConnection coach,

A psychosomatic specialist,

And meditation teacher.

Once again,

It is a safe space for you guys to express yourselves,

To participate in our discussion,

To ask questions or advice if you feel like that.

And yes,

I'm here to support you,

To accept you,

And to hopefully provide some useful information and guidance,

Specifically tonight on the topic of the MindBodyConnection.

So today we will be talking about connecting to your inner self.

And that is one of my favorite topics that I work with my clients on and that I love to explore myself through the MindBody approach.

It is a wonderful journey and it is a never-ending journey.

So that is why we are here tonight for this discussion.

Also,

If you are interested in such topic,

You may check one of the previous talks,

Live events that we had,

I guess,

In the beginning of this year,

If I'm not mistaken.

And it is called Discover Your True Self and Improve Your Life.

So you may check that talk.

You can find it in my profile.

And we will be talking closely also about interoception tonight,

Which is one of the lessons in my Build MindBodyConnection course,

Also here on Inside Timer.

If it is something that you would like to explore,

Please feel free to check those recordings.

I'm sure they will be very beneficial.

Well,

And tonight,

During probably an hour that I hope to spend together,

We will explore some practical tools and strategies to cultivate self-awareness and mindfulness to heal past traumas and some emotional wounds.

We will slightly talk about this as well.

We will discover how to explore your inner self,

Your true self,

All through the MindBodyConnection and,

Of course,

Embrace ourselves with self-love and self-compassion,

Which are really important elements on the journey of getting to know yourself,

Your true self.

Briefly,

I would like to mention that MindBodyConnection approach sees that our minds,

Bodies,

Emotions,

Our spirits are intricately linked.

They are interconnected,

And they influence and shape each other.

And it is not possible to say which one of them comes first or which one is more important.

So MindBodyConnection is a holistic approach that works with all of our parts.

And,

Of course,

Understanding,

Implementing,

Practicing MindBodyConnection enhances our overall well-being and helps us to achieve any sort of goals in our lives.

And,

Well,

If you guys have any comments here,

Any questions,

You are welcome to ask them to make any notes.

It will be great to hear something from you before we dive deep into the details of this session.

You can always find the recording of these live events.

I upload them as talks in my profile,

And the guided meditation that we will have at the end of this session will be also uploaded as a guided meditation separately.

So please subscribe to my profile,

And you will be able to discover these tracks later in a few days.

Well,

And some examples of interconnectedness of the mind and body and emotions are,

Well,

Let me just mention some very extreme ones,

Some crucial ones,

And probably very familiar to some of us.

It can be some chronic pain in our bodies or some sort of depression or altered levels of anxiety.

So chronic pain may lead to these consequences,

Such as depression and any levels,

Any degrees of the depression.

So that is how our bodies may influence our mood and our perception of life in general.

So the same goes for sleep disorders,

Sleep deprivation,

And our mood.

Of course,

If we are not getting enough sleep regularly,

It will inevitably influence in a negative way the mood in our daily experiences.

And again,

Our perception of life,

Our well-being,

How happy we show up,

How happy we feel in our day-to-day life.

Very important to notice here is the link between nutrition and mental health.

So a balanced diet rich in all of the nutrients that our bodies need will improve our mental health and will make our minds stronger and will give us resources to think more positively and to be more creative and so on.

While if our diets are disbalanced,

If we are lacking some nutrients,

It can negatively impact our mental health and can cause even some health,

Mental health conditions or illnesses.

So please guys,

Be very mindful of what you are eating,

Because as the saying goes,

We are what we eat,

And it is definitely,

Definitely true.

And for example,

A positive moment here,

Exercise is linked with stress reduction.

If we are getting physical activities regularly,

It can definitely help us overcome anxiety or at least lower the levels of anxiety that we are experiencing to lower the stress or to make the threshold,

The stress threshold higher.

So we will be capable of managing stress better and coping with stress in our life easier and better with less effort.

And of course,

If we are experiencing any chronical illnesses,

It will affect our emotional well-being.

I'm sure that at some point of our lives,

We all had to experience that.

And that is how our minds and bodies are linked.

And that is why it is so important,

In my opinion,

To establish solid mind-body connection within us.

If we were talking about how these parts within us are interconnected,

It is very important to cultivate awareness and balance.

So it will help us to identify and to address underlying physical issues.

So we will be able to notice that maybe something is going wrong at the very early stages.

So we can take proactive steps,

Maybe to prevent some of the,

Some of the disbalance or some health conditions that may lead to something more serious in the future.

We can also,

With the mind-body connection,

Develop healthy coping mechanisms,

Probably how to manage stress or anxiety or how to overcome our past traumas or some emotional limitations or our limiting self-beliefs that prevent us from self-growth and so on.

We can also,

And we should,

Prioritize self-care because,

Well,

Definitely if we make it one of our priorities in life,

We will see great fruits of it in the future in our mental,

Emotional,

And physical health.

And it will help us to improve the quality of our lives.

And of course,

Fostering positive mindset will definitely improve our overall wellbeing,

Not only mental health,

But if we are seeing this moment from the point of neuroscience,

It will also improve our physical health,

Our bodies,

And our emotional states.

It will make us more resilient and more capable of achieving anything we want in our lives.

So that is the power of the mind-body connection.

And here,

Previously,

I mentioned awareness and I would like to add here mindfulness.

These are essential components for establishing,

For working with mind-body connection.

And here I have a question to you guys.

What is awareness or what is mindfulness to you?

How do you understand these terms?

And again,

There are no wrong answers here.

I'm just very curious about your opinions,

Probably experiences with that.

And I will be very happy just to hear your side and your thoughts on these terms before we start diving deeper into them.

How do you guys understand awareness and mindfulness?

I'm sure that all of us are familiar with these terms as we are on this great platform on Insight Timer.

And definitely any practice,

Any talk,

Any course that we can find here helps us indeed to develop awareness and mindfulness from this or that side.

Thank you guys for your hearts.

Well,

Now I am taking a meditation teacher program course with Mingyur Rinpoche,

One of the leading Buddhist monks in the world.

And that is what we were focusing lately on awareness and mindfulness.

These are also the main components of his teachings.

And I will tell you in a moment his approach and definitely something that I deeply resonate with myself.

Marisa,

The comment from you,

Trying to stay in the moment,

Being aware of distractions and not letting them take over.

Great.

That's perfect.

And may I ask you,

Is that a definition of awareness or mindfulness or do you see them as one,

As the same thing?

But definitely I agree with what you have mentioned here.

So according to Mingyur Rinpoche,

Awareness,

It is something that all of the beings have at any given moment of time.

All of us are aware of what is going on,

Of every single moment.

We probably do not,

We probably are not very conscious about that.

It happens in my interpretation at a subconscious level,

But we all are aware.

But mindfulness is something I would say deeper and of a deeper layer.

So Marisa,

I think I've described awareness,

But definitely a crossover.

Okay.

Yeah,

That is,

That sounds good.

And mindfulness,

According to Rinpoche's approach,

It is something that we intentionally put awareness into.

So we can practice mindfulness.

We can be mindful of some objects,

Some states of something where we put our awareness to,

Somewhere where we apply awareness.

So let's say awareness,

It is a basic quality,

Basic ability of all human beings and mindfulness,

Something that we should develop.

Right.

But of course,

I guess there are many different interpretations of these terms and I wouldn't say that any of them is wrong.

Just very interesting to notice how,

How,

Yeah,

They,

They cross each other,

These two terms.

Thanks a lot,

Marisa,

For sharing your thoughts on that.

And of course,

Let me just mention quickly some of the benefits of mindfulness,

Which will be very beneficial for mind-body connection and for discovering our true selves,

For connecting with our authentic selves.

Of course,

Being mindful increases our self-awareness,

Awareness of our selves,

Of all the parts that we have inside of our shadows,

Of our wounds,

Of some subconscious or unconscious moments.

And for example,

When someone just starts their meditation journey and I had been asked this question a lot of times that,

Oh my God,

I tried to meditate so,

To start meditating so many times,

But I have so many thoughts and I just can't meditate.

It is impossible to me.

All the thoughts are swirling around and it is just a terrible experience.

Let me know,

Guys,

First,

If some of you had such experience or similar experience in the past and probably what you have done with it or how you felt because of that.

I'm sure that many can relate because at some point we all had to start meditating,

Right?

And me as well,

For me,

This moment was more than 16 years ago,

But yeah,

I can definitely understand how challenging it can be.

To my clients with whom I work closely together,

Whether on meditation,

On private meditation sessions or in the Mind-Body Connection coaching,

If they are saying that thoughts become an obstacle to them and they just cannot meditate,

It is not their thing or they do not know how to do it right or correctly,

I congratulate them.

Why?

Because if they notice how many thoughts they have,

And probably it's an overwhelming number of thoughts,

It means that they became aware of them.

They always had these thoughts,

Millions or billions of thoughts according to them,

But before they were just not aware of them,

They didn't really realize what was going on in their minds.

But when they started meditation,

They became aware of the number of thoughts they had,

So they were meditating,

They were able to meditate.

So that is a great step and I always congratulate them on discovering how many thoughts they have.

And of course,

Later with some Mind-Body Connection practices or somatic movement or any other tools that are personalized,

That suit each person,

We can overcome this,

Let's say,

Obstacle,

So we can deepen the meditation experience.

So if you guys are experiencing the same problem,

When you cannot just meditate because of too many thoughts,

Just pat yourself on your shoulder,

You're doing a great,

Great job.

And it is a big step,

You are meditating,

You are doing everything right,

Just continue your practice and you will see the changes and you will see the results.

Right.

And of course,

You may always ask for some extra guidance or some support on your meditation journey.

Also,

Generally speaking,

Mindfulness in our lives,

When not only speaking about meditation,

But developing this ability helps us to reduce stress and anxiety.

As we are saying more in the present moment,

We are trying to,

Not trying,

We are just letting go of the past and we are not putting too much attention to the future.

We are trying to stay present and it makes it easier to lower the levels of anxiety.

And of course,

It helps us to regulate our emotions better.

So we are becoming more aware of our patterns,

Of something that we should probably improve or work on,

Why we have such reaction to some situations or people in our lives.

And definitely,

Eventually it helps us if we are putting effort into this work to improve the quality of our life and the relationships in our lives,

Which is always very,

Very beautiful to notice.

All right.

And of course,

My question to you guys would be,

What are your favorite mindfulness techniques?

I'm sure that each of you has a number,

A list of your favorite techniques that probably you have tried in the past or you're implementing now in your life.

And please let me know your favorite ones.

I'm sure that it will be not only interesting for all of us to know,

But very beneficial.

Right.

So we can probably exchange our favorite habits,

Mindful habits,

And try something new in our lives.

Of course,

The first one would be meditation as we are here today to practice and meditation has lots of benefits.

And it can not only improve mindfulness,

But we can work with any goal and achieve any goal thanks to meditation.

Also,

Deep breathing,

Some mindful,

Deep,

Full breaths with our belly preferably can help us to increase the awareness and to become more mindful.

Not only of the present moment,

But of our bodies.

So it can help us to develop interoception,

Which is crucial,

Crucial for our health and wellbeing.

One of my favorite techniques is body scan.

And again,

It helps to strengthen the mind-body connection and I love to implement it before going to sleep.

It helps to let go of all of the thoughts from the previous day,

To let go of the to-do lists for tomorrow and just allow myself to be present,

To be with my body and to let go of physical tension.

So I'm sure that you guys can practice it here.

Also on the platform,

You may discover the body scan meditations in my profile as well.

Another one,

Very interesting,

At least to me,

But not very easy,

Again,

From my experience,

To implement is mindful eating.

I know that many nowadays struggle with lack of time and have a habit of eating on the road,

In a car,

Somewhere between the meetings,

But mindful eating is a great,

Great practice,

Quite challenging one,

Probably for a son,

Too.

Again,

Enhance mindfulness,

And it will have also great positive benefits for our physical health,

For our digestion,

And it will just make our meals much more tasty.

It is definitely true.

And please guys,

Try to do so,

Try to check it yourself.

Perhaps you would like it.

And something that we can practice with very little effort,

I can say,

Is mindful walking or mindful exercise.

And if you like to work out,

Just being present and noticing probably what is going on in your body or outside of you in the space where you are,

Whether you're walking,

You can become more mindful of the space that you're in.

Be mindful of the surroundings,

Of other people,

Of nature,

So many details.

So mindfulness can be developed not only through traditional,

Formal meditation,

But in any moment of your life,

Right,

And that's something very beautiful.

Let me know,

Guys,

If you want to share your favorite techniques for developing mindfulness,

If you have them,

If you practice them,

Or maybe the ones that were very or most beneficial to you.

Let's move to the next part.

I guess I will mention,

I will talk about it quite quickly,

About the traumas,

Emotional traumas,

Or probably physical traumas that we experienced at some point of our lives.

So trauma can have a profound and very lasting impact on all of aspects of our being,

On our minds,

On our bodies,

And our emotions.

And some of the common effects of trauma may include depression or anxiety,

Right,

Something unfortunately quite common nowadays.

Physical symptoms and not only physical traumas,

But emotional traumas or mental traumas will have,

And they always do,

Have impact and they have,

They are manifested in our bodies with physical symptoms.

It can be chronic pain or hopelessness or some sleep disturbances.

And this is what psychosomatics can help you with.

Psychosomatics combines the approach of seeing mind and body as interconnected as well,

And through deepening into ourselves,

Into our bodies.

Because I believe a subconscious mind lives in our bodies.

So through the body work,

We can access the root cause of the trauma,

Not only to work with the traumatic experience,

But the root cause of it,

We can heal it.

We can release the energy,

Like physical energy,

Not some metaphorical one,

From our bodies.

So our bodies can release the tension,

The physical tension that it is holding,

And it will boost the physical healing in the body.

So that's a very beautiful process.

It takes,

Well,

Of course it depends on the depth of trauma and on each experience on each person,

But that is definitely the approach that is very effective and very efficient one.

Well,

Um,

Some other effects of trauma include dissociation and probably not many are familiar with this term.

It is a coping mechanism when you sort of check out from the present reality as a way of dealing with overwhelming emotions.

When something becomes too much,

Checking out,

You're dissociated,

You are sort of protected.

This is a coping mechanism.

And a lot,

A lot of people are not aware of,

Um,

Having this coping mechanism in their lives.

And that is something again,

That can be,

That we can work with,

Right?

That we can change for the better.

Well,

And of course,

Post-traumatic stress disorder,

PTSD,

Um,

This can include such symptoms as flashbacks or nightmares or,

Um,

Avoidance of triggers and so on.

And again,

In my coaching,

I use mind-body techniques and tools to work with the past traumas to heal,

Uh,

The past experiences,

Not only with psychosomatics,

Which I mentioned earlier,

But with the following practices.

So let me know guys,

If you have experienced such,

Uh,

Let's say work or approach yourselves,

Whether you can mention some of the techniques that helped you,

Or if you have any questions,

You are welcome to drop a comment.

Let me mention just a few of the approaches that can help to heal trauma.

And that is something that you can do yourself without a therapist or without a coach,

Some somatic experiencing.

So we can release stored trauma from the bodies with gentle movements,

With,

Um,

With somatic movements.

Also,

Slightly different one would be practicing yoga or Tai Chi or Qigong.

All of that will help you to release the tension from the body and to make the numb body parts where the trauma is stored more alive.

So also,

Which I love very,

Very much is breath work.

I discovered it myself about four years ago,

I would say,

And the last year I am working closely with breath work,

Implementing breath work techniques and guiding breath work sessions.

And this is something scientifically proven how our breath,

Different breath patterns can change,

Um,

Can change biochemical processes inside our bodies that our bodies will be able to heal themselves or to start the healing processes.

So including the past traumas.

So also please guys,

Be careful,

Uh,

With practice and breath work because it has a lot of contradictions.

Just check before having any breath work exercise or session that you do not have these contradictions,

That you are free to practice them.

And you can find some of the breath work meditations and practices in my profile as well.

It also helps to strengthen the mind-body connection too.

And another technique which is also commonly used is guided imagery.

So we visualizing some positive or healing senses or rewiring our past experiences and,

Uh,

Rewriting them,

I would say,

To a more positive one.

So that also works very wonderful.

And,

Uh,

These techniques vary on each person.

I mean,

Each of us have different experiences and,

Uh,

Different preferences.

Something works best for one person,

Some other tools will work better for another one.

So you guys can experiment and find something that is best for you.

All right.

And,

Um,

Yeah,

Let me know if all is good here,

You guys.

If you would like to ask anything,

You're very welcome.

Once again,

This live event will be recorded and I will upload it as a track and a guided meditation to my profile in a few days.

So please subscribe and you may check it later if you missed the beginning of it.

Or if you would like to re-listen or to repeat some of the parts of it.

And as it is a free live event,

Your donations guys are very welcome.

They are a great motivator and indicator that it is something of your interest and that we should continue having live sessions like this in the future.

This is,

By the way,

I think the fifth event of the Connection Series that we are having this year.

You can find the previous recordings as well.

We were discussing various aspects of connection.

Well,

And now let's move to my favorite,

Personal favorite part of this live.

Finding your authentic self.

Well,

That is my favorite topic that I work with my clients.

It is always so beautiful to see where the person starts and how their path develops during our work together.

And I truly believe that finding,

Discovering yourself,

Getting to know yourself and your authentic self and living authentically,

It is the most important and the most beautiful thing we can do for ourselves in our lives.

Well,

Of course,

It involves understanding the values,

Passions,

Your strengths and weaknesses,

A lot of work.

And as a result,

We can create and live the lives of our dreams.

Yes,

It sounds big and probably overwhelming,

But it is true.

Because when you finally know who you are,

How you want to live,

You have the power to create it and to live your best authentic life.

And what can help you on this way,

On this journey is reflection and interception.

Self-reflection in any forms,

With any tools that are available to you.

For example,

Journaling.

And I always encourage my clients to journal with hand on paper,

Not typing on computer or even less on the cell phone,

Because this physical,

Micromotorical movement helps us again to strengthen the mind-body connection and to physically release the tension,

The thoughts,

The emotions from our head and from our body through our hand,

Physically onto paper to create something physical that has a really powerful effect and it really works really well.

How many times do I say really?

I love this too.

And if,

Again,

We are speaking about interception,

If you want to dive deeper into this topic,

To discover it,

I invite you to check my Build Mind-Body Connection Course,

Interception is one of the days,

One of the lessons of the course.

And I always have a wonderful experience taking the course.

I do it myself about twice a year.

And each time I get different,

Let's say,

Results.

I always enjoy that.

And yes,

Interception lesson is one of the most important ones.

You may also explore your interests to know what you like,

Try every kind of activity or social event or whatever comes to your mind just to make sure whether it is your thing or not.

Just experiment,

Take it as a game to know yourself.

And that is one of the very practical ways how you can do that.

Of course,

Reflect on your strengths,

On your weaknesses,

Work with your shadows.

I would say it is quite a deeper level.

And again,

You may ask for personalized guidance on this path because working with the shadow takes a lot of effort and always requires the opinion,

The view from a side,

Right?

Because very often our subconscious,

Our unconscious minds will not let us dive deeper than it wants,

Right?

So we need some external help with that.

If you want to discover to work with your shadows where you can again,

Gain the strengths that you can change this energy and implement it,

Invest it into your growth,

Into achieving what you want.

Well,

And yes,

If you guys want some personal guidance or support on the way of identifying your true self of diving deeper and discovering your authentic self,

Your values,

Passions of on creating your dream life,

You may always DM me and I will be really happy to connect with you.

Let's move guys then to our guided meditation part.

Once again,

You will be able to find it later in my profile,

Upload it as a guided meditation separately and the whole life event as a talk.

So please follow me,

My page here on Insight Timer and stay tuned for the future events of the Connection series.

And for now,

Guys,

Find a comfortable position,

Whether you're seated or lying down,

Just make sure that your spine is straight and your body feels comfortable and relaxed.

Take a deep breath,

Send in the air deep into your belly and with the exhale,

Close your eyes.

Take another deep breath into your belly,

Your chest and sigh everything out,

Arriving into the present moment.

And take a third deepest breath in yet,

Send the air into your belly,

Chest and your crown and let go of all of the worries,

Your thoughts and allow yourself to take this time just for yourself.

And set an inspiring intention to connect with your inner self and let this intention illuminate and elevate your meditation experience.

Relax your mind and remain present without focusing on anything in particular.

Allow all experiences to arise in your mind and let them become a part of your experience.

Allow all experiences to arise without judgment,

Whether it is a sound,

Feeling,

Sensation,

Emotion,

Thought,

Or physical discomfort.

Leave all your senses doors open without trying to block any aspect of experience.

Gently bring your awareness to sensations in your body,

In your forehead,

In your face.

Do not change anything,

Just notice what is present and gradually work your way down the length of your body.

Simply observing what is going on in each part.

Scan with your awareness all your body parts down to your legs and feet.

And simply let all of the sensations be as they are.

You don't have to put any effort into this.

Let it be easy.

And when you finish this body scan,

Put your whole body into your awareness and spend a few moments here.

Breathe.

Now,

Let's dive deep into your center.

Where does your true self reside in your body?

Where does your true self reside in your body?

And usually the first thought or sensation that you got is the right one.

Trust yourself.

Is it in your heart,

Your solar plexus,

Perhaps in the middle of your head,

Or somewhere completely different?

Breathe into that part and spend some time there in silence.

Just be.

Observe.

And accept what is.

Imagine that you are a diver and go deeper and deeper into your self.

Discover all the beautiful layers that make you.

Immerse yourself deeper and deeper into your core,

Into your center.

And there is no way to do it wrong.

So trust the process and trust yourself.

You're doing great.

Discover the point of silence where everything is perfectly quiet and serene.

Enjoy the silence inside of you.

Breathe and just be.

In that sweet point inside of your being.

You don't have to do anything else.

We all have innate goodness in ourselves.

It is our true nature.

So admire it.

Breathe in and out.

With no effort and no trying.

You are exactly where you have to be.

And ask yourself,

How can I connect with my true self on a deeper level?

And let the answer come to you.

Don't force it.

Don't think.

And if no answer comes,

And if no answer comes,

That is totally okay.

The answer is in the question itself.

How can I connect with my true self on a deeper level?

The answer may come in a form of a thought,

Or emotion,

Or sensation,

Or some kind of light.

Whatever it might be for you.

And again,

If no answer comes yet,

And again,

If no answer comes yet,

That is absolutely okay.

Imagine a loving and supportive presence surrounding you.

It offers you unconditional love and support.

It is of your favorite color.

Embracing you all over.

Focus on the feeling of self-compassion that has washed over you.

Allow this feeling to expand and fill your entire being.

And if it is difficult to experience it,

Just imagine it happening.

How would it feel?

You are surrounded by unconditional love,

Support,

And acceptance.

And acceptance.

And notice what changes in your body.

Perhaps you could relax a little bit more,

Or your breath deepened,

Or your heart rate slowed down a little.

Or your chest or belly softened.

Whatever it is for you,

It is absolutely perfect.

Continue experiencing the sensations that are present in your body now,

And rest in open awareness for a few moments.

Being aware of everything that is present without attaching to anything in particular.

Carry this sense of peace and clarity that you've cultivated with you throughout your whole day.

And continue to practice this meditation regularly to deepen your connection with your inner self.

And remember,

Getting to know your true self and all the parts of your personality takes time and effort.

Be gentle with yourself.

Bathe yourself in self-love and self-compassion.

And soon,

You will see beautiful changes happening within you and in your life.

Thank you so much,

Guys,

For practicing with me today.

Feel free to take a deeper breath.

And if it feels right,

Open your eyes,

Relax your body,

And become fully present.

Please,

Guys,

Let me know how this experience was for you in the comments section.

I would really appreciate that.

Well,

I hope that you guys enjoyed this guided meditation.

And that was the final part of our live event today.

So we had a comprehensive overview of the mind-body connection,

Its benefits for self-discovery,

For personal growth,

For creating a fulfilling life.

And once again,

If you guys want personalized support and guidance on your path,

Please feel free to reach out and I will be very happy to connect.

So for now,

Thank you all for your presence.

I really appreciate and I always love this space and the chance that we are having to connect with each other.

Once again,

Thank you guys for your donations now or after our live event.

They are really helpful.

And follow my page here to stay tuned for the next live session on the Connection Series.

Have a great night or day ahead of you and I will see you next time.

Bye!